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Now myrrh, like frankincense, was a perfume. But unlike frankincense, myrrh smelled of death. In ... The Birth of Jesus Christ.

Now myrrh, like frankincense, was a perfume. But unlike frankincense, myrrh smelled of death. In the ancient world, it was used to embalm a corpse. Jesus himself would be embalmed with this very perfume (cf. John 19:39).

If the magi were thinking of Jesus' death when they brought the myrrh, they no doubt knew of it from Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27). In the ninth chapter of Daniel we ...

The Vatican's official English-language translation of the Italian text of Pope Benedict's homi... Text of Pope Benedict's

The Vatican's official English-language translation of the Italian text of Pope Benedict's homily, pronounced in Italian, during Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

"The Lord said to me: You are my son; this day I have begotten you." With these words of the second Psalm, the Church begins the Vigil Mass of Christmas, at which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Redeemer in a ...

Thailand Disasters (General) Environmental Issues or Create Your Own Manage Alerts What Is This... Quiet ceremonies mark tsun

Thailand Disasters (General) Environmental Issues or Create Your Own Manage Alerts What Is This?

As final preparations were made for official commemoration ceremonies on Monday marking one year to the day since the disaster, mourners held mostly small, quiet prayer gatherings of their own on the anniversary's eve.

Western tourists who survived the tsunami were among those who ret...

AFNARFJORDUR, Iceland — In the United States, we think of elves as Santa’s little hel... The land of elves: Hidden

AFNARFJORDUR, Iceland — In the United States, we think of elves as Santa’s little helpers. In Iceland, elves are a bigger deal.

Icelandic elves don’t work in Santa’s workshop. They are an independent lot, with magical powers. They aren’t even associated with Iceland’s Santas, which number 13. That’s right: Iceland has 13 Santas, brothers each with...

Email this story Comment in our Blog Print this story NEW YORK - Buses returned to city str... NYC's Subways, Buses Rumble

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NEW YORK - Buses returned to city streets and subways whooshed through tunnels Friday, as New Yorkers began the first morning rush since the end of a three-day strike that shut down the nation's largest mass transit system.

Subways and buses rumbled to life around midnight, and the transit authority said a normal fleet of trains...

In the past 115 years, only 31 Christmas Days have been white. The National Weather Service defin... Just how many flakes make

In the past 115 years, only 31 Christmas Days have been white. The National Weather Service defines a white Christmas as an inch or more of snow on the ground. The last white Christmas in Columbia came in 2002, when 5 inches of snow fell the night before. Columbians had 11 inches of snow on the ground on Christmas Day in 1915. The snow had fallen before the holiday. The 1983 Christmas was defin...

Derrick Burgess can't swim and has no interest in laying out in the sun or learning how to surf.... Burgess Picked to Play His

Derrick Burgess can't swim and has no interest in laying out in the sun or learning how to surf. That won't keep the NFL's sacks leader from enjoying his first trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

"I'm going to sight see," Oakland's star defensive end said Wednesday. "I like to get around."

For Burgess, being named to the AFC team is a big deal considering everything he's overcome...

Houston coach Art Briles slipped into a glassy-eyed trance as he recalled the day that changed hi... Houston Coach Perseveres T

Houston coach Art Briles slipped into a glassy-eyed trance as he recalled the day that changed his life forever.

He rattled off the date his parents and aunt died in a car crash - Oct. 16, 1976 - and his voice turned hollow as he talked about the aftermath and how he persevered.

"I pulled up and pushed forward, but it's still with me every second," said Briles, who will lead Housto...

Back to Home > Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 Sports email this print this reprint or license this '); ... Houston coach perseveres thr

Back to Home > Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 Sports email this print this reprint or license this '); '); }

Houston coach Art Briles slipped into a glassy-eyed trance as he recalled the day that changed his life forever.

He rattled off the date his parents and aunt died in a car crash - Oct. 16, 1976 - and his voice turned hollow as he talked about the aftermath and how he persevered. read more