December 21, 2023
POPE Francis blows a candle on a cake as he celebrates his birthday with children assisted by the Santa Marta dispensary during an audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Pope Francis turned 87 on December 17.
Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Stories this photo appears in:
FRONT PORCH: ‘Until then it is still night’
THERE is an allegory that serves as a prism for some of the light and meaning of the Incarnation and Christmas: “An old Hasidic rabbi asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and day begun, for daybreak is the time for certain holy prayers. ‘Is it,’ proposed one student, ‘when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?’ ‘No,’ answered the rabbi.
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