Our Lady of Guadalupe. / Sacred Heart Cathedral Knoxville via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).
CNA Newsroom, Dec 19, 2022 / 14:15 pm (CNA).
The Knights of Columbus released “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Woman of the Eucharist,” a short documentary, on Dec. 12, the feast of the Patroness of the Americas. The film’s release is part of the beginning of the nine years of preparation for the celebration of the fifth centenary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego, which took place Dec. 9–12, 1531, on Tepeyac Hill in what is now Mexico City.
In his homily for this year’s feast day, the Holy Father announced: “Today, Dec. 12, the Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena begins on the American continent, a path that prepares for the celebration of the Fifth Centennial of the Guadalupan Event in 2031.”
“I urge all members of the pilgrim Church in the Americas, pastors and faithful, to participate in this celebratory journey, but please do so with a true Guadalupan spirit,” Pope Francis encouraged.
In announcing the release of the documentary, the Knights of Columbus noted that Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas and “Star of the New Evangelization,” as well as patroness of the Knights of Columbus and unborn children.
In 1999, when Pope John Paul II established Dec. 12 as the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he exclaimed: “This is our cry: life with dignity for all! For all who have been conceived in the womb of their mothers, for street children, for Guadalupe!”
“This powerful and moving film shows how Catholics encounter Christ through prayer and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Patrick Kelly, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, said in a press release.
“Mary was completely focused on Our Lord with ever greater devotion. To imitate her and to be devoted to her as mother of Our Lord and our mother is a sure way to greater love of the eucharistic Lord, who gave up his life for the world. And the more we devote ourselves to the Eucharist, the more we will understand what it means to live a life of self-gift to one another and so strengthen the unity of the body of Christ.”
In May, Kelly demonstrated the Knights’ commitment to promoting eucharistic devotion when he announced that the order would provide $1 million to support the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress to be held in Indianapolis May 17–July 21, 2024.
In addition, the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council has developed multiple resources in coordination with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), including training materials for eucharistic processions. These will serve as a key component of the Knights’ support of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival organized by the USCCB and officially launched on June 19, the feast day of Corpus Christi.
Damien O’Connor, vice president of evangelization and faith formation for the Knights of Columbus, said in the same release: “The addition of ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe: Woman of the Eucharist’ … further supports and emphasizes the importance of the National Eucharistic Revival. We must be apostolic in how we live our faith, and nothing is more important than Christ being the center of our lives. This short film powerfully expresses Our Lady of Guadalupe’s desire to bring all of humanity to her Son, and through her intercession, she will show the way.”
Luis Guevara, the Knights’ executive director for Hispanic development, explained, “In consoling Juan Diego, Our Lady of Guadalupe told him, ‘Am I not here, I who have the honor and joy to be your mother?’”
“This is a timeless message,” Guevara added, “and Knights of Columbus, in imitation of St. Juan Diego, will work even harder over the next nine years as we move toward her 500th anniversary to bring her maternal message to all, especially those who suffer and are in need.”
The 12-minute film with English subtitles can be viewed here:
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Pope Francis prays during Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2023. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Dec 24, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered on Dec. 24, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“A census of the whole earth” (cf. Lk 2:1). This was the context in which Jesus was born, and the Gospel makes a point of it. The census might have been mentioned in passing, but instead is carefully noted. And in this way, a great contrast emerges. While the emperor numbers the world’s inhabitants, God enters it almost surreptitiously. While those who exercise power seek to take their place with the great ones of history, the King of history chooses the way of littleness. None of the powerful take notice of him: only a few shepherds, relegated to the margins of social life.
The census speaks of something else. In the Scriptures, the taking of a census has negative associations. King David, tempted by large numbers and an unhealthy sense of self-sufficiency, sinned gravely by ordering a census of the people. He wanted to know how powerful he was. After some nine months, he knew how many men could wield a sword (cf. 2 Sam 24:1-9). The Lord was angered and the people suffered. On this night, however, Jesus, the “Son of David”, after nine months in Mary’s womb, is born in Bethlehem, the city of David. He does not impose punishment for the census, but humbly allows himself to be registered as one among many. Here we see, not a god of wrath and chastisement, but the God of mercy, who takes flesh and enters the world in weakness, heralded by the announcement: “on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Lk 2:14). Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world (cf. Lk 2:7).
The census of the whole earth, in a word, manifests the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement. Yet the census also manifests the way of Jesus, who comes to seek us through enfleshment. He is not the god of accomplishment, but the God of Incarnation. He does not eliminate injustice from above by a show of power, but from below, by a show of love. He does not burst on the scene with limitless power, but descends to the narrow confines of our lives. He does not shun our frailties, but makes them his own.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Brothers and sisters, tonight we might ask ourselves: Which God do we believe in? In the God of incarnation or the god of achievement? Because there is always a risk that we can celebrate Christmas while thinking of God in pagan terms, as a powerful potentate in the sky; a god linked to power, worldly success, and the idolatry of consumerism. With the false image of a distant and petulant deity who treats the good well and the bad poorly; a deity made in our own image and likeness, handy for resolving our problems and removing our ills. God, on the other hand, waves no magic wand; he is no god of commerce who promises “everything all at once”. He does not save us by pushing a button, but draws near us, in order to change our world from within. Yet how deeply ingrained is the worldly notion of a distant, domineering, unbending, and powerful deity who helps his own to prevail against others! So many times this image is ingrained in us. But that is not the case: our God was born for all, during a census of the whole earth.
Let us look, then, to the “living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9). The God who is beyond all human reckoning and yet allows himself to be numbered by our accounting. The God, who revolutionizes history by becoming a part of history. The God who so respects us as to allow us to reject him; who takes away sin by taking it upon himself; who does not eliminate pain but transforms it; who does not remove problems from our lives but grants us a hope that is greater than all our problems. God so greatly desires to embrace our lives that, infinite though he is, he becomes finite for our sake. In his greatness, he chooses to become small; in his righteousness, he submits to our injustice. Brothers and sisters, this is the wonder of Christmas: not a mixture of sappy emotions and worldly contentment, but the unprecedented tenderness of a God who saves the world by becoming incarnate. Let us contemplate the Child, let us contemplate the manger, his crib, which the angels call “a sign” for us (cf. Lk 2:12). For it truly is the sign that reveals God’s face, a face of compassion and mercy, whose might is shown always and only in love. He makes himself close, tender, and compassionate. This is God’s way: closeness, compassion, tenderness.
Pope Francis brings a figure of the Christ child over to the nativity scene inside of St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of Mass. Vatican Media
Sisters and brothers, let us marvel at the fact that he “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). Flesh: the very word evokes our human frailty. The Gospel uses this word to show us that God completely assumed our human condition. Why did he go to such lengths? Because he cares for us, because he loves us to the point that he considers us more precious than all else. Dear brother, dear sister, to God, who changed history in the course of a census, you are not a number, but a face. Your name is written on his heart. But if you look to your own heart, and think of your own inadequacies and this world that is so judgmental and unforgiving, you may feel it difficult to celebrate this Christmas. You may think things are going badly, or feel dissatisfied with your limitations, your failings, your problems, and your sins. Today, though, please, let Jesus take the initiative. He says to you, “For your sake, I became flesh; for your sake, I became just like you”. So why remain caught up in your troubles? Like the shepherds, who left their flocks, leave behind the prison of your sorrows and embrace the tender love of the God who became a child. Put aside your masks and your armor; cast your cares on him and he will care for you (cf. Ps 55:22). He became flesh; he is looking not for your achievements but for your open and trusting heart. In him, you will rediscover who you truly are: a beloved son or daughter of God. Now you can believe it, for tonight the Lord was born to light up your life; his eyes are alight with love for you. We have difficulty believing in this, that God’s eyes shine with love for us.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Christ does not look at numbers, but at faces. However, who looks at him amid the many distractions and mad rush of a bustling and indifferent world? Who is watching? In Bethlehem, as crowds of people were caught up in the excitement of the census, coming and going, filling the inns, and engaged in petty conversation, a few were close to Jesus: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and then the Magi.
Let us learn from them. They stood gazing upon Jesus, with their hearts set on him. They did not speak, they worshiped. Tonight, brothers and sisters, is a time of adoration, of worship.
Worship is the way to embrace the Incarnation. For it is in silence that Jesus, the Word of the Father, becomes flesh in our lives. Let us do as they did, in Bethlehem, a town whose name means “House of Bread”. Let us stand before him who is the Bread of Life. Let us rediscover worship, for to worship is not to waste time, but to make our time a dwelling place for God. It is to let the seed of the Incarnation bloom within us; it is to cooperate in the work of the Lord, who, like leaven, changes the world. To worship is to intercede, to make reparation, to allow God to realign history. As a great teller of epic tales once wrote to his son, “I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth” (J.R.R. TOLKIEN, Letter 43, March 1941).
Brothers and sisters, tonight love changes history. Make us believe, Lord, in the power of your love, so different from the power of the world. Lord, make us, like Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi, gather around you and worship you. As you conform us ever more to yourself, we shall bear witness before the world to the beauty of your countenance.
ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 27, 2023 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Father Kirill Gorbunov, who is also vicar general of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mot… […]
Pope Francis celebrates Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 24, 2018. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 14, 2021 / 15:35 pm (CNA).
The Vatican has published Pope Francis’ Christmas schedule for this year, which includes five special liturgies and prayers between Christmas Eve and the Solemnity of the Epiphany.
During the Christmas Octave, the pope is also scheduled to give an Angelus address on St. Stephen’s Day on Dec. 26 and hold a Wednesday General Audience on Dec. 29.
Papal Christmas Mass – Dec. 24
Pope Francis celebrates Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, Dec. 25, 2019. . Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Pope Francis will offer Mass for the Nativity of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24. This “Midnight Mass” will begin at 7:30 p.m. Rome time (1:30 p.m. EST) with the traditional Kalenda Proclamation of the Birth of Christ and will be broadcast live on EWTN.
Christmas Day Blessing – Dec. 25
Pope Francis gives the Christmas “Urbi et Orbi” blessing Dec. 25, 2018. . Vatican Media.
On Christmas Day, Pope Francis will give a traditional papal blessing at noon called the “Urbi et Orbi,” which in Latin means, “To the City and the World.” Along with the blessing, the pope gives an address that highlights humanitarian crises, war-stricken countries, and other situations around the world in need of prayer.
The pope typically gives this blessing from the central loggia of the basilica overlooking St. Peter’s Square (the same balcony from which a new pope is introduced), but last year Pope Francis gave the blessing from inside the Apostolic Palace to avoid a large gathering of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vespers on New Year’s Eve – Dec. 31
Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 31, 2017. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Pope Francis will pray the First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God in St. Peter’s Basilica at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31. After vespers, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Eucharistic Adoration and the “Te Deum” will be sung in thanksgiving for the past year.
Solemnity of Mary Holy Mother of God – Jan. 1
Pope Francis celebrates Mass for Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Jan. 1, 2020. . Pablo Esparza/CNA.
The pope’s first liturgy of 2022 will be in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Francis will offer Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. On this day, Pope Francis will also mark the 55th World Day of Peace.
Mass for the Epiphany of the Lord – Jan. 6
Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 6, 2021. Credit: Vatican Media.
Pope Francis will offer Mass on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10 a.m. The Epiphany celebrates the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God. It focuses primarily on this revelation to the Three Wise Men.
Knights of Columbus are serving the last and the least with dedication and distinction. May their tribe increase.