From holiday advertisements that arrive in your mailbox, to email alerts received on your phone, to TV commercials blasting deals, you’ve been flooded with gift ideas for everyone on your Christmas shopping list. Here are a few ideas from the staff at OC Catholic – ideas that not only offer lovely gifts for the Catholics in your life, but those that are purchased at store.occatholic.com also support the ministries of the Diocese of Orange.
Rosaries
The growing online store of the Diocese of Orange has a wide selection of rosaries. From rosaries for toddlers made from colorful beads, to those made of pearls, sapphires and crystal, you’ll find just the right one for everyone on your list.
Books
Ideal for younger Catholics, but also a good resource for anyone, are books about Catholic saints. “The Picture Book of Saints” is colorful and instructive.
Also in this category, consider gifting someone a set of Saints Cards. Like baseball cards, each one details the story of the featured saint.
Though not as focused on religion as the above suggestions, the book “Rockne & Jones,” by Thomas Rupp, chronicles the Notre Dame vs. USC rivalry and how the battle with the Trojans began at the height of the turbulent years after WWI.
Catholic home accents
You’ll also find beautiful Advent wreaths, candles and crucifixes, as well as statuary, plaques and posters in the OC Catholic store.
Say the rosary with famed Dodger announcer Vin Scully
The organization Catholic Athletes for Christ partnered with Immaculate Heart Radio last year to produce an audio recording with the legendary Vin Scully leading the rosary. According to the group’s website it has become one of best-selling Catholic CDs. The two-CD recording includes all four mysteries as well as meditations based on St. John Paul II’s 2002 Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. It is also available on iTunes, Google Play Music.
catholicathletesforChrist.org/rosary
Give the gift of a Heavenly Light
The Orange Catholic Foundation continues its fundraising for the renovation of Christ Cathedral. You can help by dedicating one of the more than 11,000 glass panes on the cathedral to your loved one. Panes range from $40 to $10,000, depending on location, and can be dedicated to an individual or to commemorate an event (i.e. marriage or baptism).
The Pope’s Cologne
Our gift guide wouldn’t be complete without featuring one of our all-time favorites: The Pope’s Cologne, from Monastery Greetings. Featuring scents of violet and citrus, the fragrance is said to be blended from the private formula of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878).