Celebrate the Christmas Season
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

Merry Christmas! Of course, for Christians, Christmas starts at the celebrations on Christmas Eve, at the vigil Mass, or at Midnight Mass. But you would never know that in our culture. Christmas starts with the buying season that has now crept as far back as Halloween! Catholics struggle to live in both worlds—observing the season of Advent, preparing for the celebration of the Incarnation at Christmas, yet living in our culture with all of its early emphasis.

We Catholic webmasters can help people to understand how Catholics celebrate Christmas—a season that starts at Christmas and is observed until just after Epiphany at the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. We offer a link for your site to our “Advent to Epiphany” feature that explains the season and offers inspiration throughout.

I’d like also to remind you of our sister Web site, PledgePeace.org, which has the lofty goal of gathering 1,000 years of peace pledges. It’s a great addition to your Christmas offerings, and especially ideal for the Church’s World Day of Peace, celebrated on January 1.

Merry Christmas from all of us at AmericanCatholic.org. You and your Web ministries are ushering in the new media for all of your people who long to hear the Gospel. God bless you!

John Feister
Editor, AmericanCatholic.org

Parish Site of the Month

St. Thomas More Catholic Church (Archdiocese of Denver)
Take some time to browse the site’s links, either by using the color-coded Javascript menu or the convenient site map. St. Thomas More Catholic Church has a strong online presence, with weekly bulletins and reflections, clergy bios, information on catechesis programs and downloadable stewardship materials. Be sure to check out the section entitled “Youth and Young Adult Ministries.” It has a design different from the rest of the site and contains a wealth of information on activities and groups for children, teens and young adults at St. Thomas More.

Worth a Click

Catholic Insider
See and hear the “world through the eyes and ears of a priest.” The site’s webmaster, Fr. Roderick, explores the history and beliefs of the Catholic Church and shares his insights and experiences through podcasts and photographs. In addition, he provides commentary on popular culture. Listen to Fr. Roderick discuss new movies, developments in media, technology and entertainment, celebrities, holidays and music. Be sure to check out new podcasts on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and past podcasts on experiences in Rome during the conclave and in Germany during World Youth Day.

Copyright ©1996-2005 St. Anthony Messenger Press. All rights reserved.