When “Santa Baby” starts playing at the grocery store, I thank God I’m Catholic and try not to hum along! That can be difficult because it is a catchy—if irritating—tune. During the Advent season, we ...

Last year, America published “An (unconventional) Advent Playlist,” an article including two playlists by Karen Nielsen and Rogelio Juárez, in response to a friend’s lament that “‘O Come, O Come ...

Many Catholic Advent hymns focus on the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, such as "Rorate Caeli (Drop down, Ye Heavens)." In recent years, Brett McCraken of The Gospel Coalition network has created ...

When many Catholics think of Advent music, what comes to mind is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and maybe The King of Glory. However, the Church possesses a treasure house of hymns and carols that ...

"O Lord, How Shall I Meet You" is a perfect Lutheran hymn for the weeks before Christmas, but shoppers will never hear it between Muzak versions of "Jingle Bells" and ...

I entered parish ministry with a fair amount of idealism, particularly liturgical idealism. Inconveniently, the liturgical proclivities I picked up in seminary were not especially popular with my ...

Wreaths, candles and calendars. These are sure signs of Advent for many Christian groups around the world. But what is Advent exactly? Spiritually, it’s meant as a celebration of the Earthly birth of ...

The season of Advent marks the time of preparation and hope for the coming of the Christ in Western Christianity. The traditional Advent period begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, and it ...

Wreaths, candles and calendars. These are sure signs of Advent for many Christian groups around the world. But what is Advent exactly? The word Advent derives from the Latin adventus, which means an ...