Day: December 5, 2025
Dec. 4 Thursday of the First Week of Advent; Opt. Mem. of St. John Damascene, Priest and Doctor, Weekday
The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene (676-749), who was a learned theologian who carefully gathered together and transmitted to us the teaching of the Greek Fathers, and is thus one of the most trustworthy witnesses to oriental tradition. He also wrote many liturgical hymns still in use today. St. John Damascene … Read more
The kitchen friar’s book that inspires Pope Leo’s spirituality
Pope Leo XIV speaks with reporters on his flight from Beirut to Rome on Dec. 2, 2025. / Credit: Elias Turk/EWTN CNA Staff, Dec 3, 2025 / 18:21 pm (CNA). On the papal plane on the way home from his first international trip, Pope Leo XIV referenced a book that has greatly influenced his spirituality … Read more
Vatican commission rejects female diaconate, although without a ‘definitive judgment’
St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. / Credit: Xosema (CC BY-SA 4.0) ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 4, 2025 / 13:37 pm (CNA). The Vatican published on Dec. 4 the summary of the work carried out by the commissions studying the possibility of admitting women to the diaconate, presented to Pope Leo XIV by Cardinal Giuseppe … Read more