This weekend we’ve just had Valentine’s Day – for some it’s very much a romantic occasion, but for many others the day isn’t anything to celebrate at all – it compounds their sense of loneliness. In this week's programme the guest presenter Richard Littledale, a retired Baptist minister and a writer and podcaster working in Colwyn Bay, explores the subject from a personal perspective. Nine years ago his wife Fiona died of cancer and loneliness has been a fact of life for him ever since. During the programme, Richard visits a café, a farm and a hospice and talks to a psychology student who's has battled loneliness. And, Richard introduces us to a polar bear called Arthur.

With a live audience at the Womens' Healthy Lives community event organised by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board from Cardiff City Stadium, Delyth Liddell and guests explore if faith can have an effect on access to healthcare.

Delyth is joined by Dr Amara Naseem, a GP based in the Grangetown area of Cardiff who's Muslim, Dr Shylasree a gynae-oncologist at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff from a Hindu background; and Alice Lovering, a sexual health nurse, working in the city of Newport who was raised Catholic.

Today, churches around thew world are marking Candlemas, and stepping into that moment in the Temple when the infant Jesus was presented, and Simeon proclaimed him a light for all nations — a light that still reaches into every culture, every community, every corner of our world.

It sounds like the novel Jane Austen never got to write! But on this day dedicated to St Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers, Azim Ahmed looks at what makes a saint in both medieval and modern times.

In this panel discussion, four experts compare stories from Catholic, Anglican, medieval and Islamic traditions. Dr David Callander has studied Welsh saints' lives in both Latin and Welsh, and fills in some of the scant detail on the life of Dwynwen, whose cult was based at Ynys Llanddwyn in Anglesey. Father Sebastian Jones of Cardiff Oratory presents the contemporary Catholic view of saints, whilst Bishop Mary Stallard, Bishop of Llandaff, gives shares her insights into the Anglican tradition. Saints are not unique to Christianity, and Professor Mark Sedgwick, based at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, explains about saints in Islam and gives some fascinating glimpses of saints in Sufi practice.

Rob Parsons grew up in Cardiff and has since become one of the most influential voices in the UK on family life, leadership and personal development. He’s written nearly 30 books — including a Sunday Times Bestseller — with over one million copies sold.

Azim Ahmed considers the cultural and religious significance of stars across many different faiths.

Professor George van Kooten from the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge discusses the Star of Bethlehem and the journey of the Magi, while Conwy Fisherman, Carl Davies, explains celestial navigation.

Author and Mathematician, Professor Sarah Hart, describes what a hexagram is.

Dr Jaclyn Granick from the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University, tells us the origins of the Star of David and how its identity has changed over time.

Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Cardiff University, Dr Mansur Ali, explains why stars feature prominently in Islam.

Plus, Author and Welsh Witch, Mhara Starling, reveals the magic behind the pentagram.

Presented by Azim Ahmed.

As Christmas approaches, schools and churches across Wales are busy making costumes, practising songs, and helping children learn their lines for one of our most enduring traditions: the nativity play. Delyth Liddell visits a range of nativities across Wales, from a drop-in immersive nativity performed in the centre of Aberdare, to a damp but joyful roving nativity in Llanidloes, to primary school children performing their first plays in rural Talgarth and urban Cardiff.

But behind the tea towels, tinsel, and excited children lies something deeper, a story that has shaped cultures, communities and childhoods for generations. We explore why the nativity still matters. Should plays be re-shaped and told for modern audiences or stick with the traditional versions? Why is this retelling of an ancient story so important? Much of the nativity we know so well isn’t true to the Bible - does it matter?

Delyth visits St. Philip Evans Roman Catholic Primary School in Cardiff, Ysgol y Mynydd Du in Talgarth, St. Elvans Church in Aberdare for a performance of 'Christmas a Story' and a roving nativity in Trefeglwys. She speaks to Professor Wyn James from the University of Cardiff and Naomi Johnson from 'Out of the Ark', a leading publisher of children's nativity plays.

Away in a Manger is one of our favourite carols, but what does it mean for a child not to have a bed of their own? Sadly, this is the reality for too many children in Wales and beyond. In this programme Rosa Hunt looks at three stories where Christian communities are trying to tackle this issue, from child bed poverty to children displaced by bitter conflict.

Campbell Edmondson of the Lishon Project in Rhyl talks about addressing the need to supply some children in that area with beds and bedding. Sam Lomas of the Christian charity Home For Good talks about a campaign to get ordinary families to take adolescents and young adults into their homes to provide what they call 'supported lodgings'. Mari McNeill, Head of Christian Aid in Wales, talks about that organisation's Christmas campaign, No Crib for a Bed, drawing attention to the plight of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo where many children have been uprooted from their homes by the bitter violence. Obed Buhendwa, Christian Aid's senior programme officer in the region, reports from Bokavu, a city only 20 km away from the fighting.

Written in the 18th century, with words taken from the King James Bible, it is claimed that Handel's Messiah is 'the greatest piece of participatory art ever created'.

Even today, it is performed and played in churches, cathedrals, theatres and music halls, each and every Christmas.

In this programme, we ask the question: what is the enduring allure of Handel’s Messiah?

Is it just a musical masterpiece, or is there something more going on?

To help us ask this question, Jonathan Thomas is joined by the Gloucester Choral Society, pastoral theological Stephen Roberts, author Charles King, and authors of a new advent devotional on the Messiah, Dave & Sally Gobbett.

Azim Ahmed and guests ask if faith makes a person more susceptible to criminals or if it makes people more resilient in bouncing back afterwards because they're able to forgive? How much does being a victim of fraud test a person’s faith? Could it even break it?

If you’ve been affected by the issues we’ve discussed in this programme you can get help and information by going to bbc.co.uk/actionline