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December 2007

December 20

Time to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas

December 20, 2007

My favourite holiday is Christmas and because I'm Ukrainian Catholic I celebrate it on Jan. 7 instead of Dec. 25.

Finding faith through action

December 20, 2007

A celebrated child rights advocate, dynamic speaker and New York Times best-selling author, Craig Kielburger is a testament to the power of youth engagement.

Embracing Mary’s maternal tenderness

December 20, 2007

VANCOUVER - When Celine Leigh consecrated herself to Jesus through Mary two years ago, she found herself part of a union of Roman Catholics who share in the spiritual graces through Mary’s intercession and provision.

December 21

2007 in review

December 21, 2007

JANUARY * [images/stories/covers07/010007.jpg]Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi criticizes the execution of Iraq’s deposed leader, Saddam Hussein, saying it could ignite more violence in the wartorn nation. * The Ontario Court of Appeal accords equal rights to three parents in a child custody case — the biological parents and the mother’s lesbian partner. The Alliance for Marriage and Family says the ruling is the latest step to redefine traditional understandings of family. * Kingston Archbishop Anthony Meagher dies after his courageous four-year battle against cancer. Bishops, clergy and Catholics heap praise and admiration upon Archbishop Meagher after hearing the news. * The federal government announces $270 million in funding over the next two years for the fight against homelessness, the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative, as well as $256 million for repairs to housing for low-income earners and the disabled.

Dreaming big for social justice

December 21, 2007

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead The countdown is on for my eldest daughter’s mission trip. It’s only a few weeks away now. She’ll be travelling to the Dominican Republic to build housing as part of the Dominican Republic Education and Medical Supplies (D.R.E.A.M.S.) project. This is her high school’s second year participating.

Holy Family gave Jesus a home

December 21, 2007

Holy Family (Year A) Dec. 30 (Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23) So many of the teachings in both the Old and New Testaments are intended to preserve and enhance the quality of human community. Care and honour of one’s parents is an important element of that, for it is a concrete way of expressing gratitude for the gift of life. It also forms a firm link between past generations and a nation’s future.

Christians can be guided by God’s light to walk in peace

December 21, 2007

Epiphany (Year A) Jan. 6 (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12) The image painted of the world in Isaiah’s vision seems all too familiar. The peoples of the Earth are imprisoned in darkness and they stumble about in a spiritual and intellectual stupor. There is precious little light in our own time, but an abundance of hatred, violence and fear. And to compound the problem, the very existence of God is an open question to many and a settled one, in a negative fashion, to many others.

Come out against death penalty

December 21, 2007

For Catholics and other Christians concerned with the advancement of justice, human rights and peace, 2007 has hardly been a year of encouragement. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on. The agony of Africa, afflicted by disease, war and famine, continued. And despite the pronouncements issued by the much-ballyhooed Bali conference, the world’s worst industrial polluters seemed as willing as ever to inflict long-term environmental damage in the interests of short-term economic gain.

Dividing wall won’t reach to heaven

December 21, 2007

Somehow over the Christmas holidays, I become more aware of world conflicts and turmoil. Maybe it’s because our world slows down and I have time to notice. For example, in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell starting Nov. 9, with the Brandenburg Gate opened on Dec. 22 of that year. Over those Christmas holidays the changes in the Eastern bloc dominated the news, especially with the demise on Dec. 25 of Ceaucescu in Romania.

Catholic poet captures essence of the city

December 21, 2007

Blaise Moritz’s poems recall an age when honest work gave shape and meaning to life. Moritz deals in both nostalgia and hope and, infused with a desire for justice, he is not afraid to deliver a barb where a barb is due.

Fouling the message with the method

December 21, 2007

Journeys to the Heart of Catholicism, by Ted Schmidt (Seraphim Editions, softcover, 200 pages, $19.95). I am the mother of teenagers and, according to my kids, doing a pretty lousy job. So bad, in fact, that I turned to the experts and bought some parenting books. One in particular gave me some very practical advice that I am trying (unsuccessfully) to follow: If shouting doesn’t work, shouting louder really won’t either. There were certain times while reading Journeys to the Heart of Catholicsm I felt like saying to Teddy Schmidt — “Stop shouting.”

Living together

December 21, 2007

The Bouchard-Taylor Commission, now finishing up its work on reasonable accommodation in Quebec, is only the most significant example of the struggle we have in Canada of finding ways to live together with growing ethnic, religious and cultural differences. There have been many others. And this will only intensify as the country continues to evolve thanks to growing immigration.

Jerusalem's Latin patriarch criticizes creation of religious state in Middle East

December 21, 2007

JERUSALEM - Jerusalem's Latin patriarch criticized the creation of a religious state of any kind in the Holy Land, saying that a Jewish or Islamic state would not be suitable for Christians.

December 30

Development work in Myanmar next to impossible, aid agencies say

December 30, 2007

Six months after Cyclone Nargis killed approximately 100,000 people in Myanmar, Catholic aid and religious organizations are still struggling with how to help people in a corrupt police state. “Working in a police state? Well, it certainly means certain restrictions are in place,” wrote Jocelyne Dubois, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace program officer for Asia in an e-mail from Myanmar.