McGrath Institute Blog

Some of the most splendid preaching in the Catholic tradition has occurred during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Here we provided excerpts from the seasonal sermons of three exceptional preachers and Christian witnesses: St. John Newman, Fr. Alfred Delp, and St. Oscar Romero.

These sermons were the subject of the Church Life Today episode entitled “The Three Wisemen.”

The weather fit the day. Banks of low, grey, rippled clouds that foretold the rain and chill to come. Bare branches, their bark exposed, and the dry, brittle leaves that had once shown bright now crunching underfoot. Late November in New England and the feast of Christ the King, 2020.

Take a moment to visualize the Nativity scene that was in your home as a child. Try to see it through your childhood eyes once again. What do you see? Do you remember that sense of wonder as you look at that familiar figurine of baby Jesus in the manger?

The Catholic faith has many traditions that are beautiful and deep, full of teaching and evangelization. I was lucky enough to be born and raised in Mexico, and there I learned about my faith through such traditions. For example, Las Posadas is a celebration that has lots to teach us about the Catholic faith. The celebrations last nine days, starting on December 16 and running until Christmas Eve—this way a novena is prayed. During these nine days, there is a procession from the town’s parish to a street where a manger is set up. A leader from each street organizes all the people that live on that street, and everyone works together to set up the manger, cook the food, decorate the street, make the piñatas, and buy candy for all the kids in town. The leader also chooses a boy and a girl to dress as Joseph and Mary, and another boy or girl to be an angel. Mary rides on a donkey led by Joseph from the parish to the manger, followed by all the town kids dressed as shepherds. The parish priest leads the Rosary, songs, and rituals, with the whole town following. Las Posadas serves as spiritual exercises in preparation for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The procession is then followed by celebration, as the kids break piñatas, sing songs, and play games.  

I was recently invited to be a guest on Church Life Today, the McGrath Institute’s radio program and podcast, where I chatted with my colleague and show host Lenny DeLorenzo about Advent music and Christmas movies. Here is my personal list (emphasis on personal!) of 25 films that I watch nearly every holiday season. For the most part, I’ve ranked them in an order that contains a sort of ‘progressive solemnity’—moving from vaguely holiday-adjacent movies toward those that delve deeply into ‘the meaning of Christmas.’