Catholic Nutshell News: Friday 12/26/25
Topics include: ‘No situation is too dark'; ‘Do not be afraid'; Don’t put the tree away yet; & Pope Leo says ‘Merry Christmas’ in 10 languages
Fridays, "Living that coconut kinda life."
Today's sources: National Catholic Register, Catholic News Agency, Word on Fire, Catholic World Report, Zenit, & Aleteia. (Catholic Nutshell is a FREE subscription service for faithful, hopeful, & curious Catholics willing to exercise their Catholic News Muscle)
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Catholic News Agency
‘No situation is too dark for God to dwell in it’
By Diego López Marina, December 25, 2025
At the Christmas Eve Mass in Bethlehem, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said “one of the great messages of Christmas” is that God “does not wait for history to improve before entering into it” but embraces human reality. The cardinal explained that the birth of Jesus does not occur outside of time or apart from political events but within concrete history. “God does not create a parallel history. He does not enter the world when everything is finally ordered and peaceful, but “enters into real, concrete, sometimes harsh history.” Commenting on the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, which places the birth of Christ in the context of a decree by Emperor Augustus, the patriarch indicated that this detail has profound theological significance. “The very history that claims to be self-sufficient becomes the place where God fulfills his promise,” he affirmed, adding that “no time is ever truly lost, and no situation is too dark for God to dwell in it.”
aciafrica
‘Do not be afraid,’ said Catholic Bishop from Sudan
By ACI Africa Staff, December 25, 2025
In a country battered by violence, displacement, and fear, the 2025 Christmas message of Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of El-Obeid emerges as a testimony of faith spoken from within war itself. Repeating the biblical refrain, “Do not be afraid,” Bishop Trille addresses the people of God in Sudan while naming their suffering and the fragile hope still carried by the celebration of Christmas. The Christmas proclamation is rooted in God’s fidelity, since “the birth of Christ is the manifestation of the glory of our God,” revealing His promise of salvation and peace for the whole of creation. This peace, the Sudanese Catholic Bishop stresses, is not selective; it is “the Peace that God bestows on earth and the whole Creation in the person of the baby Jesus lying in the manger,” a peace offered “to all people without exception.”
CatholicVote
Don’t put the tree away yet
By Rachel Quackenbush, December 25, 2025
After Christmas Day, many people pack away their Christmas decorations and almost immediately return to the rhythm of everyday life. However, a growing Catholic movement encourages embracing the Christmas spirit well into the New Year, celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas and even continuing festivities until Feb. 2 when the Church celebrates Candlemas. The tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas lasts from Jesus’ birth Dec. 25 until the day before the Epiphany Jan. 6. Rather than rushing through the season, those who observe this tradition can engage in activities that deepen their connections with family and faith. In a piece written for Crisis Magazine titled “Keeping a Long Christmas,” author and commentator Charles Coulombe explained the concept of the “holiday creep,” characterized by society’s attempt to begin the Christmas season as early as Halloween. This is a sign of more than just a pursuit of profits, according to Coulombe. It reveals a more profound societal longing for connection and nostalgia.
National Catholic Register
U.S. strikes ISIS in Nigeria to stem Christian slaughters
By CNA Staff, December 26, 2025
With the support of the Nigerian government, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military has carried out strikes against elements of ISIS in Nigeria that “have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians.” “I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” said President Trump of the Dec. 25 action. Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that “precision hits on terrorist targets” in the country’s northwestern Sokoto state were carried out in cooperation with the United States. Congressman Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, a Catholic who has championed the cause of persecuted Nigerian Christians in the U.S. House of Representatives, said that “tonight's strike in coordination with the Nigerian government is just the first step to ending the slaughter of Christians and the security crisis affecting all Nigerians.”
Related: American government had ‘no option but to intervene militarily’, CRUX, By Ngala Killian Chimtom, Dec 26, 2025
The Times of Israel
No countries, except Indonesia, willing to absorb Palestinians
By Shalom Yerushalmi, December 26, 2025
The plan for the voluntary migration of Gaza Strip residents, which reverberated in Israel and globally for months earlier in the war, is effectively dead. Israeli officials admit that the plan – which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enthusiastically endorsed as a “day after” strategy and even conditioned the end of the war on its implementation – is off the table. Senior figures involved in the matter now concede it is unfeasible. The “migration administration,” which Defense Minister Israel Katz announced he was establishing in March, still exists on paper. However, it is clearly inactive and will inevitably shut down. President Donald Trump gradually backed away from the idea proposed in February, due to global refusal to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza. Indonesia is the only country willing to accept refugees – possibly even the entire population of Gaza. A senior political source notes, however, that this depends on the compensation offered by the United States
Catholic World Report
Book examines intersect of Judaism & the Catholic Church
By Paul Senz, December 22, 2025
The historical relationship between Judaism and Catholicism is complex. Deep and abiding theological differences endure, and yet Jesus himself said that “salvation comes from the Jews” (Jn 4:22), and Pope Pius XI noted that, “Spiritually, we are all Semites.” Looking at this long and complicated history, how can one navigate these issues? How can Catholics understand the relationship of Catholicism to Judaism? Angela Costley and Gavin D’Costa are the editors of a new book, From Sinai to Rome: Jewish Identity in the Catholic Church (Ignatius Press, 2025), which explores the deep Jewish roots of the Church and how understanding that patrimony can help Catholics come to a fuller understanding of our faith. The book features chapters from many contributors, including Scott Hahn, Brant Pitre, Roy Schoeman, Lawrence Feingold, and others.
CRUX
Christian artists win over listeners & enter pop’s mainstream
By Maria Sherman, AP, December 25, 2025
It is one of the most surprising music stories of the year. While streams of new music — from the last 18 months — were down from last year, one genre is on the rise: Christian and gospel music, according to industry data and analytics company Luminate’s 2025 Midyear Report. Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president, said the shift is led by acts like Forrest Frank, Brandon Lake, and Elevation Worship, who are connecting with a “younger, streaming-forward fan base” that’s 60% female and 30% millennial. In fact, for the first time in 11 years, two contemporary Christian music songs — Frank’s “Your Way’s Better” and Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Jelly Roll — broke through the Billboard Hot 100’s all-genre Top 40, placing them in direct competition with mainstream artists. Secular artists like Jelly Roll, Killer Mike, and T.I. are nominated in Christian music categories at the forthcoming 2026 Grammys — the lines are blurring.
Zenit News
Leo XIV’s sorrow over Putin’s rejection of the Christmas truce
By Valentina di Giorgio, December 25, 2025
The final days before Christmas offered Pope Leo XIV an unusual public moment of synthesis: a brief, improvised exchange with journalists that wove together global conflict, fragile ceasefires, and a deeply personal moral disappointment rooted in his own homeland with the Democratic governor of Illinois. He expressed sorrow over Russia’s reported refusal to accept a proposed Christmas truce in Ukraine, calling the news one of the greatest personal burdens he carries during the holiday season. Christmas, he insisted, should not pass without at least a symbolic interruption of violence. His appeal was deliberately modest: not a comprehensive settlement, but 24 hours of restraint, a single day in which weapons fall silent. The same hope surfaced when he spoke of the Middle East. Leo XIV referred to the recent visit of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to Gaza, describing it as a sign of pastoral closeness amid devastation.
Big Pulpit, CNA & Zenit for 12/26/25
Big Pulpit
Tito Edwards Catholic site: December 26, 2025
The Big Pulpit website is a news aggregator that gathers quality insights and analysis on the Catholic Church worldwide.
These Are Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer Intentions for 2026 – National Catholic Register
What Will Happen When the Pope Meets All the World’s Cardinals? – Rome Reports
Leo Charms Curia with Sugar Not Vinegar: Annual Papal Christmas Message – Fr. A.J. McDonald
Has the Time Come for an Apostolic Visitation to Charlotte? – Brian Williams at Liturgy Guy
Catholic News Agency
CNA’s top headlines — December 26, 2025
Catholic News Agency provides reliable, free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Universal Church, with updates on the words of the Holy Father and the Holy See.
Pope Leo XIV: Christians have no enemies, only brothers and sisters - Dec 26, 2025 - By Victoria Cardiel - Pope Leo XIV on Friday urged Christians to resist the temptation to treat others as enemies, saying the mystery of Christmas calls believers to recognize the God-given dignity of every person, even in their adversaries.
CNA explains: How does ‘Mass dispensation’ work, and when is it used? - Dec 26, 2025 - By Daniel Payne - Amid heavy immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, several bishops in the U.S. have recently issued broad dispensations to Catholics.
St. Stephen: Visiting the spot where the first martyr died - Dec 26, 2025 - By Jonah McKeown - A chapel of one form or another memorializing Stephen’s martyrdom has existed at the site since at least the fifth Century, the first person to die for the risen Christ. Roman Catholics celebrate his feast Dec. 26.
Zenit
Zenit - The world seen from Rome - December 26, 2025
Zenit is an international, non-profit news agency staffed by professionals and volunteers to transmit information with fidelity and service to the truth.
Holy Land-Persecuted Christians - Muslims set fire to a Catholic Christmas tree in the West Bank. Radicalized youths deliberately set fire to the tree erected outside the parish of the Most Holy Redeemer as an act of intimidation. Instead, they became an unintended testimony to endurance.
Germans trust Leo XIV more than Islam: new survey results released - Data released from a representative Forsa poll indicate that 28 percent of Germans now say they place high or very high trust in the Pope. The figures suggest neither a sweeping religious revival nor simple nostalgia, but rather a cautious reassessment of leadership at the top of the Catholic Church.
Trump administration bans “gender reassignment” surgeries on minors - At the center of the initiative is a shift in how federal health programs will define acceptable standards of care. HHS intends to make participation in Medicare and Medicaid contingent on hospitals refraining from providing sex-change-related treatments to minors. In practical terms, this condition would affect the vast majority of U.S. hospitals, given their dependence on public funding streams.
Nutshell reflections for 12/26/25:
USCCB Daily Reflection: AUDIO - December 26, 2025
Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr
Catholic365
The Way God Chose to Enter
By Annie D’Costa, December 26, 2025
The Way God Chose to Enter
God did not arrive
with a list of demands.
He entered through a body
that could ache,
through lungs that learned breath,
through hands that would one day
be nailed open …
It is surrender
to a love
that already stepped toward us.
Catholic Culture
The guardian Gabriel struck the deal with Mary & Joseph
By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, December 22, 2025
In commerce, parties engage in trade agreements. Nations make treaty agreements. Every agreement enhances mutual understanding. Some even prevent war. Throughout Scripture, God also enters into trade agreements with man. At first glance, St. Joseph may appear to occupy a relatively obscure role as a negotiator in the Gospels, but the account of the angel Gabriel appearing to Joseph establishes him as a key negotiator on our behalf in God’s providence. God offers Mary a sweetheart deal. The negotiations begin with recognizing Mary’s undeniable strengths. The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary in a vision and hails her as “full of grace”—permeated in her entirety with sinlessness from the moment of her conception. Although betrothed to Joseph but before they lived together, Mary asks the Angel to clarify his terms: “How can this be, since I do not know man?” Gabriel responds, “The Holy Spirit shall descend upon you, and you will conceive.” Deal struck. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Aleteia
Pope Leo says ‘Merry Christmas’ in 10 languages
By Christine Rousselle, December 26, 2025
Pope Leo XIV's brother recently confirmed that the Pontiff is an active language learner and perhaps even an avid Duolingo user, but after his first Christmas as pope, it's safe to say he's likely in the app's Diamond League. when addressing the crowd for the Urbi et Orbi blessing, Pope Leo wished everyone a Merry Christmas — in 10 languages! “Merry Christmas! May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts and in your families,” he said. That’s Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Latin. According to Mountain Butorac, an American living in Rome who organized pilgrimages, Pope Leo had a “mischievous smile” when he kept speaking more and more languages. Pope Leo XIV is known to be fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English (his mother tongue), yet also speaks French, is adept at Quechua, (Peru), and was said to be learning German, Many were surprised to see him speak Chinese and Polish.
Word on Fire
The Mystery of Christmas, water, and wine
By Fr. Billy Swan, December 26, 2025
When I celebrate Mass as a priest, one of the gestures and accompanying prayers that always strikes me comes as the gifts of bread and wine are being prepared and offered to God the Father. Just after the bread is offered, the wine is then poured into the chalices, followed by the addition by the priest or deacon of a small amount of water as he prays these words: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” As the water commingles with the wine as it enters the chalice, I am awestruck by how this deeply symbolic action and prayer express the faith of the Church—that, by the Eucharist, we celebrate His Body and Blood. We receive, we hope to participate in the divinity of him who humbled himself to share in our earthly humanity. This commingling of water with wine at Mass is symbolic of the coming together of divinity and humanity in the person of Jesus, brought about in the mystery of the Incarnation we celebrate at Christmas.
Image of Coconut by Celio Nicoli from Pixabay
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