In these final days of Advent, I am way behind on my preparation for Christmas.

The interconnected “moral, social, political and economic crises” facing the world cannot be solved if individuals and nations continue to focus only on their own, immediate interests, Pope Francis said in his message for World Peace Day 2023.

The National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg began offering digital book clubs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, and they continue several times a year under the direction of Anita DiGregory, virtual experience facilitator for the shrine.

According to Pope Francis, it takes courage and the grit of a “revolutionary” not only to follow Christ in today’s world, but also to be genuinely happy along the way.

Bianca Jagger, a native of Nicaragua who heads her own human rights commission, said she had pleaded with the pope to condemn the regime of Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s president since 2007, and also has appealed to Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua and to the country’s conference of bishops.