The North Star Catholic / FEATURED Archives - Page 115 of 120

Tips on keeping Christmas in Christmas

The purpose of this column is to assist you with some ideas on how to make Christmas truly special while keeping Advent intact. I recognize that our culture has progressed to an extraordinary level of false celebration that will be very difficult to overcome, so I am not expecting the complete and full reversal of the troubling remnants of the secular trends in Christmas; rather, I would like to make some suggestions that can help you and your families to make strong steps towards a deeply Christian and less material experience of Christmas.

BBC reality TV highlights Anchorage’s Holy Rosary Academy

The BBC reality tv program is aimed at children and young teens. Each episode takes a couple of ordinary British students, perhaps bright kids who are underachievers and a bit precocious. They show up at a school with high standards of discipline. Over the course of the week, the goal is to have them experience the affirmative values of a school that runs a tighter ship than they’re used to.
In the newly released Alaska show, the two girls arrive at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage with plenty of makeup, fingernail polish, teased hair, and some fairly showy winter garb.

St. Nicholas to visit Anchorage Dec. 6, public invited

On Saturday, Dec. 6, Anchorage children will gather at St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church with hopes of spotting Saint Nicholas, the third century bishop of Myra and the inspiration behind much of the Christmas gift-giving tradition.

EDITORIAL: No Christmas by osmosis

Advent and Christmas don’t roll around, year-after-year, by default. They are very deliberate seasons — established and developed over time by the church — to assist us in renewing and reawakening our friendship with Christ.

New bishop’s chair at Anchorage’s co-cathedral once held John Paul II

An historic chair once used by Saint Pope John Paul II will play a central role when Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is established as a co-cathedral for the Anchorage Archdiocese on Dec. 12. Now considered a relic of the recently canonized pope, the high backed carved walnut chair, circa 1900, has resided in Archbishop Emeritus Francis Hurley’s private chapel in Anchorage since the pope’s landmark visit at Delaney Park Strip on Feb. 26, 1981.

Anchorage cathedral vandalized

The historic Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage was vandalized on Dec. 2. The Dominican priests who staff the parish found it damaged and in disarray at about 4:30 p.m.

A video of the damage taken by Dominican Father Mark Francis Manzano shows overturned pews, spilt holy water, toppled liturgical furniture, including the archbishop’s presider’s chair and debris scattered throughout the sanctuary. Advent candles and the ambo were also thrown to the floor and a microphone connected to the sound system was ripped out.

Anchorage attorney freed to enter cloistered monastery

CatholicAnchor.org Anchorage attorney, convert to Catholicism and Holy Family Cathedral parishioner Tara Clemens has finally been able to enter the Corpus Christi Monastery, a Dominican religious cloister in Menlo Park, Ca. The mission of the cloistered Dominican nuns is to honor and promote devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Writing in the cathedral’s…

George Washington’s Thanksgiving proclamation rooted in faith

CatholicAnchor.org Editor’s note: The following is the Thanksgiving proclamation issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789. Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and…

Nome churches, nonprofits keep tax exemption after citizens pack city council

Business owners, nonprofit workers and others packed the city council chambers in Nome, Alaska, to voice opposition to a proposal that would have ended sales tax exemptions for churches and nonprofits. As a result of the packed meeting, Nome’s nonprofits and churches will remain exempt from city sales tax.

Remembering a legend who brought Catholic faith to Alaska

CatholicAnchor.org Juneau Bishop Edwards Burns lead a group of Alaskan pilgrims to the hometown of an Italian priest who traveled to Alaska in the late 1800s to bring the Catholic faith to far-flung villages. Read the account of their pilgrimage here.