Christmas is fast approaching and our hearts are once again filled with joy. Here, in Bethlehem, the angels proclaim to the shepherds with jubilation in the Holy Night: “For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-12)

It is passage the meeting of two expectant mothers who experience pregnancy both through their physical journey as well as through their hopes and expectations. They overcome the obstacles standing between them and all they hoped for. Hope is anchored in their most concrete, physical reality.

Two women meet in today's gospel. Both of them are pregnant.

Mary, only about 14 years old and carrying Jesus. She didn't expect to be pregnant just now. She's not yet married and hasn't been with Joseph in that way.

And Elizabeth, maybe late 40s, early 50's. She had given up any hope of having a child. Now she is carrying John the Baptist. The two women embrace and hug and as they do so, Bump meets Bump.

Following is the Vatican-provided text of Pope Francis’ Message for the 52nd World Day of Peace, which is celebrated on January 1st, on the theme: ‘Good politics at the service of peace:’

Good politics at the service of peace

1. “Peace be to this house!”

In sending his disciples forth on mission, Jesus told them: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you” (Lk 10:5-6).

Advent provides some time for reflection. In particular, it might be helpful for us to reflect on what the significance of the Christ event in Bethlehem was all about. What role did it play in human history? Why is it so vital to the West?

When God speaks, we need a mediator to translate his word. For John, the desert is the place of vocation and the Jordan is the site of his sermon.

On the dawning of a new era, his is “the voice shouting in the wilderness.” He calls out for conversion, for a return to God. He announces a possible future and God’s intervention in the history of mankind. God’s desire is for the re-establishment of justice; justice is God’s will, and he listens to the poor among us.

Baby Jesus “reminds us that half of the refugees in the world today are children, blameless victims of human injustice”: to the performers and organizers of the Christmas concert that will take place tomorrow in the Vatican, the Pope addressed a speech focused on migrants, stressing that “to leave everything - home, relatives, country - and face the unknown, one must have suffered a very difficult situation,” and hoped that these people will not be received with “indifference or, worse, intolerance,” hoping that the gates of the refugee camps will “open allowing young migrants to enter new

“Insincerity was an evil which sprang up within the Church from the first,” wrote Blessed John Henry Newman in 1839. “Ananias and Simon were not open opposers of the Apostles, but false brethren.”

Any of us, he said, can affect a certain kind of religiosity without sincerity; any of us can be tempted to put on the trappings of faith without the interior disposition. Any of us can be tempted to give the appearance of love when, in truth, we do not love.

Applause from Middle Eastern and American bishops for the head of the White House, after he signed the law that commits the U.S. government to support the minority victims of the jihadists in Iraq and Syria, and hunt down the perpetrators of crimes.

While many people know the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance in Mexico to Juan Diego on Dec. 12, 1531, not everyone knows the significance that roses played in the miraculous event.

Our family visited the shrine in 2006 and my husband Mark brought home a life-sized replica of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image. It hangs in our living room and he uses it during presentations that he frequently gives about this amazing story. Although there is much to love about the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the part about the roses is one of my favorites.

Bishop’s Prayer