There are some saints who were so immersed in prayer that their feet literally left the ground. While amazing, this is by no means unique.

What better moment to reflect on both the brevity and great expanse of time than at the close of one year and the beginning of the next? And Christ is the intersection of East and West—the skygazing mystics of the East came to honor him; his birth occurred in Bethlehem because his parents traveled there to be counted for the Roman census.

The Feast of Pardon, as it is called in Italy, always attracts thousands of visitors and pilgrims to Assisi.

My mother, mother of seven, had inherited from her own mother (of 10) a beautiful statue of Mary. It was one of the few objects in our home that was kept out of the reach of us youngsters. When I was very young, I asked my mother why the statue was so special and she responded simply that Mary was the perfect role model for every mother.