Merry Christmas! I’m in the cafe car on Amtrak, heading to Philadelphia. I think this is the first time I’ve traveled alone on Christmas Day, and am eager to be with family tonight.

I stayed in Washington for Christmas Eve because I wanted to be there for Midnight Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, was the celebrant. And EWTN broadcast it:

It turned out to be a spiritually rich Christmas Eve, for which I’m really grateful. And as a bonus, I ran into a friend and his fiancé from my University of Mary bioethics program. We sat together and caught up afterwards.

Christmas reminds us not only that Christ came into the world, but also that we’re not alone.