Josh Mcgovern

Cynthia Palm, a former southern Baptist, is now in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) program at St. Patrick in Oak Grove and is experiencing her first Advent season in the Catholic Church.

Bishop Michael Izen said Christmas is so big that it brings a weight of expectation each year.

Becca Reither, a parishioner of St. Anne in Hamel, felt inspired at the age of 6 when her dad first started going on mission trips to Uganda. As Reither got older, she met a religious sister from Uganda named Sister Salome. It became Reither’s childhood dream to visit Sister Salome, but it wasn’t until after Reither’s senior year in high school that she was able to take a trip to visit.

In the previous “Practicing Catholic” episode Dec. 6, Zach Jansen, the digital content producer for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, explored Christian themes in the holiday movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” For the program airing at 9 p.m. Dec. 13, Jansen explored the Christian themes of the Christmas movie “Elf”.

Angie Burnes, a parishioner of St. Patrick in Oak Grove, is a cradle Catholic and a mother of five. She also recently attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. At the Congress, Burnes said she encountered many awe-inspiring moments.

The Source and Summit Eucharistic Procession makes its way along Summit Avenue in St. Paul on its way to the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Father Jim Livingston, the pastor of St. Paul in Ham Lake, noted that in the passage from the Gospel of Matthew referencing what is commonly referred to as the three wise men seeking the Christ child to do him homage, there is no indication of how many there are. Instead, he points out, the passage just says wise men.

During a difficult time in Greg Hughes’ first marriage, Julia Hughes’ first husband became his accountability partner, meeting with Greg every week to encourage each other in their faith.

Braxton Battaglia, an eighth grader at Westwood Middle School in Blaine, was drawn to gymnastics at a young age. Her parents, Erin and Dan Battaglia, encouraged it as an activity, particularly during the colder months in Minnesota.

In the previous episode of “Practicing Catholic,” Erin Battaglia shared the story of when her daughter, Braxton, was diagnosed with leukemia. The Battaglia family found hope and faith in the medical staff at Masonic Children’s Hospital at the University of Minnesota and their own extended family who stepped up to help, Battaglia said.