December 2021
VOL. 86, NO. 12
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Features
Keep the Christmas candle burning
The 12 days of Christmas offer an opportunity to contemplate the incarnation.
Columns
THE EXAMINED LIFE
Unexpected grace
BY FATHER TOM MCGANN, C.M.F.
Not all gifts are easily defined or recognized.
CULTURE IN CONTEXT
Rooted together
BY PAMELA HILL NETTLETON
Trees, as it turns out, are social and more than a little like us.
SALT & LIGHT
A gift to celebrate
BY FATHER BRYAN MASSINGALE
Christmas calls the church to refocus on its core mission.
MARGIN NOTES
Spirit of scarcity
BY KEVIN CLARKE
The global supply chain breakdown is a welcome wake-up call.
TESTAMENTS
Advent people
BY ALICE CAMILLE
Good news of great joy is just over the horizon.
GLAD YOU ASKED
Expert Witness
Master craftsman
an interview with Makoto Fujimura
Artist Makoto Fujimura reveals God’s love through his art.
Essays
In Jesus’ names
BY LAURA KELLY FANUCCI
The Christmas season is the perfect time to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s names.
Soundtrack of the season
BY DAMIAN COSTELLO
Church comes to the Peanuts in the music of Vince Guaraldi.
Sounding Board
That’s the spirit
BY NATHANIEL HUNTER
Perhaps it’s time we revisit the meaning of Christmas.
In Person
A call to lead
BY JEANNINE M. PITAS
This criminal justice reform advocate champions Christ’s power to redeem.
Home Faith
Painful love
BY TERESA CODA
A mother rethinks the small sufferings of parenthood.