For those of you who may not know, today is the Feast of Immaculate Conception, where many celebrate the tradition that Mary herself was immaculately conceived.
ROME – Pope Benedict XVI is praying for those who lost jobs or are struggling to pay bills as Rome’s holiday season began with a traditional appearance by the pontiff near the Spanish Steps.
Thousands of Romans and tourists crowded into the square near Rome’s posh shopping streets to hear Benedict pray Monday afternoon near a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Rome’s holiday season begins every Dec. 8, when the pontiff arrives in his popemobile in the square at the foot of the Spanish Steps.
Benedict said he was asking the Virgin Mary to help families struggling to make ends meet and those who can’t find work or who have just lost their jobs. He said he hoped those suffering would feel the “warmth of God’s love.”
via Pope starts Rome holiday season, prays for jobless – Yahoo News.
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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