On the fortieth day after His resurrection, our Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father. But although Jesus is hidden from your eyes, He is not absent from you. For He now fills all things in heaven and on earth.

The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word pentekostos which means “fiftieth.” Exactly 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the form of flames of fire.

The Church continues to confess the confident truth that the triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — has given himself for our salvation.

The season of Advent focuses on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this first Sunday establishes this theme for the rest of the season.

Advent, a season of repentance, waiting and watching, looks forward in hope. Our Christian faith rests on the hope that Christ, who came in the flesh in history to accomplish our salvation, will also return in the same way to be our judge on the last day and bring us into eternal life.

Advent, a season of repentance, waiting and watching, looks forward in hope. Our Christian faith rests on the hope that Christ, who came in the flesh in history to accomplish our salvation, will also return in the same way to be our judge on the last day and bring us into eternal life.

The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the nativity of our Lord. With Mary, we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Spirit of God.

Heaven and earth rejoice this night because the glory of the holy Triune God is manifested in the human birth of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

The Festival of the Nativity of our Lord is the traditional way of saying Christmas Day, on which Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus.

While Christmas focuses on the incarnation of our Lord — God becoming flesh — the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ.