December 25, 2025: "Making Room" with Natalia Imperatori Lee

Preaching for Christmas, Natalia Imperatori-Lee reflects on God's determination to "make room" and encourages us to do likewise: "In the incarnation, God, too, makes room. God is determined to make room. Room for light in the darkness. Room for joy in our sadness. Room for triumph in our defeats. Room for peace in our broken, war-torn world. God is determined to make space among the ruins for celebration, to make possible within our vulnerability a sense of safety. God is determined to make room in the darkness that surrounds us for an inextinguishable light. How are we being called to make room in our lives? ...Are we determined like God to make room for good in this world filled with suffering?" Natalia Imperatori-Lee is Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx, NY, where she also coordinates the Catholic Studies program. She is the author, most recently, of "Women and the Church: From Devil’s Gateway to Disciples" (Paulist Press, 2024), and of "Cuéntame: Narrative in the Ecclesial Present"(Orbis Books, 2018). Her work focuses on the intersection of Latinx theologies, feminist theologies, and Catholic ecclesiology. She lives in the Bronx with her spouse and children. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/12252023 to learn more about Natalia, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic Women Preach.