In many Vietnamese families, there exists a beautiful and unique tradition. When a baby turns three months old, he is given a party and an entire pig is roasted in his honor. The family feasts on the pig and rejoices that the baby has reached this milestone. Yet, one may ask, why is this such an important milestone? Why make such a fuss over three months? The reason is simple and beautiful: the family does this because their child has reached a major milestone. Their child is actually a year old because he has spent nine months in the womb. He is one year old because life begins at conception.

Organised by Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based federation of Catholic charities, the global “wave of prayer” will begin at noon on December 10 on the South Pacific island of Samoa and head west across the world’s time zones.

Pope Francis will offer his blessing and support for the “One Human Family, Food For All” campaign in a five-minute video message being released on the eve of the global launch.

These worldly powers which seek to destroy God, noted the Pope, also manifest in the contemporary desire to keep religion as “a private thing,” alluding to the fact that today many religious symbols have become taboo.

“You must obey the orders which come from worldly powers. You can do many things, beautiful things, but not adore God. Worship is prohibited. This is at the center of the end of time.”

The Year of Faith has come to a close this past Sunday, November 24th -- the Feast of Christ the King. Faith tends to grow in adversity and for many this has been a very difficult year filled with stripping moments -- where all that was left was the certainty of Jesus in our lives. In his closing remarks, Pope Francis commented that believing “is walking with Jesus. It’s a journey that lasts a lifetime... Obviously, in this journey there will be moments when we feel tired and confused. However, faith gives us the certainty of the constant presence of Jesus in every situation, including the most painful and difficult to understand.”