Walking with Mary These Final Advent Days

Posted by Lesley Kirzeder on Dec 18, 2019 7:14:00 AM

Advent and Christmas have always held a particular meaning to me depending on the season and space of my life; the way I’ve internalized their meaning changes depending on who and where I am at the time. I’ve been a mother for 13 Christmases now. For the majority of that time, Advent and Christmas have been about making the season magical for my kids in that sparkly, sugar-dusted-self-defeating sort of way. Where puffs of flour appear in the air each time someone opens our door and our calendar is color coded and overloaded. Of course, all this magic-making inevitably stresses me out beyond the point of no return, negating the very magic I try to create.  Sure, it’s also been about helping my children come to learn about the salvific birth of our Lord, who came to save the world, teach us to love, and lead us to heaven, and I think (largely thanks to their amazing teachers) they get that. But all of this magic-making has, slowly but surely over the last 13 years, replaced my own grasp of what this season is supposed to be for me. 

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Topics: liturgical music, Mary, motherhood, Advent, Christmas, Christmas carols

Songs for the Advent Season

Posted by Carolyn Pirtle on Dec 6, 2019 6:58:00 AM

On the feast of St. Nicholas, it’s customary among Christians to give gifts to loved ones, in anticipation of the greater gift-giving to come at Christmas, and to honor the Myran bishop and his unfailing generosity to those in need.

As our gift this year, I’d like to share a playlist I curated several Advents ago, featuring music to mark this beautiful season. 

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Topics: devotional music, liturgical music, music, Advent

Singing to the Queen

Posted by Timothy O'Malley on Aug 22, 2019 10:09:16 AM

Our newborn son cried out with terror in the hospital. In order to run a test, they needed to obtain a vial of blood. They couldn’t find a vein. So, they continued to poke him here and there and, at least to his limited experience of the world, everywhere.

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Topics: liturgical music, Queenship of Mary, Mary, liturgical year

Living and Handing on the Faith

The McGrath Institute Blog helps Catholics live and hand on their faith in Jesus Christ, especially in the family, home and parish, and cultivates and inspires everyday leaders to live out the fullness and richness of their faith in the simple, little ways that make up Church life.

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