Angelus News | December 15, 2023 | Vol. 8 No. 25

ANGELUS 

ROOM AT THE INN 

The quest to find a place 

for Jesus this Christmas 

December 15, 2023 Vol. 8 No. 25

B • ANGELUS • December 15, 2023

ANGELUS 

December 15, 2023 

Vol. 8 • No. 25 

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ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ 

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ON THE COVER 

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART 

“The Adoration of the Shepherds,” by 16th-century Dutch 

artist Marcellus Coffermans, depicts the joyous conclusion 

of a complicated mission: finding a place for Jesus to be 

born. On Page 10, Angelus contributor Theresa Cisneros 

takes a deep look at the often overlooked Mexican Christmas 

tradition of Las Posadas and how celebrating them 

invites us to make room for the Savior in our own lives. 

THIS PAGE 

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY 

Loyola Marymount University’s Sacred Heart 

Chapel was overlaid with a spiritual animated 

light show Dec. 3-5 to celebrate the 50th 

anniversary of the merger of Loyola University 

and Marymount College. The projection was 

created by the university’s Academy of Catholic 

Thought and Imagination. 

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Pope Watch.................................................................................................................................... 2 

Archbishop Gomez..................................................................................................................... 3 

World, Nation, and Local News.......................................................................................... 4-6 

In Other Words............................................................................................................................. 7 

Father Rolheiser............................................................................................................................ 8 

Scott Hahn................................................................................................................................... 32 

Events Calendar......................................................................................................................... 33 

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CONTENTS 

Photos: LA’s new auxiliary bishops get their individual welcomes 

John Allen: Does Pope Francis need an ‘American solution’ for Germany? 

How the ‘Gloria’ Christmas carol found its way into Mass year-round 

Charlie Camosy: The sinister reasoning behind the death of ‘Baby Indi’ 

Space, soccer, and the complications of ‘finding’ God where we are 

Sign up for our free, daily e-newsletter 

Always Forward - newsletter.angelusnews.com 

28 

30 

Why Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Napoleon’ betrays its own subject 

Heather King: A study guide to becoming a ‘priest’ like St. Thérèse 

December 15, 2023 • ANGELUS • 1

POPE WATCH 

Climate and a culture of life 

A 

case of severe bronchitis forced 

Pope Francis to cancel a trip to 

Dubai, where he was set to address 

world leaders on the need to combat 

climate change. 

Instead, Vatican Secretary of State 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin traveled to the 

World Climate Action Summit of the 

U.N. Climate Change Conference to 

read excerpts of the pope’s speech, which 

described the destruction of the environment 

as a “sin” that not only “greatly endangers 

all human beings, especially the 

most vulnerable,” but also “threatens to 

unleash a conflict between generations.” 

“Are we working for a culture of life 

or a culture of death?” Francis asked in 

his message, delivered Dec. 2. “To all of 

you I make this heartfelt appeal: Let us 

choose life! Let us choose the future!” 

The 86-year-old pope had planned to 

visit COP28 (the high-level segment of 

the conference with heads of state) Dec. 

1-3. But a week before, he fell ill with 

flu-like symptoms and had gone to the 

hospital for a CT scan of his chest. In 

the following days, he canceled some 

appointments and had aides read his 

prepared texts at other events. 

“The doctor would not let me go to 

Dubai,” he told health care managers at 

a Nov. 30 Vatican audience. “The reason 

is that it is very hot there, and you go 

from heat to air conditioning.” 

The Vatican press office later said that 

the pope was taking antibiotics for his 

bronchial infection and persisting “respiratory 

difficulty.” 

In his message to COP28, the pope also 

criticized the idea that the poor, and high 

birth rates, are to blame for the climate 

crisis. 

“Almost half of our world that is more 

needy is responsible for scarcely 10% of 

toxic emissions, while the gap between 

the opulent few and the masses of the 

poor has never been so abysmal. The 

poor are the real victims of what is 

happening.” 

As for population growth, births are 

a resource, he wrote, “whereas certain 

ideological and utilitarian models now 

being imposed with a velvet glove on 

families and peoples constitute real forms 

of colonization.” 

The pope also lamented the energy 

“wasted” by humanity on “numerous 

wars” and “how many resources are 

being squandered on weaponry that destroys 

lives and devastates our common 

home!” 

Calling for “a decisive acceleration of 

ecological transition” regarding energy 

efficiency, renewable sources, and education, 

Francis promised the “commitment 

and support of the Catholic Church” in 

those areas. 

The pope also sent a separate video 

message to faith leaders at the conference, 

saying that “the problem of climate 

change is also a religious problem: its 

roots lie in the creature’s presumption of 

self-sufficiency.” 

“That insatiable desire for power wells 

up whenever we consider ourselves lords 

of the world, whenever we live as though 

God did not exist and, as a result, end up 

prey to passing things,” he wrote. “Instead 

of mastering technology, we let technology 

master us. … We become mere 

commodities, desensitized, incapable of 

sorrow and compassion, self-absorbed 

and, turning our backs on morality and 

prudence, we destroy the very sources of 

life.” 

Reporting courtesy of Catholic News 

Service Rome correspondent Carol Glatz. 

Papal Prayer Intention for December: We pray that people 

living with disabilities may be at the center of attention in 

society, and that institutions may offer inclusive programs 

which value their active participation. 

2 • ANGELUS • December 15, 2023

NEW WORLD OF FAITH 

ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ 

Christmas and the joy of salvation 

We began Advent this year in 

a joyous way, with our 92nd 

annual procession and Mass 

in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe 

and St. Juan Diego. 

Thousands joined us for the mile-long 

walk from Our Lady of Solitude 

Church to East Los Angeles College 

Stadium. It was a glorious witness 

to the life of our local Church, with 

families young and old, Catholic school 

students, priests, religious, and my 

brother bishops and I, all coming to 

praise Jesus. 

This procession was started in 1931 

by the many Catholic refugees from 

Mexico who had fled the persecution 

of the Church and were welcomed 

here by my predecessor, Archbishop 

John Cantwell. 

It is a beautiful story of mercy and 

hospitality for us to remember at 

Christmas; for me, this story ties in with 

the Las Posadas (“The Inns”) tradition, 

in which Mexican families reenact the 

experience of Mary and Joseph on that 

first Christmas night, when they could 

find no room at the inn. 

I think of Jesus’ words: “Behold, I 

stand at the door and knock, if anyone 

hears my voice and opens the door, I 

will come in to him and eat with him, 

and he with me.” 

All these centuries later, Jesus is still 

standing and knocking at the door of 

every heart, still inviting each of us 

to welcome him, to join him at the 

table that he has prepared for us in his 

eternal kingdom. 

The Catechism tells us that Jesus is 

the One “who is” and the One “who 

comes.” 

We live our lives in this balance, in 

between the gift of his birth in Bethlehem 

and his promise to come again and 

gather us in his love at the end of time. 

Love came down from heaven on that 

first Christmas. 

In her Virgin womb, holy Mary bore 

the God who is Love. She bore the 

Love who created the stars and the 

heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 

She bore the Love who still moves the 

winds and the seas, and who sustains 

everything that lives and has breath. 

But why? Why did Love come down? 

The answer is in his name: “And you 

shall call his name Jesus,” the angel 

told Joseph, “for he will save his people 

from their sins.” 

Love came down to save us from our 

sins, and from the consequence of our 

sins, which is death. 

The joy of Christmas is the joy of 

salvation, that beautiful cry of the angel 

on Christmas night: “To you is born 

this day … a Savior!” 

“Salvation” is one of those religious 

terms that has become harder to 

understand as the society around us has 

grown more secular and materialistic. 

Not many people anymore seem to 

think they need to be “saved.” We are 

confident in our science and technology; 

we think we can manage any 

problem, that we have everything 

under control. 

And it is true: We have made great 

progress in our standards of living, we 

have created breakthroughs in medicines 

and treatments for disease. 

But our inventions can never free 

us from the snares of our sinfulness, 

can never save us from the many ways 

we turn away from God and hurt one 

another. 

And no matter how advanced our 

science may become, we will never 

discover the “cure” for death. 

For this we need a Savior. 

Jesus came down from heaven 

because he knows that we cannot save 

ourselves, that we could never find our 

way to heaven without him. 

St. Catherine of Siena said, “Everything 

comes from love, all is ordained 

for the salvation of humankind. God 

does nothing without this goal in mind.” 

This is the joyful mystery of Christmas. 

Jesus comes to reveal that we are 

loved by God with a love that begins 

in God’s own heart, a love that begins 

before the foundation of the world and 

will continue into all eternity. 

Love is the reason for the universe, 

and love is the reason for your life and 

mine. God has made each one of us to 

love and to be loved, to love as we have 

been loved by him. 

This is the promise of salvation that 

Jesus brings, the promise of a love that 

never ends. 

On Christmas, Love came down to save us from 

our sins, and from the consequence of our sins, 

which is death. 

In this season of salvation, this season 

of joy, let us open our hearts once again 

to experience our Savior’s love. 

And let us ask him to renew in us the 

desire to share his love and to make his 

salvation known to every person. 

Pray for me and I will pray for you. 

And let us ask holy Mary, the cause of 

our joy, to help us to live each day with 

the joy of salvation. 


WORLD 

■ Miss Universe crown 

belongs to God, winner 

says 

This year’s Miss Universe pageant 

winner put her Catholic faith on full 

display in accepting the award. 

“I am a Christian person, a Catholic 

person,” said Nicaragua’s Sheynnis 

Palacios, 23, in her victory speech. 

“To me, prayer is a way I feel more 

comfortable. When I say ‘Thanks, 

God,’ it’s because this crown is not 

mine. It is for him. It is for all the delegates 

that I share with and it is also 

for my country and my family.” 

This was the first Miss Universe 

competition to allow married women 

and mothers to compete, and marked 

the first time a Nicaraguan claimed 

the crown. 

Palacios’ comments come as Catholics 

face mounting persecution in her 

native Nicaragua, where President 

Daniel Ortega has exiled priests and 

religious, dissolved a Catholic seminary, 

and imprisoned Bishop Rolando 

Álvarez of Matagalpa for more than a 

year on suspicious charges. 

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios points her finger 

upward after being crowned Miss Universe during the 

72nd Miss Universe pageant in San Salvador, El Salvador, 

Nov. 18. | OSV NEWS/JOSÉ CABEZAS, REUTERS 

■ Catholic school stabbing leads to Dublin riots 

A stabbing attack 

in Dublin left three 

children and their 

teacher hospitalized 

and sparked 

riots over immigration 

in the Irish 

capital. 

The victims were 

stabbed Nov. 23 

while lining up in 

front of a Nativity 

scene connected to 

their Irish language 

Catholic school, 

Cólaiste Mhuire (St. 

Tributes placed at the scene of the stabbing attack outside St. Mary’s College in 

Dublin. | OSV NEWS/CLODAGH KILCOYNE, REUTERS 

Mary’s College). The attack sparked riots in Dublin, with rioters tying the attack 

to the country’s immigration policy. 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar challenged the anti-immigration narrative by confirming 

that, though the unnamed suspect was originally from Algeria, he was a 

naturalized Irish citizen of 20 years. 

“I really would ask people to try and avoid connecting crime with migration. 

It’s not right,” said Varadkar. 

As the city faced the most violent riots in decades, Dublin Archbishop Dermot 

Farrell prayed that those who’d been injured have “the strength to endure this 

awful attack, and grant each of us the grace to live our lives in holiness, free 

from all violence.” 

■ Myanmar military occupies cathedral 

The Burmese military is being criticized for bombing and occupying a cathedral 

in Loikaw, Myanmar, on Nov. 26. 

Christ the King Cathedral in Loikaw, Myanmar, was home to 80 refugees taking 

shelter when the military action took place. Though no one was killed, the 

pastoral center’s ceiling collapsed and the refugees were forced to flee to other 

local churches or the nearby wilderness. 

The refugees, which included 10 priests and 16 religious, came from the state 

of Kayah, which has been a major battleground during the country’s civil war 

that began in 2021. At press time, 50 soldiers were reportedly occupying the 

property, using it as a “shield,” according to Bishop Celso Ba Shwe. 

■ Russian drone debris damages 

Ukrainian Catholic mother church 

One of Ukraine’s most important churches was damaged Nov. 25 in the most 

extensive drone attack since Russia invaded the country February 2022. 

Ukrainian forces shot down 74 of 75 drones deployed by Russia in an attack on 

Kyiv, but one of them caused damage to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection 

of Christ, the mother church for Ukraine’s Greek Catholics. 

Debris from the downed drone tore hardware off the cathedral’s doors, shattered 

windows, and damaged the archbishop’s residence. Five people were 

injured but no one was killed in the drone attacks, which left the city under a 

raid alert for more than six hours. 


NATION 

■ Indiana: Catholic women’s college 

to admit transgender students 

An Indiana bishop called a Catholic women’s college’s decision to admit biological 

men identifying as women a departure “from fundamental Catholic teaching 

on the nature of woman.” 

St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, announced the policy change in an 

email to students and staff Nov. 21, noting it was not the first Catholic women’s 

college to adopt such a policy. School president Katie Conboy said the update 

“encompasses our commitment to operate as a Catholic women’s college.” 

But the college’s local bishop, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, 

lamented the policy in a Nov. 27 statement. 

“The desire of St. Mary’s College to show hospitality to people who identify as 

transgender is not the problem,” said Rhoades. “The problem is a Catholic woman’s 

college embracing a definition of woman that is not Catholic.” 

Father Jesús Mariscal. | CATHOLIC EXTENSION 

■ Washington priest 

delivers twins on the street 

“I’m sorry I’m late for our appointment. 

I was just helping a lady deliver 

twins.” 

Father Jesús Mariscal had a surprising 

excuse when he arrived late to 

marriage preparation last September 

with a couple at St. Paul Cathedral 

in Yakima, Washington, where he is 

parochial vicar. 

Mariscal’s story gained internet 

traction after Catholic Extension 

wrote Nov. 14 about how he helped a 

homeless woman give birth. 

When the woman went into labor 

outside the cathedral yelling for help, 

Mariscal assisted in the delivery of two 

twin boys, directed by a 911 operator 

over the speaker phone. The twins 

were born prematurely at 30 weeks, 

with the second born in caul and with 

the umbilical cord around its neck. 

The woman and the boys were admitted 

to the hospital afterward. 

“I was there holding a baby with 

my bloody hands, and the baby was 

all bloody as well, and I’m dressed 

in clerics. And I’m a priest in front 

of the shrine of Our Lady,” Mariscal 

told Catholic Extension. “And I was 

thinking, ‘What is God trying to tell 

me? What are you trying to tell me, 

God? What is this about?’ ” 

■ US sees historic levels of suicide deaths 

More Americans died by suicide in 2022 than in previous recorded history, 

according to data released by the CDC. 

In a report of provisional data from 2022, 49,449 deaths were attributed to 

suicide, with final numbers expected to be even higher. That places the U.S. 

suicide rate at 14.3 deaths per 100,000, a growth of 3% over 2021 numbers. Some 

researchers think that the rate of suicidal ideation may also be increasing. 

The CDC report continues a trend of increasing suicide rates over the past 50 

years, which some connect to the decrease in religious faith in the same period. 

“With the biblical narrative gone and the practice of Christian religion dramatically 

down, there are only ephemeral and worldly goals to seek,” Msgr. Charles 

Pope of Washington, D.C., told Catholic News Agency. “But since we have an 

infinite longing in our heart and the world is finite, it is a recipe for unhappiness, 

frustration, and depression.” 

Spirit in the stadium — Young people pray during the closing Mass of the National Catholic Youth Conference 

at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Nov. 18. The annual gathering attracted 12,000 Catholic teens from across 

the country and a lineup of Catholic speakers, including Katie Prejean McGrady, Chika Anyanwu, and Auxiliary 

Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat of New York. | OSV NEWS/MIKE KROKOS, THE CRITERION 


LOCAL 

■ Historic mission church 

in Irwindale vandalized 

The historic Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, once a part of the 

Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was vandalized on Nov. 22, according to 

the Irwindale Police Department. 

Witnesses saw a suspicious man near the front of the church and 

called police. When officers arrived, they found a smashed stainedglass 

window and the church ransacked, police said. 

Martin Garcia, 36, of South Gate, was detained at the location and 

arrested on suspicion of vandalism and burglary. 

The historic mission was built using rocks from the nearby San Gabriel 

River and fully opened in 1919. When the cost to retrofit the church 

got expensive, the archdiocese sold it back to the City of Irwindale 

in 1990. The city continues to use the church for special events and 

rentals. 

Together we stand — Archdiocesan Interreligious Officer Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, center in black, stands with other 

religious leaders at the 2023 South Bay Interfaith Service of Thanksgiving event on Nov. 21 at American Martyrs 

Church in Manhattan Beach. The annual multireligious service focused on healing with the war in the Holy Land. 

| TOM HOFFARTH 

■ Archdiocese, groups helping 

immigrants receive $2 million 

The L.A. Welcomes Collective — which includes the Archdiocese of Los 

Angeles, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), and Clergy and 

Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE LA), among others — recently received 

$2 million from the state for immigration services, according to California 

Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo. 

The funding will be used to help train shelter staff to deal with immigrants’ 

unique needs and to further support the region’s immigration endeavors. In addition 

to the typical flow of immigrants, more than 20 buses filled with migrants 

have been sent to the Los Angeles area from Texas since June. 

Guillermo Torres, Immigration Programs Coordinator for CLUE LA, was appreciative 

of the funding and thanked clergy and participating parishes for their 

respectful support of immigration efforts. 

“We welcome this state support to help with the operational expenses to ensure 

comfortable, dignified accommodations,” he said. 

IRWINDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT 

■ Ruling: LAUSD 

withheld federal funds 

for LA Catholic schools 

The U.S. Department of Education 

sided with a prior ruling that the 

Los Angeles Unified School District 

illegally withheld federal funds from 

low-income LA Catholic school 

students. 

The federal government’s Nov. 

16 ruling affirmed the California 

Department of Education’s findings 

in 2021 that LAUSD had failed to 

“accurately count the number of 

children from low-income families” 

attending schools in the Archdiocese 

of Los Angeles and to meaningfully 

consult with the archdiocese on those 

discrepancies. 

The new ruling would restore millions 

of dollars in federal money that 

goes to low-income students attending 

LA-area Catholic schools that qualify 

for Title I funding. 

In a decision shared with media 

Nov. 30, the USDE ordered LAUSD 

to take corrective actions, including 

working with the archdiocese to 

analyze and recalculate Title I-eligible 

schools and students, identify services 

to be provided, and to implement the 

amenities within 90 days, or a later 

agreed-upon date. 

Once those recalculations have been 

made, restitution for past years can be 

determined. 

Y 


V 

IN OTHER WORDS... 

Letters to the Editor 

When a big family comes from ‘just one more’ 

Dr. Grazie Christie’s column in the Dec. 1 issue “In defense of the big 

family” on the new research reporting that Americans would like bigger 

families, but aren’t having them, struck a real chord with me. 

My husband and I have built our family through adoption, and we have four 

wonderful sons. Our fourth baby arrived just months before my husband’s 50th 

birthday, and 11 years after our twins were born. 

Many people, including family and friends, thought we were crazy to add to our 

family at this stage in life. After all, private adoption is a very deliberate choice 

and, with three older kids already, we could have coasted toward an empty nest. 

Still, we longed and prayed for “just one more,” even as doubts found their way 

into our discernment. It was through our boys’ repeated demands for a baby brother 

or sister that we came to know another adoption — another family member — 

was worth pursuing. 

They’ve been proved right, over and over again, by the blessings our “just one 

more” has brought to our family. Thank you, Dr. Christie, for encouraging others 

to have the children they long for and for reminding us of all the blessings they 

bring. 

— Leigh Snead, South Bend, Indiana 

Y 

Continue the conversation! To submit a letter to the editor, visit AngelusNews.com/Letters-To-The-Editor 

and use our online form or send an email to editorial@angelusnews.com. Please limit to 300 words. Letters 

may be edited for style, brevity, and clarity. 

Going with Guadalupe 

“Sister Alicia and I are 

committed to staying until 

the last patient leaves or 

dies.” 

~ Barbara Jean Wajda, of the Sisters of St. Francis of 

the Neumann Communities, in a Dec. 1 Associated 

Press article on pilgrims attempting to visit where 

Catholic saints cared for Hawaii’s leprosy patients. 

“The Lord longs to be with 

us, but He will not force us 

to put the phone down.” 

~ Constance T. Hull, in a Nov. 30 Catholic Exchange 

commentary on turning off social media and the 

24-hour news cycle this Advent. 

“Picture lumberjacks at 

a rave.” 

~ Jeff Tweedy, musician and songwriter, in a Nov. 28 

New York Times article predicting trends for 2024. 

“It is good to make the heart 

willing to welcome [Christ] 

with prayer and to host him 

with charity … to make him 

comfortable.” 

~ Pope Francis, commenting on the readings of the 

1st Sunday of Advent in his Dec. 3 Angelus address. 

Parishioners from Santa Isabel Church in Los Angeles walk with their 

decorated float during the 92nd procession and Mass honoring Our 

Lady of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego on Dec. 3. | SARAH YAKLIC 

“He didn’t burn the 

midnight oil; he drank it 

straight.” 

~ Matthew Hennessey in City Journal on the life of 

Irish singer and lapsed Catholic Shane McGowan, 

who died Nov. 30. 

View more photos 

from this gallery at 

AngelusNews.com/photos-videos 

Do you have photos or a story from your parish that you’d 

like to share? Please send to editorial @angelusnews.com. 


IN EXILE 

FATHER RONALD ROLHEISER, OMI 

Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father 

Ronald Rolheiser is a spiritual 

writer; ronrolheiser.com 

Praying for both — the weak and the strong 

When Jesus instituted the 

Eucharist at the Last Supper, 

he held up bread and 

wine as two elements within which to 

make himself especially present to us. 

Since that time, now more than 2,000 

years ago, Christians celebrating the 

Eucharist have used the same two 

things, bread and wine, to ask Christ 

to bless this world and to bring God’s 

special presence to our world. Why 

two elements? Why both bread and 

wine? What reality does each represent? 

I have always found this insight from 

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin particularly 

meaningful. Commenting on 

why both bread and wine are offered 

at each Eucharist, his says this: “In a 

sense the true substance to be consecrated 

each day is the world’s development 

during that day — the bread 

(body) symbolizing appropriately 

what creation succeeds in producing, 

the wine (blood) what creation causes 

to be lost in exhaustion and suffering 

in the course of that effort.” 

There’s an important lesson here for 

how we are invited to enter into and 

pray the Eucharist. When Jesus said, 

“my flesh is food for the life of the 

world,” he meant just that. He meant 

that our prayer, particularly the 

Eucharist, needs to embrace nothing 

less than the world, the whole world 

and everything and everybody in it. 

And that is asking a lot because, as 

we know, our world is a pathologically 

complex place, mixed, bipolar, 

differentiated, a place full of both 

good and bad, young and old, healthy 

and sick, rich and poor, powerful 

and powerless, triumph and defeat, 

life and death. Making Christ’s flesh 

food for the life of the world means 

holding a lot of things up for God’s 

blessing, and that doesn’t always 

come naturally to us. 

As instituted by Jesus, the Eucharist 

needs to be a prayer that embraces 

the whole world and everything and 

everyone in it. It needs to be a prayer 

for the poor, the aged, the sick, the 

suffering, the powerless, and for 

everyone (including mother earth) 

who is being victimized — even as it 

needs to be a prayer for the rich, the 

young, the healthy, and the powerful. 

At the Eucharist, we need to pray for 

those in our hospitals and for those 

who are bursting with health. We 

need to pray for the woman or man 

who is dying, even as we pray for the 

young athlete who is preparing to 

compete in the Olympic games. And 

we need to pray for the refugees on 

our borders as well as for those who 

make laws regarding our borders. As 

Teilhard de Chardin says, we must 

hold up in prayer “what creation succeeds 

in producing and what creation 

causes to be lost in exhaustion and 

suffering in the course of that effort.” 

As a Roman Catholic priest, I have 

the privilege of presiding at the 

Eucharist, and whenever I do, I 

always try to remain conscious of the 

separate realities which the bread 

and wine symbolize. When I lift up 

the bread, I try to be conscious of the 

fact that I am holding up for God’s 

blessing all that is healthy, growing 

in life, and is being celebrated in our 

world today. When I lift up the wine, 

I try to be conscious that I am holding 

up for God’s blessing all that is being 

crushed, is suffering, and is dying 

today, as life on this earth moves 

forward. 

Our world is a big place and at every 

moment somewhere on this planet 

new life is being born, young life is 

taking root, some people are celebrating 

life, some are finding love, 

some are making love, and some are 

celebrating success and triumph. 

And, while all of this is happening, 

others are losing their health, others 

are dying, others are being raped and 

violated, and others are being crushed 

by hunger, defeat, hopelessness, and 

a broken spirit. At the Eucharist, the 

bread speaks for the former, the wine 

for the latter. 

Several days ago, I presided over the 

Eucharist at the funeral of a man who 

had died at the age of 90. We celebrated 

this faith, mourned with his 

family, highlighted the gift that was 

his life, tried to drink from the spirit 

he left behind, said a faith-filled ritual 

goodbye to him, and buried him in 

the earth. The wine we consecrated 

at the Eucharist that day symbolized 

all this, his death, our loss, and the 

deaths and losses of people everywhere 

— God’s being with us in our 

suffering. 

Shortly afterward, I was in a house 

filled with the vibrancy and young 

energy of three small children — 

aged 5, 2, and 8 months. Little on this 

planet so refreshes the soul as does 

young life. There isn’t any antidepressant 

drug anywhere on this planet 

that can do for us what the energy of 

a young child can do. When I next 

held up the bread at the Eucharist, 

I was more conscious of what that 

bread symbolized — energy, health, 

beauty, young life, vibrancy — God’s 

joy and radiance on this planet. 


WELCOMING 

LAS POSADAS 

In reliving Joseph and Mary’s trek to find a 

place for Jesus’ birth, the nine-day celebration 

embraces deeper meanings. 

A file photo shows young people playing 

the parts of Joseph and Mary in Nogales, 

Mexico, as they participate in a traditional 

Mexican Las Posadas. | OSV NEWS/CNS FILE, 

NANCY WIECHEC 

BY THERESA CISNEROS 


Zonia Montano, a longtime 

parishioner and volunteer 

coordinator at St. Elizabeth of 

Hungary Catholic Church in Altadena, 

can hardly wait for Christmas to 

arrive. 

The list of parish celebrations marking 

the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 

the liturgical season of Advent, 

and the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas 

is a long one, but Montano’s 

enthusiasm really bubbles over when 

describing how she’ll band together 

with more than two dozen ministry 

leaders to help bring Las Posadas — a 

centuries-old tradition highlighting 

Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging 

prior to Jesus’ birth — to life for her 

church community to enjoy. 

“I am very happy to be involved with 

the Posadas because you can see that 

the community enjoys it,” said Montano, 

who’s helped organize St. Elizabeth’s 

Posadas for about five years. 

“You can see that it brings happiness 

and unity to the parish.” 

Montano is among thousands 

of Catholics worldwide who will 

celebrate Posadas from Dec. 16-24, 

a nine-night novena leading up to 

Christmas that often prompts participants 

to reflect on how they can prepare 

to welcome the Christ Child into 

their hearts and their communities. 

“Posada” is the Spanish word for 

“inn.” The celebration is said to be 

rooted in a tradition that was started 

by St. John of the Cross in Spain, 

spread to the Americas by missionaries, 

and took hold primarily in Mexico, 

said Humberto Ramos, parish 

life director at Epiphany Church in 

South El Monte. 

Although formats vary, Posadas typically 

feature a rosary, a procession, a 

Mass, and a communal reception. 

During the procession, two young 

people portraying St. Joseph and 

the Virgin Mary lead a crowd often 

dressed as shepherds, angels, and 

pilgrims as they beg door-to-door for 

shelter using Spanish-language song 

verses that have been passed down for 

generations. 

After being turned away by several 

“innkeepers,” just like the Holy 

Family, the crowd is finally welcomed 

at the last door. Inside, a celebration 

ensues that often features a piñata and 

traditional Mexican treats including 

pan dulce, tamales, and “champurrado,” 

a thick hot chocolate drink. 

This Advent, parishes across the 

Archdiocese of Los Angeles will hold 

various Posada-related events as organizers 

begin to revive gatherings that 

were scaled 

back in 

recent years 

due to the 

COVID-19 

pandemic. 

At St. 

Elizabeth, 

Posadas are 

Participants march with a 

statue of Joseph and Mary 

in the annual Las Posadas 

procession on historic Olvera 

Street, a Mexican marketplace, 

on Dec. 17, 2021, in 

Los Angeles. 

| GETTY/MARIO TAMA 


vide a tangible daily reminder that 

Christmas is approaching, building 

momentum and anticipation inside 

parishioners. 

“You connect to it personally when 

you hear the songs, you connect to it 

when you see the images of the Virgin 

and St. Joseph,” she said. “You connect 

to it when you see the manger 

scene set up. Mentally, and spiritually, 

it helps you prepare for Christmas.” 

At St. Patrick, Posadas are more 

held after the evening Mass on the 

parish grounds. Each celebration 

is sponsored by a different church 

ministry and comes complete with hot 

chocolate, pan dulce, and “aguinaldos” 

(“candy bags”) for the children. 

At Ramos’ parish, festivities will 

begin Dec. 16 with a “pastorela” — a 

Christmas play dating back to the 

Middle Ages in which shepherds are 

traveling to visit baby Jesus, but along 

the way encounter situations reflecting 

the seven deadly sins. 

The play will be followed up by 

nightly Posadas hosted by various parish 

groups featuring a rosary, procession, 

and a culminating celebration. 

At St. Patrick Church in North 

Hollywood, Posadas begin with a large 

parish-wide celebration and are followed 

by nightly gatherings in different 

local neighborhoods. Parishioners 

are encouraged to invite their friends 

and neighbors to partake in a street 

procession, “villancicos” (“carols”), 

Mass, and more. 

While Posadas can take on a lighthearted 

air, they are also filled with 

religious symbolism. 

Participants often clutch lit candles 

while processing in the dark, symbolizing 

that we are called to be the light 

of the world, Ramos said. The candies 

that flow from the broken piñatas 

symbolize the graces that flow to the 

community when someone overcomes 

sin, he said. 

And the Holy Family’s quest for help 

calls us to reflect on our own willingness 

to assist others in their time of 

need, he added. 

“It’s a great celebration of Advent,” 

Ramos said. “It’s an expectation of 

opening our hearts to Christ in the 

Christmas that is approaching, but 

also the Christ that will come at the 

end of time, and the Christ that is 

very much living among us.” 

Posadas can also serve as a way for 

the faithful to connect with the Nativity 

story on a personal level, and to 

spread the gospel in the communities 

in which they live. 

Montano said that Posadas pro- 

than just 

a cultural 

or folkloric 

experience, 

said the 

parish’s pastor, 

Father 

Nicolás 

Sánchez 

Toledano. 

They are a 

Juan Billarruem and Maria 

Bonilla play the part of Joseph 

and Mary seeking refuge on 

the night of Christ’s birth 

during a traditional posada 

re-enactment at Holy Redeemer 

Church in Detroit, 

Michigan, in 2001. 

| CNS/AUDREY SOMMERS, 

MICHIGAN CATHOLIC 

missionary or an evangelization tool 

that can be used to strengthen the 

family unit, help attendees learn more 

about Jesus, and provide a way for 


nonchurchgoers to connect with the 

Church outside its walls. 

“This is a pastoral act of the St. 

Patrick’s church community,” he said. 

“It is the church that is venturing out 

into the neighborhoods and is made 

present in the sites in which people 

live.” 

In the U.S., Posadas are especially 

popular in Latino communities, particularly 

among Mexican immigrants 

who are nostalgic for their homeland 

and want to share the tradition with 

their children, Ramos said. 

The Holy Family’s search for lodging 

can also resonate among some Latino 

immigrants trying to carve out a new 

life in a foreign country. 

“I think for many Latino Catholics 

whose lives have been affected by immigration 

it’s a reminder of the hospitality 

that they’ve received themselves 

to some degree, as well as the spirit 

of welcome that Catholics are called 

to offer newcomers,” said Jennifer 

Owens-Jofré, an assistant professor in 

the department of theological studies 

at Loyola Marymount University. 

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 

participants say, the Posada tradition 

is indeed gaining traction among 

first- and second-generation Mexican 

Americans, but it’s also becoming a 

part of popular Catholic practice and 

culture overall. 

For Montano — who was born in 

Guatemala and came to the U.S. as 

a child — helping stage her parish’s 

annual Posadas has given her new 

insight into the tradition, as she did 

not celebrate them growing up. 

Montano first experienced Posadas 

as an adult while visiting her husband’s 

family in Guanajuato, Mexico, 

and after years of attending and 

planning these gatherings now feels 

privileged to be able to bring them to 

her church community each December. 

“It is a very beautiful tradition,” she 

“It’s an expectation of opening our hearts to 

Christ in the Christmas that is approaching.” 

said. “If you come to this country as a 

child and you didn’t learn about these 

traditions in your country of origin, 

but to have the opportunity to learn 

about them and experience them 

here, it helps both you and the next 

generation.” 

Theresa Cisneros is a freelance journalist 

with 24 years of experience in 

the news industry. She is a fourth-generation 

Southern California resident 

and lives in Orange County with her 

husband and four children. 


INSTALLED AND READY 

Bishop Slawomir Szkredka with Archbishop 

José H. Gomez following his Nov. 26 Installation 

Mass as episcopal vicar of the Santa 

Barbara Pastoral Region at Mission Basilica 

San Buenaventura in Ventura. 

Following their 

episcopal ordinations, 

LA’s four new 

auxiliary bishops were 

officially welcomed 

at Installation Masses 

in their respective 

pastoral regions. 

PHOTOS BY VICTOR ALEMÁN 

Bishop Albert Bahhuth gives holy Communion at 

his Oct. 28 Installation Mass as episcopal vicar of 

the San Fernando Pastoral Region at St. Charles 

Borromeo Church in North Hollywood. 


Bishop Matthew Elshoff poses with Archbishop Gomez and priests from the Our Lady of the Angels 

Pastoral Region after his Oct. 29 Installation Mass at St. John Chrysostom Church in Inglewood. 

Bishop Brian Nunes hugs guests after his 

Nov. 4 Installation Mass as episcopal vicar of 

the San Gabriel Pastoral Region at Mission 

San Gabriel Arcángel. 

Bishop Bahhuth reads prayers 

during his Installation Mass. 

Bishop Elshoff takes a bow during his Installation Mass. 

December 15, 2023 • ANGELUS • 15

Bishop Nunes poses with members of the 

Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries after 

his Installation Mass. 

Bishop Elshoff after his Installation Mass. 

Bishop Szkredka receives applause from the 

congregation during his Installation Mass at 

Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in Ventura. 


Bishop Szkredka distributes 

holy Communion at his 

Installation Mass. 

Bishop Nunes speaks during his Installation Mass. 




Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of 

the German bishops’ conference, 

attends the fifth synodal assembly 

in Frankfurt March 9. | OSV 

NEWS/HEIKO BECKER, REUTERS 

STRAYING FROM THE PATH 

Will Pope Francis be forced to embrace an 

‘American solution’ for Germany too? 

BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR. 

ROME — Suppose you’re a progressive German 

Catholic these days, excited by the reform course 

sketched by your country’s Synodal Way, especially its 

resolutions calling for a reevaluation of Church teaching on 

women’s ordination and homosexuality. 

If so, no doubt you’re a bit concerned about recent statements 

from Rome seeming to throw cold water on those 

ideas, including a letter from Pope Francis to four female 

theologians warning that Germany is moving “increasingly 

away from the universal Church’s common path” and a 

Vatican letter to the secretary of the German bishops’ conference 

bluntly warning that women priests and questioning 

the sinfulness of homosexual acts are no-fly zones. 

The question you might have about all this, however, is 

how seriously to take it. In other words, it’s clear the Vatican 

is warning Germany to slow down, but should this be taken 

as a yellow light — “proceed with caution” — or red, meaning 

“stop right now”? 

If you’re a hypothetical German Catholic thinking along 

these lines, you’re probably also aware that yours is not the 

only national church around the Catholic world with which 

Francis recently has been wrestling. 

You undoubtedly know that last month the pope fired an 

American bishop, Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, and 


also recently decided to strip American Cardinal Raymond 

Burke of his Vatican apartment and salary. Both acts were 

clearly seen as drawing lines in the sand for the conservative-traditionalist 

wing of American Catholicism, basically 

saying that you can’t publicly defy the teaching and 

authority of the pope and expect to remain on the Church’s 

payroll. 

It also won’t have escaped your attention that at least so far, 

the pope has not taken similar actions with regard to anyone 

involved in the German situation. You might be tempted to 

conclude that whatever the issues with Germany may be, 

they don’t rise to the level of a firing offense and, therefore, 

that there’s still some wiggle room to keep moving forward. 

That, in a nutshell, would seem to be the problem Francis 

faces: how to get across to the German church that “no 

means no”? 

Granted, the situations are different. 

Strickland has all but accused the pope of heresy and 

schism, and also has quoted from a letter describing Francis 

as a “usurper.” In addition, an apostolic visitation reportedly 

turned up various administrative problems in his diocese, 

though their precise nature has not been identified. Burke, 

while more circumspect, nevertheless has lent his support 

to people who espouse similar positions, and has also twice 

now been part of a group of cardinals submitting critical 

“dubia” to the pontiff challenging his positions on various 

issues. 

Meanwhile, the German bishops supportive of the Synodal 

Way have not engaged in any such direct criticism of 

the pope. Indeed, prelates such as Bishop Georg Bätzing 

of Limburg, president of the German bishops’ conference, 

generally go out of their way to stress their filial devotion to 

Rome and to the pope. 

(Last January, Bätzing did grouse out loud that Francis’ 

“way of leading the Church by way 

of interviews” is “extremely questionable,” 

but if every Catholic bishop in 

the world who questioned the wisdom 

of the pope’s media strategy were to be 

fired, the list of vacant dioceses would 

be awfully long.) 

During October’s Synod of Bishops 

on Synodality, Bishop Franz Josef 

Overbeck of Essen, another major 

proponent of the German experiment, 

rejected the idea that the country is 

drifting out of the orbit of the universal 

Church. 

“Many people have asked me, ‘Are 

you still Catholics 

and part of Cardinal Raymond Burke 

the Catholic 

is pictured leaving a papal 

Church?” said audience in this Dec. 22, 

Overbeck. “And 2016, file photo. | CNS/ 

I say, ‘Yes, of 

PAUL HARING 

course, we are 

Catholics, and 

we are here to stay.’ ” 

So, in the American case the pope 

was responding to prelates who, albeit in varying ways, were 

engaged in public criticism of his leadership, while the 

Germans often seem to do everything in their power to play 

down impressions of a rift. 

Yet one could make the argument, and many do, that 

linguistic legerdemain aside, what’s happening in Germany 

does represent a challenge to papal (and, more broadly, 

episcopal) authority every bit as serious as anything suggested 

by the likes of Strickland and Burke. 

The Germans, for instance, so far appear determined to 

press ahead with plans for the creation in 2026 of a “synodal 

council,” composed of both laity and bishops, which 

would have as yet loosely defined governing powers over the 

Church. This development comes despite the fact that in 

a January letter signed by three Vatican heavyweights, the 

Germans were explicitly told that doing so would amount 

to an unacceptable surrender on the exclusive role of the 

bishop to teach and to govern. 

The average German Catholic might be forgiven, however, 

for wondering if such verbal warnings amount to sound 

and fury signifying nothing, as long as the prelates signing 

off on these decisions do not suffer any consequences for 

doing so. 

At the moment, the German bishops are scheduled to take 

part in meetings with Vatican officials in January, April, and 

June 2024 to discuss their Synodal Way, and presumably the 

agenda on Rome’s side will be to rein in at least some of the 

centrifugal energies swirling in the German church. 

The question for Francis may be how to get across that he’s 

serious — including the possibility of adopting, however reluctantly, 

an “American solution” for one or two recalcitrant 

German prelates too. 

John L. Allen Jr. is the editor of Crux. 


“The Nativity,” by Francesco 

Vanni, 1563-1610, Italian. | 

J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM 

The birthplace 

of the ‘Gloria’ 

How the oldest Christmas carol found its 

way into Sunday Mass year-round. 

BY MIKE AQUILINA 

In broadcast media and shopping 

centers, Christmas carols appear 

early, but vanish before the last of 

your leftover Christmas cookies. 

In the Church, however, there is one 

song that continues its run through 

much of the year. 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on 

earth peace to people of good will.” 

The Church calls it the “Gloria,” and 

it is a fixture of the Mass on Sundays 

and feast days. 

In many ways it was the first Christmas 

carol. St. Luke presents its debut 

in his account of Jesus’ birth. “An angel” 

speaks the words, backed up by “a 

multitude of the heavenly host” (Luke 

2:13–14). And the original audience 

was not shoppers, but “shepherds in 

that region living in the fields and 

keeping the night watch over their 

flock” (2:8). 

The Gospel doesn’t say the angels 

sang the words, but Christians have 

always interpreted the passage that 

way. We still sing, “Angels we have 

heard on high / sweetly singing o’er 

the plain.” 

In the earliest days of the Church, 

some unknown poet took the angels’ 

lines and used them as the opening of 

an exuberant song — resulting in the 

prayer we still sing at a typical Sunday 

Mass. 

In ancient times, for music in worship, 

the Church usually favored lyrics 

from the Bible, either the Psalms 

of King David or canticles such as 

Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) or 

the songs of Simeon (Luke 2:29–32) 

and Zechariah (Luke 1:68–79). 

But Christians sometimes produced 

new songs, composed in the style of 

the biblical psalms. They were called 

“personal psalms” or “private psalms” 

(in Latin, “psalmi idiotici”). They 

were very common, but only three 


have survived from antiquity, and only 

one of them was made a permanent 

part of the Mass. Catholics in the west 

know it today as the “Gloria.” 

It begins with the words of the 

Gospel, but goes on to praise the 

Lord in what seems to be a mashup of 

outbursts: 

We praise you, 

we bless you, 

we adore you, 

we glorify you, 

we give you thanks for your great 

glory. 

The personal psalms were often improvised 

on the spot, and the “Gloria” 

captures the qualities of spontaneous 

praise and love for God. 

Mention of it first appears in the records 

of the ancient Roman Church, 

which were preserved in “The Book 

of the Popes.” There we find that the 

song was introduced into the Mass by 

Pope Telesphorus, who reigned from 

A.D. 128 to 139. But he didn’t write 

the “Gloria.” It was a Greek text already 

in use in the Eastern churches. 

Greek was for the first three centuries 

the language of the Roman liturgy, 

too, so it was a perfect fit. 

In the eastern lands, the “Gloria” 

had been (and remained) a daily 

devotion. It was offered at dawn as the 

first prayer of the day. As the Christmas 

song first announced the Savior’s 

birth, so morning prayer — with 

the “Gloria” — served as a kind of 

“Christmas” for each day. 

But the Roman Church, at least in 

the beginning, employed the “Gloria” 

only once a year. It was a Christmas 

song, and so it belonged in the midnight 

Mass for Christmas Eve — thus 

replicating for the congregation the 

experience of Bethlehem’s shepherds, 

who watched their flocks by night. 

Such was the case for centuries. By 

the end of the fourth century, the 

Romans had abandoned liturgical 

Greek and were celebrating Mass in 

the Latin vernacular. Around the year 

A.D. 360, St. Hilary of Poitiers (who 

had spent a busy exile in the East) 

produced a Latin translation of the 

“Gloria.” 

Even then, however, the “Gloria” 

was still the exclusive property of the 

bishops, and they could use it only at 

Christmas. 

It would be another 100 years and 

more before Pope Symmachus I (A.D. 

498-514) relaxed the restrictions on 

the “Gloria.” He extended its use 

to Sundays and feast days. He even 

allowed simple priests to intone the 

“Gloria” — but only at Easter. 

It was not till the second millennium 

that the “Gloria” invaded and pervaded 

the liturgical year of the Western 

Church. It became a distinguishing 

mark of Sundays and feast days. It was, 

and is still, suppressed during the seasons 

of Advent and Lent. In Advent, 

it would be inappropriate because 

the Church is awaiting Christmas, 

and the “Gloria” is a song proper to 

Christmas. And in the solemn season 

of Lent its exuberance would seem 

out of place. 

The “Gloria” is a “doxology,” which 

literally means a word of praise. In 

the Church it is known as “The Great 

Doxology,” because of its length, its 

status, and its antiquity. It has been 

the subject of profound commentaries 

down the ages. 

Dynamic, ecstatic, the “Gloria” 

serves as an outpost of Christmas even 

in times most distant — even in the 

heat of the summer. 

The 20th-century liturgical theologian 

Maurice Zundel waxed poetic 

when he spoke of the “Gloria”: “What 

a conquest it would be, what a dream, 

or rather what an inexpressible reality, 

what an advance in depth, and what 

a peaceful victory, if you would but 

genuinely believe the words you utter, 

and would but put your entire soul 

into the praise to which the Church 

invites you, in her Gloria, that it may 

be Christmas in the world, through 

your heart, today.” 

Mike Aquilina is a contributing editor 

to Angelus and author of many books, 

including “The Mass of the Early 

Christians” (Our Sunday Visitor, 

$14.95). 

SHUTTERSTOCK 


Death by 

omission 

The tragedy of 

‘Baby Indi’ reveals 

the dark strategy of 

those promoting a 

more passive form of 

euthanasia. 

BY CHARLIE CAMOSY 

Recent headlines about the future 

of the pro-life movement in the 

United States — especially with 

respect to abortion — haven’t been all 

positive, with some pro-lifers emphasizing 

the need for better messaging and 

voter action going forward to protect 

life in its earliest stages. 

But when it comes to end-of-life 

issues, the movement has a bit more 

momentum going its way. 

For example: Recently, delegates from 

the extremely influential American 

Medical Association explicitly rejected 

physician-assisted killing for the fourth 

straight time, and also voted down 

a proposal to rename the practice 

“medical aid in dying,” a euphemism 

our Canadian neighbors have deployed 

with full force. 

This maps onto other seemingly improbable 

victories against physician-assisted 

suicide and euthanasia in places 

like England, Ireland, and Denmark, 

as well as closer to home in New York, 

Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. 

So why are the politics involved in 

defending life at its end different from 

doing the same at its beginning? 

One clear difference is that progressive 

disability rights groups have been 

at the forefront of these end-of-life 

fights. Their role has made it harder for 

advocates of euthanasia to argue that 

their lives are not worth living. 

But while pro-lifers are making good 

Indi Gregory, an 8-month-old child 

suffering from a degenerative disease, 

pictured in an undated photo, was at 

the center of a legal battle in the U.K. 

to keep her on life support. She died 

on Nov. 13. | OSV NEWS/COURTESY 

INDI GREGORY FAMILY 

progress against attempts to legalize the 

death of the disabled by action, they’re 

not doing as well against those who are 

aiming at their death by omission. 

Catholic teaching defines euthanasia 

as an act or omission, which of itself or 

by intention causes death, a definition 

that calls to mind the tragic story of 

Baby Indi in the United Kingdom, the 

most recent child in a growing list to 

be euthanized against the will of her 

parents. 

In such cases, both the medical teams 

and the judges have insisted that the 

child is so disabled that her life is no 

longer worth living. They are so confident 

in this judgement that they deem 

the parents’ desire for their child to 

continue to live as constituting a kind 

of child abuse. 

To add insult to injury, the judges 

ruled that Baby Indi’s life support had 

to be administered at a hospital or 

hospice and not at the child’s home 

as the family desired — pretty much 

implying that the parents want to abuse 

their own child. 

Of course, someone — even a Catholic 

— might ask: What’s the big deal 

with removing the child’s life support? 

Does not even the Catholic Church 

allow for the removal of extraordinary 

means of medical treatment in such 

cases? 

The answer is: It depends. 

If one is not aiming at death, but rather 

at removing burdensome, life-sustaining 

treatment, the Church leaves 


this option wide open. 

After all, it’s also possible to make an 

idol out of grasping for more life. In 

our religious tradition, the images and 

narratives of Jesus’ death — and the 

deaths of martyrs — represent central 

examples of Christian sanctity. Choosing 

to live one’s final days or hours 

without life-sustaining treatment, far 

from being wrong, can be a holy and 

beautiful choice. 

This, however, was nothing close 

to what the decision-makers in Baby 

Indi’s case had in mind. The key lies in 

analyzing what is being aimed at here: 

What was the intention of the medical 

team and the judges? 

If they had simply claimed that the 

intensive care itself was so overwhelmingly 

burdensome that it represented 

a kind of child abuse, then they would 

have an argument. But the actual 

reasoning used in the case reveals that 

this is not what was going on. 

Consider their assessments of Baby 

Indi’s disabilities: “There is no discernible 

quality of life or interaction by 

IG with the world around her.” “She 

has extremely limited quality of life.” 

“She seems to derive comfort from 

M stroking her hair, but I accept the 

clinical observations that she does not 

follow with her eyes, does not respond 

to stimuli, and her limb movements 

are not purposeful. I do not think she 

experiences any meaningful quality of 

life, and sadly she never will.” 

Those judges determined that Indi 

had just enough awareness to experience 

the difficulties of intensive care, 

but not enough to have “meaningful” 

quality of life. 

Interestingly, these are precisely the 

kinds of judgments that disability rights 

activists are so worried about. 

Suppose, for example, that Baby Indi 

had life support removed but continued 

to breathe and live. Would the 

medical team and judges be pleased 

with this outcome? 

Based on their assessment, they 

wouldn’t be. Instead, they made a 

judgment that Indi’s life was not worth 

living, revealing what was really at play 

here: an omission intended to cause 

death, an example of the passive euthanization 

of a disabled child. 

Sadly, once one starts paying attention 

to similarly aimed omissions — including 

in U.S. health care settings — we 

reach the unfortunate conclusion that 

this kind of child euthanasia happens 

quite regularly. 

Yes, there are good reasons for hope 

in the struggle against aiming for the 

death of the disabled by action. But 

the very same reasoning and concern 

for justice for the disabled should be 

applied when aiming at death that 

happens by omission, too. 

The very public cases of those like 

Baby Indi’s serve as a wake-up call: let 

those with eyes, see, and those with 

ears, hear — and then act accordingly. 

Charlie Camosy is professor of medical 

humanities at the Creighton University 

School of Medicine. In addition, he 

holds the Monsignor Curran Fellowship 

in Moral Theology at St. Joseph Seminary 

in New York.

AD REM 

ROBERT BRENNAN 

The trouble with finding God 

SHUTTERSTOCK 

What does the first man rocketed 

into low Earth orbit in 

1961 have in common with 

a recently retired professional soccer 

player in 2023? 

Not much, until you insert the 

thoughts of one of the best Christian 

thinkers of the 20th century. 

When Russian cosmonaut Yuri 

Gagarin became the first human being 

in space, the world was in awe, and 

the United States was in shock. The 

Russians had beat us with Sputnik, 

the first artificial satellite, launched in 

1957. When Gagarin went into space 

a mere four years later, it seemed Russia 

would win the wager of who would 

reach the moon first. At the time, 

U.S. rockets still had the propensity 

of blowing up on the launch pad. But 

eventually, the U.S. did not just get 

even with Russia — we got way ahead. 

Upon his celebrated return to 

Earth, Gagarin was quoted as saying, 

“I looked and looked, but I didn’t 

see God.” It is a quote that one can 

imagine left the Soviet Politburo 

beaming, and Americans, especially 

Christian Americans, boiling. 

Much time and scholarship has 

passed since then, and reliable sources 

from official biographies and personal 

acquaintances state that Gagarin never 

said those words. The research further 

seems to indicate that, in fact, Gagarin 

was a believing Christian. He was baptized 

in the Russian Orthodox Church 

and had his children baptized as well. 

It is not so hard to imagine the offending 

quote as the creation of a nameless 

apparatchik trying to promote a vision 

of a brave new, and Godless, world. 

But a few years later, in 1961, that 

quote got under the skin of the celebrated 

writer C.S. Lewis. 

Just a few months before he died, 

Lewis penned an essay titled “The Seeing 

Eye,” written as a direct response to 

the misquote from Gagarin. Though 

Lewis was unaware at the time that the 

quote was inaccurate, his response was 

poignant, truthful, and just as applicable 

today as it was then. 

Like most things Lewis, the essay is 

filled with a perfect blend of succinct 

prose and easy- to-digest theological 

argument. His goal was not so much 

to make the case for God (he did that 

so well in many other works), but 

rather to guide readers, and hopefully 


Robert Brennan writes from Los Angeles, where 

he has worked in the entertainment industry, 

Catholic journalism, and the nonprofit sector. 

Gagarin in particular, on how best to 

go about seeking him. 

To Lewis, a man thinking he might 

see God in space is like a man who 

believes he should see Shakespeare in 

Hamlet. Shakespeare is on every page 

of his plays, just as God is everywhere 

in the universe he created. For Lewis, 

to believe that God can be “found” 

in a specific time and space when he 

exists outside of time and space is folly. 

Of course, he does not leave it there. 

Lewis summed up his essay with: 

“Space-travel really has nothing to 

do with the matter. To some, God is 

discoverable everywhere, to others, 

nowhere. Those who do not find him 

on earth are unlikely to find Him in 

space. (Hang it all, we’re in space already; 

every year we go on a huge circular 

tour in space.) But send a saint 

up in a spaceship and he’ll find God 

in space as he found God on earth.” 

Those words came to mind when a 

few weeks ago, celebrated professional 

soccer player Megan Rapinoe played 

the last game of her career before her 

planned retirement. Rapinoe hasn’t 

shied away from immersing herself 

in off-the-field debates over the years, 

from pay discrepancies between male 

and female soccer players, to her advocacy 

in favor of allowing biological 

males to participate in women’s sports. 

Her retirement came sooner than she 

expected when she tore her Achilles 

tendon. 

It is not the way any professional 

athlete wants to go out. A disappointed 

Rapinoe afterward stood before the 

press and suggested her injury was 

“proof that there isn’t a God.” She 

followed up with, “I’m not a religious 

person or anything and if there was a 

God, like, this is proof that there isn’t.” 

One can hope that Rapinoe might 

walk the quote back some day — after 

all, the muddled syntax could have 

had something to do with the pain 

medication she was given due to her 

serious injury. 

Regardless, both quotes, according 

to Lewis, contain the same error: 

to believe one can pursue God in a 

particular time and space and on a human 

timetable and human conditions. 

Lewis knew differently. “Send a saint 

up in a spaceship and he’ll find God 

in space as he found God on earth.” 

Or maybe on a soccer field. 


NOW PLAYING NAPOLEON 

FROM LEGEND TO LOSER 

Director Ridley Scott’s boring, meandering epic reduces 

Napoleon to a weak man hardly worth remembering. 

Joaquin Phoenix stars as 

Napoleon Bonaparte in the 

film “Napoleon.” | IMDB 

BY ANDREW FOWLER 

Rising above the 7th Arrondissement 

of Paris is the gold dome 

of Les Invalides, a landmark 

that serves as both a French military 

museum and the final resting place of 

the nation’s greatest general, Napoleon 

Bonaparte. 

The engravings surrounding his 

sarcophagus depict him as one of the 

ancients, adorned with laurels and 

togas next to tablets listing his vast 

accomplishments. 

Napoleon’s legacy as both a military 

mastermind and a statesman is hard 

to summarize — and complicated to 

assess. Similarly, there’s just too much 

to the man to capture in a single film. 

Still, the tagline of celebrated director 

Ridley Scott’s new “Napoleon” — released 

in theaters Nov. 22 — promises 

an ambitious attempt: “He came from 

nothing. He conquered everything.” 

For better or worse, those words are 

where the film’s respect for Napoleon 

ends. 

There is nothing of Napoleon’s rise 

from obscurity in Corsica to the top of 

the French Republic, nor mention of 

his early military victories. The years 

that he spent building the charisma 

and political capital to seize power 

as First Consul and eventually as the 

self-crowned emperor go unnoticed. 

Viewing “Napoleon” in a vacuum, 

one might wonder: How did France 

become an empire? And who even is 

this guy? 

Instead, the Napoleon introduced to 

viewers (played by Joaquin Phoenix) 

is reduced to a simp for his first wife 

Josephine (Vanessa Kirby) and, frankly, 

a bore. 

The historical Napoleon is remembered 

for his energy, inquisitiveness, 

charm, and ability to micromanage the 

French Empire. But Scott’s Napoleon 

spends much of his screen time sitting 

forlornly on couches or behaving 

depravedly with Josephine, rather than 

leading his men in the throes of battle 

or engaging in geopolitical power plays 

with Russia, Austria, the Vatican, and 

his notorious adversary, Britain. 

The director seems more inclined to 

show Phoenix’s Napoleon sleeping (for 

comedic effect) than doing anything 

interesting with his troops (apart 

from him passing out bread to several 

soldiers during the doomed Moscow 

campaign). 

Scott’s strange inversions don’t stop 

there. While Napoleon has long been 

portrayed as a little man in stature 

(although in reality, he was average 

height for his day) but a big one in 

thought, will, and power, the on-screen 


version is the opposite. 

After being told of Josephine’s affair 

while in Egypt, Napoleon returns to 

France to ragefully confront his wife. 

As a command, he warns that she is 

nothing without him. But it is a threat 

with no foundation, for this position of 

power is quickly reversed in the next 

scene with Josephine repeating the 

same words. 

Josephine, we are made to understand, 

was truly the master of the relationship, 

while Napoleon was nothing 

more than a whimpering cuckold. It’s 

a notion that seems to drive the whole 

film: Napoleon was not really in command 

(this is even demonstrated when 

his cold, demanding mother convinces 

her sheepish son to have relations with 

a young woman to breed an heir for 

the empire). 

By elevating Josephine as his prime 

motivation in several major events 

(including inaccurately suggesting she 

was the reason he left Elba during his 

first exile), Scott’s Napoleon is merely 

an angsty, boyish man. 

His military maxims — ones that are 

still studied today — are also spurned. 

Beyond his strategizing for Waterloo, 

his greatest and last 

defeat that led to his 

second exile, Napoleon’s 

tact briefly 

shines forth during 

the Battle of Austerlitz, 

arguably his 

greatest victory; while 

cinematic, even 

Scott’s Austerlitz sequence 

rings hollow 

because it disregards 

the historical truth 

(and the French 

Army’s battleplan) 

for the myth — that 

thousands died as 

Napoleon’s artillery 

fired at the ice underneath 

the retreating 

Austrian and Russian 

troops. 

In truth, only a dozen 

bodies have been 

found. But the myth masks the traps 

Napoleon laid; even in his greatest 

victory, the general cannot “win the 

day” in Scott’s “Napoleon.” Napoleon’s 

war victories — the most of any leader 

in history — are all enshrined on the 

tablets in Les Invalides but omitted in 

the film. 

Scott seems uninterested in compensating 

for such omissions with other 

aspects of history. For example: The 

French Revolution and the Enlightenment, 

two other historical realities 

that are crucial to understanding what 

“made” Napoleon, appear nowhere in 

the movie. 

Ultimately, his love and friendship 

with Josephine are not enough to present 

“Napoleon’s” portrait of its main 

subject as flesh and blood. 

Les Invalides’ monuments are not 

flesh and blood either, but they 

convey a sense of the man’s standing 

in history. But “Napoleon” leaves us 

wondering why this man is even worth 

remembering at all. The film does 

not wrestle with his legacy, criticize 

his mythic stature, or explore what 

made him tick beyond sexual desires 

and dynastic aspirations. There is only 

one moment on St. Helena when the 

famed general — who, at this point, 

has lost everything he loved, including 

Josephine — purports a false narrative 

of himself that is easily debunked by 

two young girls. 

The scene, however, is not enough 

to counter Napoleon’s self-aggrandizement 

and mitigating responsibility for 

blunders in his memoirs (which the 

film also fails to portray). “Napoleon” 

shortchanges its protagonist in too 

many respects to the point where the 

film’s tagline is meaningless, baseless 

like the character’s command to his 

wife. By the end, the viewer does not 

know where he came from, what he 

conquered, and how he should be 

regarded today. 

The lifeless and hollow Napoleon 

of Scott’s film would be unworthy 

of a shrine in Paris that more than 1 

million tourists visit per year — or, 

perhaps, even a movie more than 200 

years after his death. 

Andrew Fowler is the manager of internal 

affairs for Yankee Institute, and a 

former content producer at the Knights 

of Columbus. 

Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin 

Phoenix in a scene from 

“Napoleon.” | IMDB 


DESIRE LINES 

HEATHER KING 

Being a priest like St. Thérèse 

A portrait and relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux are 

displayed at St. Catherine’s Church in Honfleur, 

France. | SHUTTERSTOCK 

Endow (Educating on the Nature 

and Dignity of Women) is a 

Catholic organization rooted in 

the teachings of St. Pope John Paul II. 

Among other activities, study guides 

on Church teachings and notable 

female saints — Catherine of Siena, 

Edith Stein, Hildegard — are read 

aloud by small-group participants and 

discussed. 

Last year I contributed a guide on St. 

Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), called 

by many the greatest saint of modern 

times and recently honored by Pope 

Francis in the apostolic exhortation 

“C’est la Confiance” (“It is the Confidence”). 

Briefly, Thérèse was a bourgeois 

French girl, raised in a pious Catholic 

family, who entered a cloistered Carmelite 

convent at 15, lived for 9 years 

in obscurity, and died at 24 of TB. 

Here’s an excerpt from a chapter that 

considers her desire to become a priest. 

In 1893, Thérèse was appointed to 

serve as assistant novice mistress to the 

convent superior, Mother de Gonzague. 

Quickly, she realized that she could 

not treat each of the novices the same. 

Each had a different temperament, as 

well as different strengths, weaknesses, 

and wounds. 


Heather King is an award-winning 

author, speaker, and workshop leader. 

“What cost me more than anything 

was to observe the faults and slight 

imperfections and to wage a war to the 

death on these. I would prefer a thousand 

times to receive reproofs than to 

give them to others,” she wrote in her 

autobiography “The Story of a Soul.” 

Nothing escaped her notice. She 

was severe, but always loving. And if 

she wasn’t loved herself — “That’s 

just too bad! I tell the whole truth and 

if anyone does not want to know the 

truth, let her not come looking for me. 

… We should never allow kindness to 

degenerate into weakness.” 

Always she answered to the Father, 

not to popular acclaim. 

Always she was willing to take the last 

place. 

The universal priesthood 

Thérèse realized early that, as she 

diplomatically put it, priests need a 

lot of help. Praying for their salvation, 

and for vocations, was one of the main 

reasons she had entered Carmel. 

In the year before her death, she was 

given two young men upon whom 

to shower her missionary zeal. She 

was assigned to correspond with, and 

to pray for, a newly ordained priest, 

26-year-old Father Adolphe Roulland; 

and Maurice Bellière, 22, a seminarian 

who was preparing to finish 

his studies and travel to Africa as a 

missionary. 

Thérèse was ecstatic. A “brother-priest!” 

and another on his way to 

the priesthood. 

She became a spiritual mother, offering 

both prayers and counsel, sharing 

some of her own deepest insights and 

experiences. 

Inculcated with the spirituality of the 

day, both of her charges were frightened 

of God’s justice and anguished 

by their sins. 

Though they were far better educated 

than Thérèse, she did not hesitate to 

share with them her “Little Way” — a 

kind of shortcut to Jesus that consists 

in throwing ourselves into his arms 

like children with utter trust. 

To Roulland — three years her senior 

— she once wrote: “This is Brother, 

what I think of God’s justice; my way 

is all confidence and love. I do not 

understand souls who fear a Friend so 

tender.” 

Only service 

Make no mistake: Thérèse herself 

burned to be a missionary, a martyr, a 

soldier — and a priest. 

“Why must I be a virgin and not an 

angel or a priest?” she once exclaimed. 

“Oh! what wonders we shall see in 

heaven! I have a feeling that those 

who desired to be priests on earth will 

be able to share in the honor of the 

priesthood in heaven.” 

At the same time, Thérèse thoroughly 

understood that the power of the 

priesthood lies in the responsibility to 

shepherd, guide, and pastor — not in 

the title. 

In fact, each of us is called to live 

out our baptismal priesthood: to invite 

others to discipleship, to accompany, 

to shepherd and, above all, to sacrifice. 

So if we want to be priests — what’s 

stopping us? Christ has already given 

the command to go out and spread the 

Gospel to the whole world. Let’s do 

so! The world is teeming with those in 

need of pastoral care. We probably live 

with some of them. 

If we want to be priests, we get to 

consent to a self-emptying we would 

never have chosen on our own. We get 

to consent, like Jesus, to be available to 

all and to be misunderstood by many. 

We get to consent to live with results 

so meager we sometimes wonder 

whether they are results at all. 

Mary, standing steadfast at the foot 

of the cross, is the ultimate exemplar 

of Thérèse’s “Little Way.” So if we’re 

hoping for worldly acclaim, praise, 

and status, we’re bound to be sorely 

disappointed. 

If we’re looking for euphoria, an “experience,” 

an Instagram moment, we 

are sure to leave empty-handed. 

Because as Thérèse learned all too 

well in her short 24 years: “There 

are no raptures, no ecstasies — only 

service.” 

The St. Thérèse of Lisieux study guide 

is available for purchase on the Endow 

website.To learn how to host an entire 

eight-week study group, visit endowgroups.org 

or email info@endowgroups. 

org for more information. 


LETTER AND SPIRIT 

SCOTT HAHN 

Scott Hahn is founder of the 

St. Paul Center for Biblical 

Theology; stpaulcenter.com. 

Advent: Already and not yet 

Advent reminds us that there are still two dimensions 

to our salvation: “already” and “not yet.” 

In Advent we sing the ancient songs of longing and 

expectation. The great hymn of the season is “O Come, O 

Come, Emmanuel,” which contains the “O Antiphons.” 

O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem, 

unto your own and rescue them! 

From depths of hell your people save, 

and give them victory o’er the grave. 

We sing this way because we have unfinished business with 

our God. Yes, he has sent salvation in Jesus Christ, but still 

we await the Savior’s coming in fullness, his “plenary parousia,” 

as the theologians call it. 

When he comes at the end of time, he will have no more 

glory than he has now in the Eucharist, but then we’ll see 

him as he is. The difference will be not with him, but with 

us: “we know that when he appears ... we shall see him as 

he is” (1 John 3:2). Thus we hope for that day, and we pray 

through Advent, because, as we read in the very next line of 

St. John’s letter: “everyone who thus hopes in him purifies 

himself as he is pure.” 

A blessed Advent, then, is the only true key to a merry 

Christmas. Christians should never be like the segments of 

affluent society that a social critic called “souls without longing.” 

We should know longing habitually, because we have 

practiced longing at least annually, during Advent. 

Advent is a time of vigilance, alertness, expectation. We are 

eager for the arrival of Christ, so we pay close attention to 

our life of prayer, our moral life, the way we treat others, and 

the way we express our love for God. We should not allow 

ourselves to experience “Xmas fatigue” long before Dec. 25 

rolls around. 

We should, if necessary, fast from the radio so that we don’t 

hear an endless round of misplaced seasonal carols beginning 

the day after Thanksgiving, or fast from TV programming 

that anticipates Christmas fulfillment during Advent’s 

waiting. We should also show others that it is possible to buy 

for Christmas without bowing idolatrously to commercialism. 

The Church is a refuge from a premature nativity. Catholic 

churches feel different during Advent. In the Mass, we 

eliminate the Gloria, because that is a Christmas song, the 

chant of the angels at the birth in Bethlehem (Luke 2:14). In 

fact, choirs and musicians are supposed to refrain from using 

any Christmas 

“The Star of Bethlehem,” 

by Edward Burne-Jones, 

1833-1898, English. | 

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 

music during 

Advent liturgies. 

Hope is the 

reason for 

the season, 

and Jesus Christ is certainly worth 

the wait. We could not reasonably 

expect a better Christmas present 

than Simeon and Anna received 

during that first octave of Christmas 

(Luke 2:25–38). They had waited 

long lives, not merely four weeks. 

Think, too, of the Magi, who had 

scanned the skies in hope, looking 

for a sign. 

We know him “already,” but still 

“not yet.” So let’s keep our days as 

we should, looking for signs and 

then rejoicing in the mystery of the 

Incarnation. 


■ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 

Lourdes Virtual Pilgrimage Experience. Our Lady of 

Refuge Church, 5195 E. Stearns St., Long Beach, 4-6 p.m. 

The next best thing to visiting Lourdes itself is a pilgrimage 

journey without the travel! Free event, donations welcomed. 

Call 562-498-6641. 

■ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 

Catholic Maker Advent Market. St. Francis de Sales 

Church, 13360 Valleyheart Dr., Sherman Oaks, 9 a.m.-8 

p.m. Market features Catholic artisan and author booths, 

live music, speakers on faith and liturgical living, seasonal 

and festive food vendors, activities for kids, Meet a Saint 

story hour, film screening, and Q&A. For more information, 

email info@catholicmaker.com. 

Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pauline Books & 

Media, 3908 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, 1-3 p.m. Families 

are invited for prayers, songs, food, crafts, and more. Free 

event. Call 310-397-8678 or email culvercity@paulinemedia.com. 

■ MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 

Las Mañanitas a La Virgen de Guadalupe. Cathedral of 

Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 6 

p.m.-Dec. 12, 1 a.m. Annual celebration will include dances, 

veneration of the relic of the tilma of St. Juan Diego and 

the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and “Las Mañanitas.” 

Ends with midnight Mass celebrated by Archbishop José H. 

Gomez. For more, visit lacatholics.org/events. 

■ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 

Memorial Mass. San Fernando Mission, 15151 San 

Fernando Mission Blvd., Mission Hills, 11 a.m. Mass is 

virtual and not open to the public. Livestream available at 

catholiccm.org or facebook.com/lacatholics. 

LACBA Unlawful Detainer Answer Clinic. LA Law 

Library, 301 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, 12-3 p.m. Providing 

limited assistance with reviewing unlawful detainer complaints, 

jury demands, fee waiver requests, and more. Open 

to the disabled veteran community in Los Angeles County. 

Spanish assistance available. RSVP to 213-896-6536 or 

email inquiries-veterans@lacba.org. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day Celebration. St. Barnabas 

Church, 3955 Orange Ave., Long Beach, 6:30 p.m. 

Mass followed by free reception. Bring small images and 

statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe to be blessed. For more 

information, visit stbarnabaslb.org. 

■ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 

Young Adult Rosary. Morgan Park, 4100 Baldwin Park 

Blvd., Baldwin Park, 6 p.m. Rosary for young adults and 

youth groups. Meets on the 13th of every month through 

December. Wear your ministry uniform and bring a flag or 

banner. 

St. Padre Pio Mass. St. Anne Church, 340 10th St., Seal 

Beach, 1 p.m. Celebrant: Father Al Baca. For more information, 

call 562-537-4526. 

■ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14 

Advent Penance Service. St. Barnabas Church, 3955 

Orange Ave., Long Beach, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Various priests 

available to hear confessions. 

■ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 

Simbang Gabi Celebration. Cathedral of Our Lady of 

the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 6:30 p.m. 

Celebrant: Archbishop José H. Gomez. Parade of Parols 

will precede the liturgy to kick off Simbang Gabi. For a full 

schedule of Simbang Gabi Masses, visit angelusnews.com. 

Posadas Celebrations. Dec. 15, 17-19, 21-23, St. Louis of 

France Church, 13935 E. Temple Ave., La Puente, 7 p.m. 

Dec. 16, Familia Cortez, 453 Broadmoor Ave., La Puente, 7 

p.m., Dec. 20, La Puente City Park, 501 Glendora Ave., La 

Puente. For more information, visit https://stlouisoffrancechurch-lapuente.org/. 

■ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 

A Traditional Posada. Panorama Presbyterian Church, 

14201 Roscoe Blvd., Panorama City, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Hosted by the Ministry of Assistance to the Families of the 

Incarcerated, the event includes traditional requests at the 

inn, prayer service, Christmas songs, entertainment, lunch, 

games, and raffles. To register, call Deacon Paulino Juarez- 

Ramirez at 213-278-2069 or 213-637-7532. 

■ SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 

Wagner Ensemble Holiday Concert: A French Christmas. 

St. Francis de Sales Church, 13370 Valleyheart Dr., 

Sherman Oaks, 4 p.m. Program includes a festive selection 

of French carols, with Wagner Ensemble accompanied by 

noted pianist Robert Blake. Cost: $20/general admission, 

$15/seniors and students. Buy tickets at wagnerensemble. 

eventbrite.com. Call 310-339-2488. 

Advent Vespers and Harp Concert. Holy Spirit Retreat 

Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino, 7 p.m. For more information, 

visit hsrcenter.com or call 818-815-4480. 

■ MONDAY, DECEMBER 18 

A Real Encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. St. Dorothy 

Church, 241 S. Valley Center Ave., Glendora, 10 a.m.-12 

p.m. or 7-9 p.m. Led by Msgr. Lorenzo Miranda, conference 

is offered Mon., Dec. 18 and Tues., Dec. 19, in the morning 

or afternoon. Visit stdorothy.org for more information. 

■ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21 

Children’s Bureau: Foster Care Zoom Orientation. 4-5 

p.m. Children’s Bureau is now offering two virtual ways for 

individuals and couples to learn how to help children in 

foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to 

provide legal permanency by adoption. A live Zoom orientation 

will be hosted by a Children’s Bureau team member 

and a foster parent. For those who want to learn at their 

own pace about becoming a foster and/or fost-adopt parent, 

an online orientation presentation is available. To RSVP 

for the live orientation or to request the online orientation, 

email rfrecruitment@all4kids.org. 

Homeless Persons’ Interreligious Memorial. Cathedral of 

Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 7 p.m. 

■ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29 

“God’s GPS: The Road Less Traveled” New Year’s Retreat. 

Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino. Retreat 

runs Friday, 2 p.m.-Sunday, 12 p.m. For more information, 

visit hsrcenter.com or call 818-815-4480. 

■ SATURDAY, JANUARY 6 

La Befana Celebration. Our Lady of Perpetual Help 

Church, 23233 Lyons Ave., Newhall, 12 p.m. Hosted by 

the Italian Catholic Club of SCV, includes Italian dinner, 

puppeteer, dancing, and Italian Santa Claus with gifts for 

children. Cost: $25/adults, $10/children 7-16, under 7 free. 

RSVP to Anna Riggs at 661-645-7877. 

Items for the calendar of events are due four weeks prior to the date of the event. They may be emailed to calendar@angelusnews.com. 

All calendar items must include the name, date, time, address of the event, and a phone number for additional information.

Angelus News | December 15, 2023 | Vol. 8 No. 25

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