I don’t imagine sheep making funny faces while being too shy to “baa” on that very first Christmas, but it’s the imperfections in our retelling of the very human story of Christ’s birth that make our play so perfect.

The Christmas fair in Madrid was the work of Fundación Contemplare, a nonprofit set up to help Spain’s monasteries continue a legacy of gourmet baked goods and handmade candies but also, more importantly, to support contemplative life and reconnect monasteries with the world around them.

The president devoted more than 20 minutes of his press conference to an attack on Centro Prodh and its activism for human rights in Mexico. He charged, without offering any evidence, that Centro Prodh’s work is influenced by political actors from opposition parties.

Released in 2003, “Tokyo Godfathers” is definitely the most unconventional Christmas movie I’m covering this month.

A Reflection for Friday of the Third Week of Advent, by Colleen Dulle

Global reaction among bishops to the Vatican’s declaration that priests may now bless same-sex couples appears most divergent in some European and African nations.

When it comes to the medical, legal and moral issues around abortion in high-risk pregnancies, it seems it will be necessary to face the gray.

Why must we be reminded of Caesar Augustus while we are not able to forget Jesus? 

George Clooney‘s newest directorial work, “The Boys in the Boat,” may not be an overtly Christmas movie, but its themes of hope, togetherness and love fit right in with its Dec. 25 release date.

This year in Bethlehem, we are waiting for a hope that I am not sure I would even be able to believe in anymore, except that it does not entirely depend on us.

In his annual Christmas address to cardinals and bishops who work at the Vatican, Pope Francis said the real division in the church since Vatican II is “between lovers and those who have lost that initial passion.”

A Reflection for Thursday of the Third Week of Advent, by Ashley McKinless

This week on Inside the Vatican, veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle explain the financial scandal that led to the trial, the dramatic revelations that emerged throughout it, and what happens next—both to Cardinal Becciu and with Pope Francis’ financial and judicial reforms.

This week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed three bills into law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in the state, funding more border security initiatives and making illegal border crossings a state crime.

The notion that the flow of migrants will be stemmed by closing asylum “loopholes” is grotesque. Sometimes it’s hard to believe anyone in Congress sees migrants as human beings.

A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, by Father Terrance Klein

There’s another life in Gaza than this horror. There are civilians with hopes and dreams. There are people who believe in peace and who just want to live peacefully.

A Reflection for Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent, by Tanya Rybarczyk

Pope Francis tells us that the nativity is like a living Gospel, enabling us to experience the "great joy" that comes from the mystery of Christ.