The magi who seem to have been Persian priests and or Babylonian astronomers came to Israel in search of the ldquo King of the Jews rdquo the Gentile translation for ldquo messiah rdquo or ldquo anointed one rdquo In ancient Israel priests prophets and kings were anointed In some Jewish

In recent years there has been a lively controversy about ldquo de-Christianizing rdquo Christmas We all now speak vaguely about ldquo the holidays rdquo In some circles the greeting ldquo Merry Christmas rdquo has become forbidden speech Whether one regards this debate as serious or silly

Names are important All of us like to be called by our names It indicates recognition and even friendship We are annoyed when someone gets our name wrong We are embarrassed when we do not know or forget the name of someone we should know When others make fun of our name or deliberately misprono

quot But you promised rdquo Most parents have heard this lament from their children more than once A promise is a declaration that something will or will not happen A promise indicates what may be expected A promise demands and elicits trust The Scripture texts for the Fourth Sunday of Adven

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday from the Latin verb for ldquo rejoice rdquo The opening line in Paul rsquo s list of imperatives at the end of 1 Thessalonians captures the spirit of the day ldquo Rejoice always rdquo Besides the theme of joy running throug

Many people even some with extensive Catholic education confuse the immaculate conception of Mary and the virginal conception of Jesus According to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception Mary was conceived without original sin and so was prepared to be the mother of Jesus In this respect Mar