December 2021

VOL. 86, NO. 12

Scroll through the Table of Contents to view what’s in this month’s print issue. Some articles are available only in the print issue: Subscribe today to get full access to all the material you see listed below. And remember to sign up for our weekly email so you never miss an online article!

Features

Keep the Christmas candle burning

BY JOHN T. KYLER

The 12 days of Christmas offer an opportunity to contemplate the incarnation.

group-of-people-working-in-a-garden

Live Laudato Si’

BY DOUG DEMEO

No matter the season, Catholics are called to care for creation.

Columns

THE EXAMINED LIFE

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Unexpected grace

BY FATHER TOM MCGANN, C.M.F.
Not all gifts are easily defined or recognized.

CULTURE IN CONTEXT

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Rooted together

BY PAMELA HILL NETTLETON
Trees, as it turns out, are social and more than a little like us.

SALT & LIGHT

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A gift to celebrate

BY FATHER BRYAN MASSINGALE
Christmas calls the church to refocus on its core mission.

MARGIN NOTES

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Spirit of scarcity

BY KEVIN CLARKE
The global supply chain breakdown is a welcome wake-up call.

TESTAMENTS

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Advent people

BY ALICE CAMILLE
Good news of great joy is just over the horizon.

GLAD YOU ASKED

Departments

Editors’ Note
You May Be Right (Letters to the Editor)
Signs of the Times (News)
Catholic Tastes (Humor)
Reviews (Music, Film, Books)
Eye of the Beholder (Art meditation)

Expert Witness

Master craftsman

an interview with Makoto Fujimura
Artist Makoto Fujimura reveals God’s love through his art.

Essays

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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

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That’s the spirit

BY NATHANIEL HUNTER
Perhaps it’s time we revisit the meaning of Christmas.

In Person

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A call to lead

BY JEANNINE M. PITAS
This criminal justice reform advocate champions Christ’s power to redeem.

Home Faith

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Painful love

BY TERESA CODA
A mother rethinks the small sufferings of parenthood.