Chloe explains her drawing: “It’s like Santa is kneeling at the altar before the baby Jesus. He’s worshipping the baby Jesus in the manger. I came up with the idea the same way – saying what it is – Santa is like St. Nicholas. He is a saint, and that’s connected with the baby Jesus.

Students at St. Christopher School in Metairie dedicated their Nov. 22 Thanksgiving Mass to the first responders who keep them safe 24/7 – many of them school parents and grandparents. At the conclusion of this “Blue Mass,” celebrated by St. Christopher’s pastor, Father Raymond Igbogiti, all students sang “The Blessing Song” asking for God’s protection of their guests, their colleagues and their families. “I know (your family members) must spend many hours in fear and anxiety as you carry out your job, but they’re always there as a unit to support and encourage you,” said Ruth Meche, principal.

2019 arrived and departed in a flash, more quickly than the pages of a calendar flipping in the breeze in an old black-and-white film. In honor of my dad, who each year in The Times-Picayune would compile a list of sports predictions for the coming year, what follows is a baptized version of Nostradamus-on-demand. Red-crayon Xs for the misses; green-crayon checks for the hits. (Nostradamus of the Bayou is in such a festive Christmas mood he offers some bonus picks, starting Dec. 28, 2019.)

Sophomores at Mount Carmel Academy are constantly reminded of the origins of the Catholic faith by studying the Old Testament in religion class.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, Christmas at St. Jude’s, free Christmas concert with the parish’s two church choirs, Dec. 29, 5 p.m., 411 North Rampart St., New Orleans. Followed by dessert and a social.

Loving our neighbor is Christmas message Jesus was born on this wonderful day He taught us how to love God and pray And through stories and parables he showed us the way

How would you feel if your birthday came around and nobody remembered? You have anxiously been waiting for it for an entire year. You were so excited and looking forward to celebrating with friends and family. You were imagining how much fun it would be.

John “Harold” Boucree is credited with having influenced many a New Orleanian through his devotion to faith, education and music.

Last month, students at St. Charles Borromeo School in Destrehan mounted a campus-wide “Louisiana Heritage Week” that culminated with student performances and a Museum Walk showcasing their state-themed classroom studies.

Suspended from the ceiling like an elegant evergreen chandelier, the Advent wreath at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Algiers is impossible to miss during Masses celebrated this season. After testing various locations for the wreath over the course of his eight years as St. Andrew’s pastor, Father John Talamo Jr. realized that placing it in its traditional spot on the ground floor, near the sanctuary, was leaving congregants sitting in the church’s second-floor seating – literally – in the dark.

The CSAL Girls’ Flag Football champions of 2019 pose with their trophy Dec. 7 after prevailing in a hard-fought, single-division tournament at St. Mary Magdalen’s playing field. This year’s winner was St. Matthew the Apostle. The runner-up was St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Queridos hermanos: la última semana de Adviento pasa de las esperanzas a los hechos, de las promesas a los cumplimientos. A pocos días de la gran fiesta el Evangelio de hoy nos avisa: “el nacimiento de Jesucristo fue de esta manera”. Y entran en escena personajes que ya no anuncian, prometen o preparan, sino que intervienen como actores principales de ese nacimiento. Ante todo, María, la madre, pero también José, su esposo, que se encontró con que, antes de vivir juntos, María “esperaba un hijo por obra del Espíritu Santo”.

A training retreat for those interested in facilitating the Ignatian prayer series “Lord, Teach Me to Pray” will be held Jan. 4 at St. Pius X Church, 6666 Spanish Fort Blvd. in New Orleans.

New Orleans and Louisiana Right to Life will celebrate their 50th anniversary of defending life at the Proudly Pro-Life Gala Jan. 18 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 601 Loyola Ave. A reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and an after-party with the Peyton Falgoust Band.

Estoy muy feliz de desearles una Navidad muy, muy bendecida, a ustedes y, a todos aquellos que la tienen en su corazón. Al celebrar el nacimiento del Señor Jesús, somos conscientes de que Dios, se convirtió en uno de nosotros. Dios, tomó carne humana. Él es Emmanuel. Dios está con nosotros.

The following information is the most recent available information for church weddings at various parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Contact the parishes to schedule wedding dates and for policies. The churches in the following list are among the ones that have celebrated the most weddings in recent years. It is not a comprehensive list. (504) area code is assumed unless otherwise listed.

Of all the gifts the Holy Spirit offers us, one of the most overlooked, and perhaps most delightful, is the gift of wonder and awe. Particularly in this season of Advent, it would serve us well to ask God for a fresh outpouring of this gift of childlike wonder.

The midpoint of Advent is a perfect place to pause and take spiritual stock of our journey to the awesome, wondrous gift of the coming of God in Jesus, the word made flesh. With less than two weeks to Christmas, it’s easy to lose our spiritual focus.