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October 2006

October 25

Gifts of grace

October 25, 2006

[images/stories/books/Graces.jpg]The Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges, (NavPress, 253 pages, paperback, $13.30 at amazon.ca). Rediscovering Daily Graces: Classic Voices on the Transforming Power of the Sacraments, by Robert Elmer (NavPress, 205 pages, paperback, $12.54 at amazon.ca). Evangelicals, as many of their leading protagonists have defined themselves, are those who hold a triad of beliefs and practices that the wider Christian church has too often overlooked: personal conversion, biblical authority and evangelistic witness. I grew up a Protestant evangelical, and like many in my church community, books that encouraged spiritual growth, devotional piety and developed Christian character were a large part of my reading repertoire.

Faith will keep you whole

October 25, 2006

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Oct. 29 (Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52) The seventh and sixth centuries BC were at least as violent and uncertain as our own times. Death and devastation came swiftly and mercilessly for nations and cities who failed to submit to the Assyrians. In 722 BC, the Northern Kingdom of Israel ceased to exist, as it was laid waste and its inhabitants dispersed or taken captive.

There’s life outside the news

October 25, 2006

I have lately taken to reading about God’s holy ones, as we find their doings and sayings condensed and compiled in such compendia as Butler’s Lives of the Saints and The Oxford Books of Saints. It’s an activity I can recommend to anyone who wants to broaden his or her understanding of God’s wonderful work in transfiguring and renewing human life. It is also fascinating to visit far-distant Christians (and not so distant ones) and get a sense of their struggles — which are often quite similar to the ones we face in modern times.

A licence to think like me

October 25, 2006

“I like people who think like me,” I heard a college professor say in class, dismissing all objections to his claim to infallibility of his lecture on moral values.

Facing the crisis

October 25, 2006

It is very easy to forget that Christianity has something to teach us about our responsibility toward the environment. After all, ecotheology was not invented by Jesus of Nazareth, nor did humanity in first-century AD have the potential to destroy the planet.

Who’s afraid of Halloween

October 25, 2006

[images/stories/misc/holloween.jpg]When I was growing up I can remember being so excited about going out and trick-or-treating. Images of costumes that didn’t quite fit, reduced vision and streets full of parents accompanying their children to neighbours’ houses resound in my memory.

October 27

Pope’s affirmation of Christianity transcends politics

October 27, 2006

Pope Benedict XVI [images/stories/PopeBenedictXVI/Benedict HS.jpg]VERONA, Italy - Navigating the murky waters of Italian ecclesial politics is no easy task, so interest was high when Pope Benedict XVI addressed the country’s most important Catholic gathering in 10 years.

Congress aims to restore memories of Christian roots

October 27, 2006

Cardinal Marc Ouellet [images/stories/canada_bishops/Cardinal Ouellet.jpg]CORNWALL, Ont. - The primate of the Catholic Church in Canada has released the foundational theological document for the 2008 Eucharistic Congress, saying its “message brings as a main concern the memory of our Christian roots.”

Archdiocese launches new web site

October 27, 2006

TORONTO - After months of preparation, the archdiocese of Toronto’s new, improved and user-friendly web site — www.archtoronto.org — is available for use to the public.

ShareLife kicks off corporate campaign

October 27, 2006

[images/stories/logos/ShareLife.jpg]ShareLife , the fund-raising arm of the archdiocese of Toronto, has set the bar a little higher for its 2007 corporate campaign. At a campaign launch Oct. 19, it was announced that the goal for next year is $1.4 million.

Noel Martin steps up for Catholic education again

October 27, 2006

TORONTO - Noel Martin thinks 42 years in Catholic education is not enough of a good thing. So he’s come back for more.

Money, marriage, motherhood

October 27, 2006

All my life, people have asked me what do I want to be when I grow up? With my graduation from university looming at the end of this school year, it seems that people expect me to know that fairly soon.

Students welcomed into sacred circle

October 27, 2006

[images/stories/toronto/native-parish-2.jpg]EDMONTON - It’s not every day that students earn marks for attending Mass at an aboriginal parish. But Angela Bokenfohr, a theology student at St. Joseph’s College on the University of Alberta campus, is doing just that.

Young women sail aboard the Queenship

October 27, 2006

HALIFAX - When the doorbell rings on a rainy Saturday evening in mid-October, three enthusiastic young women, along with the smell of a homemade salmon casserole, welcomed me through the doors of the Queenship House. It’s a community for young Catholic lay women, currently home to Cristina Tersigni, 26, Jen MacDonald, 32, Ania Szymanska, 20, and Katherine McGee, 19.

The maternal instincts of men

October 27, 2006

TORONTO - Increasingly, more married and single fathers decide to stay home with their children rather than work full-time, according to Andrea Doucet

October 29

U of T hosts Peace Week

October 29, 2006

TORONTO - The University of Toronto and more than 25 sponsors will organize this year’s Peace Week on campus from Nov. 5 to 11.

The kids and their canine cousin

October 29, 2006

My sister, Cecile, and her husband, Philip, who live in Florida, recently spent two weeks visiting in our area.

Salt+Light doc wins international award

October 29, 2006

TORONTO - Salt + Light Television’s Opus Dei: Decoding God’s Work took the best TV documentary award at the Religion Today Festival in Trento, Italy, Oct. 14.

New tax rules open avenues for fund-raising

October 29, 2006

TORONTO - A gift of $15,000 is probably a lot easier to make if a $6,000 tax break goes along with it. That’s the new economics of giving stocks and bonds to charity, and it likely explains why the archdiocese of Toronto has received more donations of securities this year than in the last three years combined.

An accountant can set you up for giving

October 29, 2006

People might think of accountants as the guys with sharp pencils who keep the money safely in their clients’ pockets, but a chartered accountant might also be the ideal person to talk to about emptying those pockets.