The Vatican unveiled its annual Nativity scene on Dec. 9, 2023, paying special tribute to the origins of the beloved tradition on its 800-year anniversary. / Credit: Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN Vatican City, Dec 9, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA). The Vatican unveiled its annual Nativity scene earlier this evening, paying special tribute to the origins of the beloved tradition on its 800th anniversary. The scene in St. Peter’s Square depicts not only Mary and Joseph standing beside the manger but also St. Francis of Assisi, who organized the first Nativity scene in a cave in the Italian village of Greccio on Christmas Eve in 1223.A close-up of the nativity scene unveiled at the Vatican in St. Peter's Square on Dec. 9, 2023. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTNCardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, presided over the Dec. 9 inauguration ceremony. Over a thousand people gathered in the square for the event, which included moments of catechesis, an explanation of how the scene was put together, and the signing of seasonal hymns. The Vatican’s Greccio-inspired Nativity scene does not include live animals and people as St. Francis’ original did, but it does feature life-sized terracotta figures, crafted by renowned Neapolitan sculptor Antonio Cantone.At the center of the scene is the now-empty manger, where a figure of the newborn savior will be placed on Christmas Eve. On one side of manger, Mary kneels, flanked by Joseph, while on the other side, St. Francis of Assisi stands in a pose of wonder. In addition to Mary, Joseph, St. Francis, and the traditional ox and donkey, the 13th-century mayor of Greccio who helped organize the first Nativity scene, Giovanni Velita, is featured in statue form, along with his wife, Alticama.  Three Franciscan friars, whom St. Francis had tasked with setting up the first Nativity scene as a place where local faithful could come and contemplate the poverty of the incarnate Lord, are also depicted. The Vatican unveiled its annual Nativity scene Dec. 9, 2023, paying special tribute to the origins of the beloved tradition on its 800-year anniversary. Statues of St. Francis and his brothers are part of the scene. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTNThe backdrop of the scene is a replica of the fresco that decorates the Chapel of the Nativity in Greccio, which is built into the grotto where St. Francis set up the first Nativity scene. On one half of the fresco, he kneels in adoration of the Christ child; on the other side, Mary feeds the newborn savior while Joseph, the ox, and the donkey look on.  Underneath the fresco, a Franciscan friar is depicted celebrating Mass in the grotto. The friar elevates the body of Christ directly behind the manger. In another fitting tribute to the Nativity scene’s origins, this year’s Vatican display was provided by the Diocese of Rieti, which is where Greccio is located. The Vatican’s Christmas tree was also lit at the Dec. 9 ceremony. The tree, an 80-foot-tall fir, had been donated by the Italian community of Macra, located in the

null / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA Vatican City, Dec 9, 2023 / 09:50 am (CNA). Pope Francis said today that the Vatican’s nativity scene this year should compel people to think of the Holy Land — both of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, and also of the conflict currently engulfing the region. “While we contemplate Jesus, God made man, small, poor, defenseless, we cannot help but think of the drama that the inhabitants of the Holy Land are experiencing, demonstrating to these brothers and sisters of ours, especially to children and their parents, our closeness and our spiritual support,” the pope said. The pope made his remarks in a Saturday morning audience in Paul VI Hall with two delegations who had donated, respectively, the Christmas tree and the nativity scene, or creche, that will be displayed in St. Peter’s Square this year. The unveiling of the nativity scene and lighting of the Christmas tree are scheduled to take place this evening. An annual custom, this year’s Vatican creche pays special tribute to the first known nativity scene, which was set up by St. Francis of Assisi in the small Italian village of Greccio 800 years ago. As the pope recounted during today’s audience, St. Francis had just returned from his own pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1323, and was struck by the similarity of Greccio’s caves to the landscape of Bethlehem. The connection prompted the saint to call together both friars and local men and women to replicate the scene of Christ’s birth.In turn, this year’s Vatican nativity scene should help people make the connection to the Holy Land, the pope said, especially to the plight of families caught in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. “These are the ones who pay the real price of war,” the pope said, referring to the conflict that began on Oct. 7, and has resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 people and the displacement of over 2 million more. The Pope also said that reflecting in front of every nativity scene should “awaken in us the nostalgia for silence and prayer, in our often so-hectic daily life.” Silence, the pope continued, is the ability to “listen to what Jesus tells us from that singular “chair,” which is the manger." Pope Francis pointed to Mary as the model of this kind prayerful posture before the nativity scene. “She says nothing, but she contemplates and adores,” he said. The Pope also commented on this year’s Vatican Christmas tree. The fir tree has been decorated with edelweiss flowers grown in a nursery, as opposed to wild edelweiss flowers, which are legally protected in Italy. “This too is a choice that makes us reflect, highlighting the importance of caring for our common home,” Pope Francis said. “Small gestures are essential in ecological conversion, gestures of respect and gratitude for God’s gifts.” The community from Macra, located in the Alps in the far northwest of Italy, provided this year’s Christmas tree. The nativity scene was donated by the Diocese of Rieti, which is located just north

A firefighter scales a long ladder to the top of a nearly 40-foot-high column to pay tribute at dawn to the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of flowers on Dec. 8, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA Rome Newsroom, Dec 8, 2023 / 13:30 pm (CNA). On the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis venerated a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary located atop a tall column near Rome’s Spanish Steps.Pope Francis stands below the nearly 40-foot tall column dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna on Dec. 8, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media“Immaculate Virgin! We come to you with our hearts divided between hope and anguish. We need you, Our Mother,” Pope Francis prayed standing below the statue in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna on Dec. 8. “But first of all, we want to thank you because in silence, as is your style, you watch over this city, which today wraps you in flowers to tell you its love. In silence, day and night, you watch over us: on families, with joys and worries … in places of study and work; on public institutions and offices; on hospitals and nursing homes; on prisons; on those who live on the streets; on the parishes and all communities of the Church of Rome. Thank you for your discreet and constant presence, which gives us comfort and hope.”Pope Francis greets the crowd gathered in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna to celebrate the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media“You know, we need you, Mother, because you are the Immaculate Conception. … The very fact that you exist reminds us that evil has neither the first nor the last word,” Pope Francis said.The pope also offered prayers for the Ukrainian people, the Palestinian people, the Israeli people, and “all peoples tried by war.”“Today, Holy Mother, we bring here, under your gaze, many mothers who, as happened to you, are grieving,” he prayed. “Mothers who mourn their children killed by war and terrorism.”A firefighter places a wreath of flowers on the statue of the Virgin Mary’s outstretched arm. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNAThe statue of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza di Spagna sits atop a nearly 40-foot-high column. The statue was dedicated on Dec. 8, 1857, three years after Pope Pius IX promulgated a decree defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.Since 1953, it has been customary for popes to venerate the statue for the feast day. Pope Pius XII was the first to do so, walking nearly two miles on foot from the Vatican.A firefighter scales a long ladder to the top of a nearly 40-foot-high column to pay tribute at dawn to the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of flowers on Dec. 8, 2023. Credit: Daniel Ibaniez/CNAThe city of Rome’s celebration of the Marian feast day began at dawn as a firefighter scaled a long ladder to put a fresh wreath of flowers around Mary’s outstretched arms. Locals also laid flowers at

The House of Mary community poses for a photo on Dec. 8, 1994, in St. Peter's Square, the first time they brought their blue banner with the words "The Immaculate Conception will Triumph" to the Angelus with Pope John Paul II. The group has continued to bring the banner to every Sunday Angelus for 29 years. / Credit: Comunita Casa di Maria Vatican City, Dec 8, 2023 / 15:30 pm (CNA). “The Immaculate Conception will triumph”: These are the words displayed, in Italian, on a blue banner held every week in St. Peter’s Square during the Angelus — a prayer honoring Mary — for 29 years.The banner’s declaration recalls the Marian spirituality of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who had a special devotion to the Immaculate Conception.Father Giacomo Martinelli, founder of the House of Mary community, waves at Pope Francis during a recent Angelus in St. Peter's Square. Credit: Comunita Casa di Maria.Since the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, 1994, members of the Casa di Maria (“House of Mary”) community have held the sign “L’Immacolata Vincerà” at the pope’s Angelus on Sundays and Marian feast days.“Every time we hold the banner in the square we affirm that life is a struggle and the Christian’s joy is a victory … the joy not of those who pretend that all is well but the exultation of those who believe that evil does not have the last word because God is greater,” Father Michele Reschini told CNA via email.The priest, who oversees the community’s youth formation, said the House of Mary is inspired to be present at the Angelus every Sunday as a sign of its filial affection for the pope and support for his magisterium and apostolate. “Moreover, this banner is meant to be a small sign of a great hope,” he explained. “In such an ecclesial place and moment as the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square we want to express that Our Lady is present in the heart of the Church.”There are frequently tens of thousands of people in attendance at the Sunday Angelus with Pope Francis.The custom of popes publicly praying the Angelus at midday on Sundays goes back to 1954, when Pope Pius XII was convinced to do so by his friend, Italian Catholic doctor and lay leader Luigi Gedda.The House of Mary community, founded in 1990, was supported in its early days by Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur, a Polish cardinal working in the Vatican and a friend of St. John Paul II from his seminary days.Members of the Casa di Maria ("House of Mary") community hold a banner that says in Italian, "The Immaculate Conception will Triumph," during Pope Francis' Angelus in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2023. Vatican MediaOriginally a Marian prayer group, the community is made up of priests, consecrated women, families, and young adults.Deskur had written about St. Maximilian Kolbe and his Marian spirituality in a meditation for a novena to the Immaculate Conception in 1987.“The Mariology of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe could be summarized

Pope Francis waves from the window of the Apostolic Palace as he gives his Angelus address for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 8, 2023 / 07:45 am (CNA). Pope Francis announced Friday that the Catholic Church will celebrate its first World Day of Children in May 2024.Speaking in his Angelus address on Dec. 8 to mark the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the pope shared that the Church’s first children’s day will be celebrated in Rome on the weekend of May 25-26.“And now I have the joy of announcing that on May 25 and 26 next year, we will celebrate the first World Day of Children in Rome,” Pope Francis said from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square.“Like Jesus, we want to put children at the center and care for them,” he added.Pope Francis gives his Angelus reflection from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Dec. 8, 2023. Credit: Vatican MediaThe pope explained that the day, organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, will seek to answer the question “What kind of world do we wish to pass on to the children who are growing up?”According to Vatican News, the event was inspired by a 9-year-old boy named Alessandro, who proposed the idea to the pope to have an international event like World Youth Day (an international gathering for young people ages 16 to 35) for younger children.The Vatican is expecting thousands of girls and boys from all over the world to travel to Rome for the event with the pope.Last November, the Vatican hosted an event with 7,500 children from five continents in the Paul VI Hall as a prelude to next year’s World Day of Children.Pope Francis previously established the Catholic Church’s annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in 2021.People gather in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with the pope on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, 2023. Credit: Vatican MediaThe pope announced the creation of a children’s day after praying the Angelus prayer with the crowd gathered near the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square to mark the day’s Marian feast. Pope Francis reflected on the young Virgin Mary’s “daily fidelity in simple things.” “Prior to the Annunciation, the Gospel says nothing about Mary. She is presented as a simple girl, apparently equal to so many others who were living in her village. A young girl who, precisely because of her simplicity, kept pure that Immaculate Heart with which, by God’s grace, she had been conceived. And this too is important, for to welcome God’s great gifts, it is necessary to know how to treasure those that are more everyday and less apparent,” the pope said.“It is precisely with her daily fidelity in goodness that Our Lady allowed God’s gift to grow within her. This is how she trained herself to respond to the Lord,

Pope Francis at the general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 6, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Vatican City, Dec 7, 2023 / 10:45 am (CNA). Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisers heard testimonies from two female theology professors who spoke about the role of women in the Church.The Holy See press office said on Dec. 6 that the pope met with his council of advisers for a two-day meeting in Rome, which included discussions of abuse prevention, the Synod on Synodality assembly, and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Holy Land.“At the center of reflection in this meeting was the theme of women’s role in the Church,” the Vatican said.Sister Linda Pocher, FMA, and Lucia Vantini, a theology professor in Verona, addressed the council on the topic, along with Father Luca Castiglioni, a fundamental theology professor at the diocesan seminary of Milan. Pocher, a member of the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, is an adjunct professor of Christology and Mariology at the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences “Auxilium” in Rome.“The council agreed about the need to listen, even and especially in individual Christian communities, to the feminine aspect of the Church, so that the processes of reflection and decision-making can enjoy the irreplaceable contribution of women,” the Vatican communique said.The pope’s Council of Cardinals has been discussing the role of women in the Church since February 2022, when the cardinals heard and commented on a report by Pocher on the “Marian principle” in the Church.Last week, Pope Francis spoke of the “Marian principle,” which theologians often contrast with the “Petrine principle,” in comments to the International Theological Commission on Nov. 30.“Balthasar’s thought has brought me so much light,” Francis said. “The Petrine principle and the Marian principle. This can be debated, but the two principles are there. The Marian is more important than the Petrine because the Church is bride, the Church is woman, without being masculine.”The pope also expressed disappointment that there are only five women among the 28 members of the International Theological Commission, whom he appoints, adding that “women have a capacity for theological reflection that is different to that of us men.”“The Church is woman. And if we do not know what a woman is, what the theology of a woman is, we will never understand what the Church is,” he said.“One of the great sins we have had is to ‘masculinize’ the Church. And this is not solved by the ministerial path; that is something else.”The pope’s group of cardinal advisers — sometimes referred to as the C9 because of its nine members — was established by Pope Francis in 2013 to “assist him in the governance of the universal Church” as well as to revise the text of the 1988 apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus.Pope Francis added five new members to the council in March: Synod on Synodality organizer Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Canadian Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix, Brazilian Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha, Spanish Cardinal Juan José Omella Omella, and Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, the president of the Governorate of Vatican City

Pope Francis greets members of Italy's National Association of St. Paul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 7, 2023 / 11:16 am (CNA). Pope Francis had seven meetings Thursday morning where he read out three speeches unassisted for the first time in nearly two weeks.The pope, who has been recovering from a bout of bronchitis, said that he was feeling “much better” on Wednesday but opted to have an aide read his general audience catechesis, explaining to the crowd that he still had difficulties if he “talks too much.”The following day, the pope seemed to show improvement in this respect as well by reading out his speeches during his meetings on Dec. 7 with members of the Focolare Movement, Italy’s National Association of St. Paul, and new ambassadors to the Holy See. Pope Francis could be seen reading the speeches in videos released by Vatican Media, one day after the Italian news aggregator site “Il Sismografo” published a commentary saying the pope’s “health condition does not look good,” citing the pope’s decision not to read his speeches aloud.Since Nov. 26, the pope has only offered brief off-the-cuff remarks during many of his audiences, while his longer prepared speeches were either read by an aide or distributed to his guests, as Pope Francis recovered from what he has described as “very acute infectious bronchitis.”Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, also read Francis’ keynote speech to the U.N.’s COP28 climate conference on Dec. 2 after the pope’s trip to the climate summit in Dubai was canceled at the request of his doctors.In addition to his three speeches on Thursday, Pope Francis had private meetings with the former archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit; Archbishop Yagop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Syria; Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawłowski, the apostolic nuncio to Greece; and Archbishop Nareg Alemezian of the Armenian Apostolic Church.Pope Francis at his audience with Italy's National Association of St. Paul on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Credit: Vatican MediaPope Francis, who turns 87 this month, is scheduled to preside over a ceremony on Dec. 8 honoring the Virgin Mary in the piazza below Rome’s Spanish Steps and deliver a special Friday Angelus address to mark the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The Vatican has not disclosed whether any special accommodations, including having an aide read his speeches, could be made for the pope during his busy schedule on the Marian feast day.

St. Nicholas, by Jaroslav Čermák (1831-1878). / Credit: Galerie Art Praha via Wikimedia (Public Domain) Vatican City, Dec 6, 2023 / 04:00 am (CNA). St. Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on Dec. 6, is well known as possibly the real-life inspiration for the beloved Christmas character of Santa Claus.Not a lot is known about the historical Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra, a Greek city in modern-day Turkey, during the fourth century A.D.But there are many stories and legends that explain his reputation as a just and upright man, charitable gift-giver, and miracle worker.Here are five things to know and share about St. Nicholas:1. The legend behind why St. Nicholas is the patron saint of childrenMany people know that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, but they may not know why he has that title.There is a grisly legend that says that during a famine in Myra, three young boys were lured into a butcher’s shop, where they were killed and then brined in a wooden barrel with the intention of being sold as “ham.” The good bishop worked a miracle, bringing the pickled children back to life and saving them from a gruesome fate.Painting by Gentile da Fabriano, who lived in Italy from c. 1370 to 1427. Public Domain.This story became the subject of many portrayals of Nicholas in art, especially during the Middle Ages. Some people believe depictions of Bishop Nicholas with the three boys led to his reputation as a protector of children.The legend of the brining may explain how he also became, oddly, the patron saint of brewers and coopers (people who make wooden casks, barrels, vats, troughs, and similar containers from timber).2. One of the foremost saints in the Russian Orthodox ChurchSt. Nicholas is a unifying figure among Catholics and Orthodox Christians since both groups venerate him.But he is incredibly important in the Russian Orthodox Church, where he is known as St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the many miracles attributed to him both during and after his life.To the Orthodox, Nicholas is principally honored for his qualities as a holy bishop and good shepherd of his people. Also, in their weekly liturgical cycle, which dedicates different days of the week to Jesus Christ and other saints, only three are specifically named: Mary, the Mother of God; John the Forerunner (known to Catholics as John the Baptist); and St. Nicholas.Nicholas did not leave behind any theological writings, but when he was made a bishop, he is credited with saying that “this dignity and this office demand different usage, in order that one should live no longer for oneself but for others.”3. Jolly ol’ St. Nicholas?Because of his popularity among Orthodox Christians, St. Nicholas is a favorite subject in iconography. But don’t be surprised if, among the hundreds of icons depicting him, you don’t see any merry dimples or a “round little belly.” He does have a white beard, though. An icon of St. Nicholas painted in 1294 for a Russian Orthodox church on

Pope Francis at his general audience on Nov. 22, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA CNA Staff, Dec 4, 2023 / 14:02 pm (CNA). Pope Francis has added his signature to an “interfaith statement” meant to call attention to what the Holy Father and other advocates say is the ongoing crisis of climate change threatening much of the world. The Holy Father signed the Abu Dhabi Interfaith Statement for COP28 on Dec. 3 as part of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. The pope was meant to be present at the event but a respiratory illness forced him to remain in Rome rather than travel to the United Arab Emirates.The annual summit, known as the “Conference of the Parties” (COP), is an opportunity for world leaders, representing state and nonstate actors, to meet and discuss policy goals that seek to establish common goals for climate change mitigation. This year’s event marked the inauguration of the first-ever COP Faith Pavilion, a coalition of faith partners and others “dedicated to the engagement of faith communities” on the topic of environmentalism, according to the event’s website.The interfaith statement signed by Pope Francis and other religious leaders expresses a “shared concern for the escalating climate impacts that imperil our cherished planet as well as our common commitment to jointly address this global crisis.” “Our faith instills in us a sacred duty to cherish not only our human family but also the fragile ecosystem that cradles us,” the document said. The document urges “all decision-makers assembled at COP28 to seize this decisive moment and to act with urgency” to address climate change.It argues that the world “demands transformative action” to keep average global temperatures from warming 1.5-degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by the year 2100. The document also calls for “fast-tracking energy transitions,” a “rapid, just transition away from fossil fuels,” the promotion of “sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems,” and the establishment of “accountability mechanisms” for global climate goals. “The urgency of the hour demands that we act swiftly, collaboratively, and resolutely to heal our wounded world and preserve the splendor of our common home,” the document said.On Sunday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin delivered greetings from Pope Francis at the inauguration of the faith pavilion. In the message read by Parolin, the Holy Father urged attendees of the event to “see ourselves, beyond our differences, as brothers and sisters in the one human family, and, as believers, to remind ourselves and the world that, as sojourners on this earth, we have a duty to protect our common home.”“Religions, as voices of conscience for humanity, remind us that we are finite creatures, possessed of a need for the infinite,” the pope said. “For we are indeed mortal, we have our limits, and protecting life also entails opposing the rapacious illusion of omnipotence that is devastating our planet,” he continued. In a separate video message, the pope himself said in brief remarks that the faith effort “testifies to the willingness to work together.” “At the present time the world needs alliances

Papal aide Monsignor Paolo Braida reads Pope Francis' prepared remarks for the Sunday Angelus on Dec. 3, 2023, from the chapel at the papal residence at Casa Santa Marta. / Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 3, 2023 / 08:32 am (CNA). Pope Francis for the second consecutive Sunday was assisted by an aide in praying the Angelus as he continues to recover from an acute bronchial infection. “Even today I won’t be able to read everything: I’m improving, but my voice still doesn’t work,” the pope said during the Sunday morning broadcast on the first Sunday of Advent. Instead “it will be Monsignor [Paolo] Braida who reads the catechesis,” Francis continued. Braida, who serves as the head of office at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, once again read the pope’s remarks from the chapel at the papal residence at Casa Santa Marta. Last week the pope introduced him, saying he is the person who usually drafts the pope’s Angelus reflections.Pope Francis normally prays the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square. On Saturday afternoon the Holy See Press Office reported that “the health conditions of the Holy Father are improving; the pope has no fever and is continuing with the appropriate therapy. To avoid exposure to sudden changes in temperature, tomorrow morning Pope Francis will recite the Angelus via connection from Casa Santa Marta.”Braida opened the first Angelus of the new liturgical year by reading the pope’s remarks on the theme of “vigilance,” noting that in the Christian context being vigilant does not arise out of “fear” but instead stems from a sense “of longing, of waiting to go forth to meet their Lord who is coming.” Reflecting on the parable of the master who goes from his house, leaving his servants in charge, the pope in his remarks noted that “they remain in readiness for his return because they care for him, because they have in mind that when he returns, they will make him find a welcoming and orderly home; they are happy to see him, to the point that they look forward to his return as a feast for the whole great family of which they are a part.” The same sense of longing that defines the season of Advent prepares us “to welcome Jesus at Christmas.”The idea of preparedness is, Braida read, ultimately one characterized by hope as seen in the “attitude of the sentinel, who in the night is not tempted by weariness, does not fall asleep but remains awake awaiting the coming light. The Lord is our light and it is good to dispose the heart to welcome him with prayer and to host him with charity, the two preparations that, so to speak, make him comfortable.”To that end, Advent is not only a time of preparation but also of interior reflection where we can ask ourselves “how we can prepare a welcoming heart for the Lord.”“We can do so by approaching his forgiveness, his word, his table, finding space for prayer, welcoming those in