Padre Pio's and Don Dolindo's Christmas Messages

These two holy men offer messages for Christmas that every soul needs to hear. Let us turn to Jesus on this holy night and comfort Him in the cold. Let our hearts not be like the piercing cold of the cave in Bethlehem. Jesus sends an invitation this night. Will we accept it and respond? Let us abandon ourselves to Divine Providence.  O Jesus, I trust in You; take care of everything. "The soul that surrenders becomes the warm cradle."

The Christmas Eve Miracle of 1914

The Christmas Truce of 1914: When the guns fell silent

Suzanne Cords

https://p.dw.co/p/55

Weary of fighting: Historic group photo of German and British soldiers standing together
Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Santa will be kneeling at the manger tonight before his rounds!

 "Hail and bless the hour and moment that the Son of God was born to the pure Virgin Mary at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold."

How Are You Spending Christmas Eve?

What better way to start the day than go to Mass? That's how most days begin at our house. Then off to the grocery store to prepare for the little elves' invasion tomorrow. The grocery list included all the ingredients for my wonderful fruit cake which is a recipe from the Joy of Cooking with my own personal variations. (We all hate fruitcake mix that includes citron so I candy my own orange and lemon peel and include fruits like dried apricots and pineapple.) No candied cherries at the store so I'll candy my own and no dates either. (What gives with that?) But with all the other fruit and lots of nuts, I don't think the dates will be missed. I love to decorate the cakes and share with special friends. (Yes, there really are a few folks out there who like fruitcake!) After that I'm going to put together some graham cracker houses for the children to decorate tomorrow and continue writing Christmas cards. We'll end the day with the last lighting of the Advent wreath and the Christ candle in its center. (I'll replace those purple and pink candles tomorrow with red or white.) Then we'll welcome Jesus with a rosary and some carols. He's already in the manger because two of our little granddaughters were here yesterday and we processed around the house singing Away in the Manger and put the baby in the his makeshift cradle. We're not going to "midnight" Mass this year because I'm taking Communion tomorrow to one of our local nursing homes. So we'll probably go to bed early to rest up for all the excitement during Christmas vacation which will include visits from four of our five children and their families including 15 of our grandkids. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? I think the Holy Family would approve. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us. And God bless us, every one!