Father Chris Alar, MIC, explains: The suffering that we think God is imposing on us is really us doing it to ourselves. Often it isn’t until we are finally brought to our knees that we finally discover our need for God.

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122325.cfm Christmas does not begin when the stores say it does. It begins with prayer. As Fr. Chris Alar, MIC explains, the Church enters Christmas at Vespers on Christmas Eve, because the mystery we celebrate is not sentimentality but the Incarnation itself — God entering history to heal what humanity could never repair on its own.

We have all heard about "pedophile priests" and the Church scandal. And while there are certainly cases of this and trauma caused many victims by abusive priests, for which there is no excuse, there is more to the story. What is the reason for it and are the number of cases actually greater in schools, homes, and other religions? And is the problem really pedophilia, or something else? Was the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report accurate or flawed? Hear Fr. Chris Alar explain what you need to know.