I had to trust there was more space than there seemed to be. There must be, since there was a smiling attendant waving us on.

This Advent, as we barrel toward Christmas, let’s make an early resolution to dial back the potty mouth.

Facing east toward the altar of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Deacon Roy Callison burned cedar as his wife, Susan, recited the first of the four invocations in the Prayer in the Four Directions, a traditional spiritual practice rooted in Indigenous culture.

The foundation of sacramental marriage is the unity of the spouses, a bond so intense and grace-filled that it is exclusive and indissoluble, said a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

A relic of St. Francis of Assisi – a fragment of the very cord he wore around his waist – will travel from Assisi, Italy, to the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City for an outdoor live Nativity prayer service Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.