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February 2009

February 13

Following St. Paul to Cyprus

February 13, 2009

PAPHOS, Cyprus - When I visited Cyprus recently, St. Paul the Apostle was the furthest thing from my mind. I was looking forward to touring the island mythology claims as the birthplace of Aphrodite, goddess of love. It wasn’t until I reached the city of Paphos I was reminded Cyprus was Paul’s first stop on a phenomenal lifetime of evangelism. Around 47, accompanied by Barnabas and Mark, Paul introduced this beautiful island to a newer understanding of the word “love” in the person of Jesus Christ. That story is succinctly told in Acts of the Apostles: chapter 13:2-12. Barnabas, Paul and Mark are directed by the Holy Spirit to set out for Cyprus, which author H.V. Morton accurately describes as “a perfect blend of mountain and plain, of hills that slope to deserted bays half screened by olive trees.” After preaching in Salimas’s synagogues, they travelled to Paphos on the island’s luxuriant south coast, again preaching in Jewish synagogues.

Faith essential to healing a broken world

February 13, 2009

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Feb. 22 (Isaiah 43:18-19, 20-22, 24-25; Psalm 41; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22; Mark 2:1-12) We have a massive memory problem. Those things that we are supposed to remember slip like sand through fingers. Included in this category are the principles of spiritual and humane living and the ethics of God’s kingdom, as well as the many blessings and graces we have received from God or others. We also forget the most important thing in life: why we are here.

Bringing saints to dinner table

February 13, 2009

Saints at the Dinner Table, by Amy Heyd (St. Anthony Messenger Press, hard cover, 158 pages, $24.83). If you could choose a saint, any saint, to invite to your family dinner, who would it be? St. Joseph might be a strong contender, or how about St. Martha, or St. Clare of Assisi? Would you have lamb chops and garlic mashed potatoes, a simple but fun pizza or scrumptious chicken saltimbocca with salad on the side?

Getting to know the human Jesus

February 13, 2009

Who on Earth was Jesus? The Modern Quest for the Jesus of History by David Boulton (O Books, softcover, 417 pages, $29.95). There is perhaps no area of modern theology as controversial and polarized as the study of the historical Jesus — what can be known about Jesus using standard historical research. There are those for whom the Gospels are essentially biographies of Jesus and historically beyond questioning. There are others who emphasize the editorial history of the Gospels and the apparent inconsistencies and errors of fact within them. These latter scholars often conclude the Gospels hold little, if any, real historical value. Of course there is an entire spectrum of opinions in between.

Pope's Holy Land visit back on

February 13, 2009

VATICAN CITY - Meeting American Jewish leaders who were on their way to Israel, Pope Benedict XVI announced Feb. 12 that he, too, was preparing to visit the Holy Land. A papal trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories had appeared to be set for May 8-15 until plans seemed shaken by the late-December escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and along the Israeli border with Gaza.

February 17

Crash victim heading to Jesuit school's scholarship event

February 17, 2009

WASHINGTON - Beverly Eckert, a victim of the Feb. 12 plane crash near Buffalo, N.Y., was en route to present a scholarship award in honour of her late husband at Jesuit-run Canisius High School in Buffalo. Eckert, a Sept. 11 widow, also had planned to take part in a weekend celebration in Buffalo of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday. Her husband, Sean Rooney, died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001. That day he spoke to his wife by cell phone up until the second tower — where he was trapped — collapsed. A vice president for risk management services at the Aon Corp., he worked on the 98th floor.

February 18

Faculty in revolt at St. Jerome's

February 18, 2009

Faculty at Waterloo’s St. Jerome’s University have voted no confidence in the school’s president and have begun talks with the Canadian Association of University Teachers about forming a union. The crisis at the Catholic liberal arts college affiliated with the University of Waterloo began with the mass resignation of the St. Jerome’s chaplaincy team just before Christmas.

February 19

Pro-lifers must fight euthanasia momentum shift

February 19, 2009

OTTAWA - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition — Canada executive director Alex Schadenberg says euthanasia advocates see momentum on their side. Washington State legalized assisted suicide in a plebiscite held during the last U.S. presidential election. Schadenberg pointed out this was the first referendum to pass of the many attempts in the 10 years since Oregon passed its assisted suicide law.

U.S. hospitals won't comply with unjust laws

February 19, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The U.S. Catholic Health Association ’s board of trustees recently reaffirmed its opposition to any attempts by Congress or President Barack Obama to broaden abortion access and its commitment to keep Catholic hospitals open, Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg said in a Feb. 6 blog entry. “Idle threats about the certain closing of Catholic hospitals if certain things happen are simply that — idle,” said the bishop and CHA board member, writing about the board’s Feb. 4-6 retreat in the St. Petersburg area.

Aid agencies seek recession relief

February 19, 2009

TORONTO - The fear, suffering and sacrifice on Bay Street are nothing but nicks and cuts compared to the body blows the poor will suffer in this recession, according to church agencies that serve single mothers, the homeless and families in distress. “Recession is a really hard time for people on social assistance, obviously,” said Rosalie Hall executive director Alan Nickell. Rosalie Hall helps hundreds of young women every year as they face pregnancy without an adequate place to live, without a job and without prospects.

Christ leaves no one behind

February 19, 2009

First Sunday of Lent (Year B) March 1 (Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15) A flood is terrifying and destructive even if it consists of only a few feet of water. Images from the tsunami in Asia, Katrina in New Orleans and a host of other regional floods are still fresh in our minds. Destruction is great and loss of life can be heavy.

Compassion, but not a false compassion

February 19, 2009

I find homosexuality a difficult subject to discuss. First, the scientific accounts of the phenomenon seem to change constantly. It was once considered a mental disorder. Now psychiatrists say it isn’t. Kinsey’s famous report claimed that 10 per cent of men are homosexuals. Now we are told that the actual figure is more like one per cent. Secondly, homosexuality is not entirely an appropriate subject for a family newspaper. Beyond heroic figures like Gerard Manley Hopkins and sincere arguments for civil rights loom the gruesome carnivals of Toronto’s Church-Wellesley neighbourhood — not just Pride Week, with its reminders to revellers to practise safe sex and safe consumption of crystal meth, but also its annual Leather festival, where bondage gear is sold and worn up and down Church Street.

Real freedom has self-control

February 19, 2009

Everybody wants freedom. Everybody deserves freedom. Freedom is not simply a privilege; it is a responsibility and a right. But what is freedom? According to one classmate, “freedom is being able to do whatever one wants.” Something about that definition didn’t sit well with me.

Christ's family must be His mosaic

February 19, 2009

Editor’s note: this the last of four honourable mentions for the Friars Student Writing Award contest sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register. Sarah Antony, 16, is a Grade 11 student at St. Joseph’s Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School in Toronto. In the Scripture verse, “That they may be one in your hand,” God is calling all followers of Christ to unite in His name. The verse specifically refers to two sticks, one representing the tribe of Judah and the other representing Israel, to be one in God’s hands.

Singing with kids for kids

February 19, 2009

BRAMPTON, Ont. - Gospel singer and songwriter Billy Grima sang powerful and uplifting songs of praise and reflection for the Kids for Kids concert on Feb. 7 at St. Anne’s Church here. He sang accompanied by a choir of 20 children, also from St. Anne’s, who had been asked to participate by Grima and had been practising with him for a month. The concert was free, yet donations were accepted to raise money for Covenant House , an organization dedicated to helping runaway teenagers and street kids.

Following the quest

February 19, 2009

Two young women were talking: Andrea a petite blonde and an artist, Kelsey a winsome brunette and a manager. Andrea told of her longing for a soul mate who would connect with her and love her as she was. She wanted to be a person, to be someone. In a way, she sought salve for the perpetual sense of “not good enough” from her parents’ divorce of long ago. She felt like a ball of anger, sometimes. She also felt like a person with a quest, revealed in art. And a quest for the divine, sensed but unexplored. For Andrea, yearning had tipped into addiction. Her best friend was alcohol; when everybody and everything else failed her, the salve was there. Somewhere down deep she hated this best friend, but it seemed to enable.

Approaching Lent as a family unit

February 19, 2009

Each year at the beginning of Lent, my family receives a “Lifestyle Awareness Calendar” in our parish bulletin from the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. The idea is to set aside small sums of money which accumulate for the Share Lent collection. Each day there’s a different donation suggestion, such as “15 cents for each glass of unpolluted water you drink today.” My children go around counting the number of appliances, light bulbs, books or other items in our house, then we calculate how much to deposit in our collection container that day. On Sundays there’s a social justice issue to pray about — for example, South African women who struggle for just working conditions.

Campus pro-life groups regain status

February 19, 2009

The battle for freedom of speech on Canadian university campuses has resulted in two more pro-life clubs regaining status with their student unions. Choose Life McGill, the pro-life club at McGill University in Montreal, regained status Feb. 12, and Youth Protecting Youth, a club at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, rejoined the ranks of other ratified clubs Feb. 10.

February 20

Life is for living

February 20, 2009

Could Francine Lalonde be thinking that the third time is a charm? It certainly appears that way as the Bloc Quebecois MP announced recently that she intends to table in Parliament, once again, a bill to legalize assisted suicide in Canada. Lalonde’s first two attempts failed and never really were a threat to pass. And it could be said this time around that her efforts are bound to meet the same fate. After all, she is introducing her legislation as a private members’ bill, and it is very rare, almost to the point of impossible, for such a bill to pass.

Has fasting become a lost treasure?

February 20, 2009

Some would say that Christians in general have lost all sense of the why, the when and the how of fasting. Would you agree? Even if that assessment is only partially right, a review of the forgotten fundamentals might be beneficial. There are three major themes in the history and practice of Christian fasting: Mystical longing for fulfilment, liberation through discipline and the relationship of fasting to works of charity and justice.