Saints Alive!
by John Feister

(If you don’t have time to read this now, please take note of the buttons on the right. They are free for the taking, for you to use on your Web site. Click on a button to pick up the html code.)

Q U I C K S C A N

Parish Site of the Month
Worth a Click

October 1 is the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose Story of a Soul is one of the most widely read spiritual books. You can help your visitors learn more about the “Little Flower” by linking to our Web feature, which includes a St. Thérèse e-card.

Soon after that, on October 4, we celebrate the feast of St. Francis, one of the most popular of saints. We’ve got a link for your site to our own collection of great articles, e-cards and other features about St. Francis and what he believed in. Related to Francis’ feast, each year parishes and schools around the country and the world celebrate by having “pet blessing” ceremonies. They’re usually raucous events, with all manner of creatures and their humans coming together to celebrate God’s goodness (which the pets do without thinking; the rest of us have to apply our wits).

Ten years ago, in 1996, we set out to establish the first national listing of pet blessings on the Web. We’ve done it every year since. Put a link on your site to help pet lovers in your area find pet-blessing services!

Other saints’ feasts coming up in October include Sts. Faustina, Margaret Mary Alacoque (Sacred Heart), Teresa of Avila, Luke, Simon and Jude and others. Consider linking to Saint of the Day to help your visitors learn about saints!  

Finally, let me extend the warmest of thanks to all of you Web enthusiasts, truly pioneers in Church communications. Regardless of when you started, you are leading the way for new ways to spread the Good News. With St. Francis Day we close our 10^th anniversary celebration. No longer do people wonder if this is a fad, and we feel all the more urgency with which Pope John Paul II called us to “put out into the deep,” (quoting St. Luke, of course, who was telling us Jesus’ words). As you all put out your nets, let us, in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, be there to walk with you in faith. We’ve got a few new tricks up our sleeves for the coming year, so stay tuned!

Peace and all good,

John Feister
Editor, AmericanCatholic.org

Parish Site of the Month

Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Church (Diocese of Savannah)
This Web site has a lot to look at, and fortunately for visitors—especially newcomers—many of the important items are easily accessed on the homepage. See the Mass schedule, read announcements and a note from the pastor, and get contact information without having to surf the site. Of course, there are other things you'll want to check out, like the "Pastor's Corner," church history, volunteer opportunities and the parish calendar.

Worth a Click

RealfaithTV.com
Today's world hands teens tough issues everyday. Realfaith TV helps them deal with these issues through a Catholic faith perspective. Check out episodes exploring tolerance, homelessness, time management, stress and health. This site also features "Saint of the Week," "Cool Site of the Day" and opportunities to submit prayer requests and faith-related questions.

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