Though he was not physically present for his New Year’s Eve liturgy due to what the Vatican has described as a “painful sciatica,” Pope Francis offered a message of hope for those searching for meaning at the end of a trying year marked by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

In a prepared text read aloud by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, the pope said, “It might seem forced, almost jarring, to thank God at the end of a year like this, marked by the pandemic.”

We are all capable of the best and of the worst. On Palm Sunday, the majority of those in Jerusalem celebrated Jesus’ entrance. Three days later, many who acclaimed Him on His arrival, shout and cried out for His crucifixion.

Press reports have indicated that six months after the massive explosion that rocked Beirut, the Catholic Lebanese found numerous impediments in the way to prepare for Christmas amid the wreckage that overwhelmed every walk of life. This was represented in the acute difficulty pertaining to preparing for a Christmas scene amid the devastation that damaged Beirut. The scenario has changed drastically and life became more unpredictable.

Since the start of life on Earth God created Adam and then created Eve. In this way, God defined marriage as incorporating "a man and a woman" or rather "a husband and a wife".

This has been the norm of life until today, which enabled humans to multiply and consequently to develop Earth by doing whatever possible to ensure betterment of life on this planet.

The first known nativity scene figurines are on display this Christmas in one of Rome’s oldest basilicas.

The underground Chapel of the Nativity in the Basilica of St. Mary Major -- known to Italians as Santa Maria Maggiore -- once contained at least six marble nativity statues sculpted by Arnolfo di Cambio in the late 13th century.

Advent is also the time to remember how our Blessed Mother brought the Light of the World to us, as recounted from Genesis through the Epistles.

When nature is at its darkest in our part of the world at the winter solstice, we anticipate the coming of light, when the light of the sun will begin to shorten the night. This became symbolic of the coming of Christ who declared himself to be the “Light of the World” (John 6:12). This is the focus of Advent in many forms of Christian worship.

With mass unemployment still high as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, Catholics can look to St. Joseph as a special intercessor, two priests said.

Citing the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt, devotional writer Fr. Donald Calloway said St. Joseph is “very empathetic” towards those suffering unemployment.

“He himself at some point would have been unemployed in the Flight to Egypt,” the priest told CNA. “They had to pack up everything and go to a foreign country with nothing. They didn’t plan on that.”

This Sunday marks the beginning of the end of the Advent season. For the past few weeks, the Church has called on believers to prepare their hearts to meet the Lord Jesus. And while there are still a few days left, it’s time for us to recall the mystery and the glory of the Lord’s Nativity.

It is time to glaringly admit the initiation of a new phase for the Christian Iraqis marked by a promising and a bright future. It is also the time to mark the blowing of the "positive" winds of change in Iraq and the entire Middle East.

On December 16, 2020, the Iraqi parliament approved the bill which sanctions the birth of Lord Jesus Christ as a "holiday for everyone" with "annual frequency".

“Am I not here,” said Our Lady of Guadalupe, “I who have the honor to be your mother? Are you not in my shadow and under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?”

 Praised be Jesus Christ!