The Second Council of Tours (can. xi, xvii) proclaims, in 566 or 567, the sanctity of the "twelve days" from Christmas to Epiphany

WELCOME CHRISTMASTIDE and the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!

Fr. Barron comments on Christmas

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha To Be Canonized

A 17th-century Catholic Native American Iroquois woman who cared for the sick and elderly is on the verge of becoming the newest American saint, after Pope Benedict XVI certified miracles due to her intercession, the Vatican announced on December 19th. This is extremely likely to happen in 2012.

Tekakwitha was born in 1656 along the Mohawk River, in what is now New York state. Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother an Algonquin woman who had converted to Catholicism. Tekakwitha suffered from smallpox at the age of 4, leaving her frail with impaired vision and facial scars.

After her baptism by a Jesuit missionary at age 20 drew strong disapproval from her family, Tekakwitha moved to a Christian community near Montreal. She later took a vow of chastity. The smallpox scars on her face are believed to have disappeared inexplicably a few minutes after her death.

Pope John Paul II waived the first miracle ordinarily required for Tekakwitha's beatification in 1980.

According to Sister Kateri Mitchell, executive director of the Tekakwitha Conference in Great Falls, Mont., the miracle approved by Benedict on December 19th concerns a 6-year-old Native American boy of the Lummi Reservation in Washington state, who was cured of a flesh-eating virus on his face in 2006, after Mitchell prayed with his family and placed a chip of Tekakwitha's wrist bone on his body.

Mitchell, herself a member of the Mohawk nation, said Tekakwitha's canonization would make her an official patron saint of Native Americans.

"This is what our people have been praying for all along," Mitchell said. "The sacred circle of life of all cultures will be more complete because we will have been recognized by having one of our own as a saint in the universal church."

We here at catholicStewardsofCreation.Com have for years followed the Catholic Conservation Center which has been in existence now for eleven years. In 2010 it was voted one of the BEST Catholic web sites by readers of the Sunday Visitor.

Earlier this year, the center changed their name to

And how timely that was!

With the recent announcement by Pope Benedict XVI of the canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha likely to be scheduled in 2012, the center stands as a succinctly beautiful treasure of Church teaching in ecology and environmental stewardship for all Americans.

Their new name will be a beacon of truth in sharing the beauty that God has given us in the created world around us.

I See Christmas Like a Child

~by Susi Pittman

Christmas should awaken the child in each of us. It should be a time of connecting our souls with the joy of heaven in proclaiming the good news that a Savior is born! And, a time to allow our spiritual child to run to the manger and embrace the Infant Jesus.

READ MORE...

Family, the 12 Days of Christmas, and the arrival of the Messiah. Father Ron shares his personal spiritual tour.

Three Christmas Masses 

~by Sister Marie Rene, S.S.J.

For Catholics, celebration of the Christmas Mass is one of the most beautiful and joyful experiences of the year. Each Mass, the churches are filled to capacity as the "lines to see Jesus" are long and the "good will" overflows. Nowhere else in the world is the Birth of Jesus celebrated more than in the Catholic Church...and to this, Sister Marie Rene shares three reasons why.

READ MORE...  

The Whale Guy's Christmas Tree 

~by Frank Gromling

Every family's Christmas tree is unique to the family. More times than not, a tree will tell us a story about the family just by the way it is decorated. So how does a Marine Conservationist/Publisher/Author/Ocean Advocate decorate his tree?

READ MORE...  

Patience and perseverance. These are two virtues that call us to really move outside of our selfish human nature. Mary delivers a modern day parable that is timeless in its truth!

Amos: A Major Minor Prophet 

~by Joseph Kaiser

Are you a "comfort zone" pursuer? What if God personally called you to serve Him out of that zone somewhere else? Steward Joe shares AMOS with us, a guy like you and I who certainly had made other plans for himself.

READ MORE... 

December's Recommended Read: Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!

~by Michele Gregoire

It's the season to rejoice with all creation! Michele's book review this month features a book for "all" seasons one that recognizes divine providence at work in creation. Providence IS God Himself considered in that act by which in His wisdom He so orders all events within the universe that the end for which it was created may be realized. The author of the book presents an intriguing and thorough theological premise!

The Sistine Chapel

Have you always dreamed of being able to see the Sistine Chapel? Well now you can! Our thanks to artist and friend, Rick Cannizzaro for the link to this magnificent digital tour that allows you to see all the Sistine Chapel, using your computer mouse. Particularly great, is being able to pause and zoom in on the artwork of your choice just to meditate on its beauty and message.

CLICK HERE and take a tour!

Lazarus Renewal Ministries- 

Father John Gallagher

The goal of the Lazarus Renewal Ministry is to empower the people of God to become a faith filled community willing to be evangelizers for Christ. In so doing I hope to bring about a stronger spiritual union among the faithful and a deeper understanding of and commitment to affirm and give witness to the gospel of Christ of harvesting souls for heaven.

A GREAT new CD from Father John sure to make your drive-time a blessing is Born of Greatness: God's Call to Destiny which may be purchased on his web site.

____________________________________

Made in America: Investing in National Parks for our Heritage and our Economy 

We Bought a Zoo

"Based on a true story and the book of the same name, Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a widower who buys a failing zoo in an attempt to reconnect his family after the death of their mother. It's actually surprisingly charming and more emotionally understated than the material would suggest."

-Christy Lemire, The Associated Press

'We Bought a Zoo' is lovely, delicate, and absolutely worth seeing with your family this holiday season."

- Drew McWeeny, HitFix.com

American Humane-No animals were harmed
____________________________________

Big Miracle Trailer

NEW SCHOOL Environmental Studies  

A NEW YEAR'S Resolution Garden:  

Can a garden help you keep all your resolutions in the new year?

The 12 Days of Christmas Food Quiz 

What's "putting on a show" in the heaven's this week?

CLICK HERE to find out.