Tony Baker and his daughter Mesa take away a Christmas tree from Rum River Tree Farm in Anoka, Minnesota Dec. 8, 2013. CNS photo/Eric Miller, Reuters ...read more

Egyptian Muslims and Christians celebrate Coptic Christmas Eve in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Jan. 6, 2013 CNS photo/Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Reuters ...read more

The statue of Jesus on St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Christmas tree are seen from St. Peter’s Square following a lighting ceremony Dec. 13, 2013. CNS photo/Paul Haring ...read more

Men salute as Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services arrives on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to visit troops around Christmas in 2011. The archdiocese provides priest chaplains, with the permission of their home dioceses, to minister to the military. The chaplain’s ...read more

Last week we saw that there is a difference between mercy and compassion. Compassion (to suffer with) can be offered to anyone who is suffering. Mercy, on the other hand can only be offered to someone who is guilty and deserves punishment; mercy is offered instead of punishment. Therefore there is a direct connection between ...read more

Church-goers gather outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing before Christmas Eve Mass Dec. 24, 2009. CNS photo/David Gray, Reuters ...read more

The late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago gives communion to detainees during Mass at Cook County Department of Corrections, Division 6, a medium-security facility in Chicago on Christmas Day. The cardinal also made a stop at Children’s Memorial Hospital to visit with families and their children who are hospitalized and could not be home for Christmas. ...read more

In this Dec. 24, 2013 CNS file photo, Polish miners and their families gather for Christmas Eve Mass at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. CNS photo/Jacek Bednarczyk, EPA ...read more

A woman prays during Christmas Eve Mass at Lai Yen Catholic Church in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec. 24, 2013 CNS photo/Kham, Reuters ...read more

After months of patient planning and preparation, two new statues have finally been unveiled in the front yard of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hamilton, Ontario. The bronze sculptures of St. Patrick and Jesus as a homeless man, now stand in what has been dubbed the church without walls.  At the ceremony, Father Tony O’Dell, ...read more