December 11, 2023

Catholic News

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Pope Francis highlighted the importance of listening to God by embracing the example of John the Baptist, “the voice of one crying in the desert,” during his Angelus message on the second Sunday of Advent. Noting that the image of the barren desert as a place of preaching may “seem like two contradictory images,” they are in fact reconciled through the figure of John the Baptist as his voice “is linked to the genuineness of his experience and the clarity of his heart.” The pope also noted that the desert is a “place of silence and essentials, where someone cannot afford to dwell on useless things but needs to concentrate on what is indispensable in order to live.” Following the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father commemorated the anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. The pope also took a moment to draw attention to a recent prisoner exchange between the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256237/pope-angelus-through-silence-and-prayer-we-make-space-for-jesus The Vatican unveiled its annual Nativity scene on December 9, paying special tribute to the origins of the beloved tradition on its 800th anniversary. The scene in Saint Peter’s Square depicts not only Mary and Joseph standing beside the manger but also Saint Francis of Assisi, who organized the first Nativity scene in a cave in the Italian village of Greccio on Christmas Eve in 1223. 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 Saint 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. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256236/vatican-unveils-nativity-scene-honoring-st-francis-of-assisi-and-devotion-s-800-year-old-origin Today, the Church celebrates Pope Saint Damasus. Throughout his papacy, Damasus spoke out against major heresies in the church and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for Saint Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-damasus-pope-81