Photo of the Day: Altar Display, St. Cecilia Church, Englewood NJ

I took the image accompanying this post at the Christmas vigil service at my longtime spiritual home, St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church in Englewood, NJ.

Photo of the Day: Creche, St. Cecilia Church, Englewood NJ

Late yesterday afternoon, I, like so many other parishioners, lined up in front of this creche on the altar at my longtime church, St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church in Bergen County, NJ, to take this photo.  

You will find the same image all over the world today, but those who go here feel a proprietary interest in beholding this—and those who have ever attended Mass here know exactly what I’m talking about.

Photo of the Day: Creche, Cresskill, NJ

I photographed this just after twilight a few days ago on the lawn in front of the Cresskill Public Library, a few miles from where I live in Bergen County, NJ.

Somehow, this scene never gets old for me…

Photo of the Day: Outdoor Creche, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Westwood NJ

This past week, while walking around in Westwood, a few towns away from me in Bergen County, NJ, I came upon this nativity scene outside Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. The crèche is not elaborate, but the simple yet vivid colors immediately catch the eye.

Photo of the Day: Creche, St. John’s, Bergenfield NJ

I was driving around this afternoon, heading from one late-Christmas store purchase to another, when my eye was caught by the display you see here. This crèche scene was facing Washington Avenue, outside St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, in Bergenfield, not far from where I live in Bergen County, NJ.

The sight pulled me up short, reminding me that this time of year should not be about the purchases but about a baby—but not just any baby—brought into a very dark world to light it with love, and to reunite the worlds of man and nature into a harmonious whole.