Category Archives: e-Formation

The feast of the Chair of Peter has been celebrated from the earliest times by the church at Rome. It was initially celebrated first on January 18 in recognition of the day when Peter is said to have held his first service with the Roman faithful. Since the Middle Ages, the feast has been observed…

The person to whom this letter is ascribed can scarcely be one of the two members of the Twelve who bore the name James (see Mt 10:2–3; Mk 3:17–18; Lk 6:14–15), for he is not identified as an apostle but only as “slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas 1:1). This designation most probably refers…

Nativity Scene Also known as a creche, this tradition dates back to Saint Francis of Assisi, who is credited with creating the first live nativity scene in 1223 as a way to make public worship of Jesus part of the Christmas season. The recreation of the birth of Christ, featuring people dressed as Mary, Joseph…

First and Second Maccabees were Jewish writings regarding the history of the Jews during portions of the time period between the Old and New Testaments. They were written in the second century BC (likely date of 1 Maccabees) or first century BC (likely date of 2 Maccabees), probably originally in Hebrew for 1 Maccabees and…