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December 2015

December 18

Catholic Family Services making sure everyone is involved at Christmas

December 18, 2015

Christmas is a celebration of the family, which is why Catholic Family Services offices across the country are working hard to ensure that it is a merry season for everyone.

Pope recognizes miracle needed to declare Mother Teresa a saint

December 18, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, thus paving the way for her canonization.

Christmas shows Christians our Jewishness

December 18, 2015

Just in time for Christmas, the Vatican is reminding the world just how Jewish the Christian religion really is.

Canadian bishops seek help for persecuted Christians in Mideast, Africa

December 18, 2015

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops and the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus are asking the Canadian government to make helping persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Africa, whom Pope Francis and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks say face genocide, a priority.

Creche is reminder God saves people with love, not force, Pope says

December 18, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Seeing baby Jesus in the Nativity scene reminds people that Christ uses humility and love to save the world, not impressive force or a magic wand, Pope Francis said.

December 19

Books on saints, traditions make great Christmas gifts

December 19, 2015

Christmas is a time of sharing, and what better thing to share than our faith? The following are some of the books suitable for Christmas giving that can teach youngsters some of the tenets of the Catholic faith.

Away in a St. Joseph’s Oratory manger

December 19, 2015

MONTREAL - What began as a modest display of some 25 cribs in 1979 has blossomed into a popular Montreal tradition at St. Joseph’s Oratory. This year, the Nativity has been interpreted by more than 200 artists from around the world in the form of a multi-media exposition of figurines, carvings and paintings that depict the birth of Christ.

A world of creches

December 19, 2015

KLEINBURG, ONT. - For more than 30 years, Msgr. Gregory Ace has been fascinated by Nativity scenes from around the world. He has collected more than 1,000 Nativity sets from 126 countries worldwide and every Advent, his pieces are displayed in schools, city halls and other churches.

December 20

Some Christmas saints you may not know

December 20, 2015

The lives of the saints are a huge part of Christian tradition and there are many who we associate with the Christmas season. You probably know the story of St. Nicholas. There’s also, of course, the Nativity story and the birth of Christ, with Mother Mary, St. Joseph and St. Gabriel the Archangel. But do you recall the least known Christmas saints of them all? Here are just a few.

The story that never grows old

December 20, 2015

Christmas poems and stories, like “The Night Before Christmas” or “The Gift of the Magi,” are remarkable in the way they enchant young people from generation to generation. But there is one Christmas story that never grows stale, that is fresh to all ages and places, to young and old, to men and women. Here is how it goes.

Grotto where Jesus born takes you back to Church origins

December 20, 2015

From the very beginnings of Christianity the grotto where Jesus was born has been revered as one of the most sacred places in the world. Today it is designated a World Heritage Site and Roman Catholics from all over the world gather here every Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass.

December 21

Wreath is symbolic of Christ’s light shining on a dark world

December 21, 2015

TORONTO - After watching friends and families with children come together to create a Christmas tradition making decorative wreathes, Sarah Fairley finally decided to give it a go herself.

Pope Francis praises road map for peace in Syria

December 21, 2015

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis endorsed a recent UN resolution on peace in Syria and expressed "deep appreciation" to the international community for reaching an agreement.

Being ready for Christmas

December 21, 2015

Many of us arrive at Christmas tired, running, distracted and already fatigued with the lights, songs and celebrations of Christmas. Advent is meant to be a time of preparation for Christmas; but for many of us it is not exactly a time for the kind of preparation that enables Christ to be born more deeply in our lives. Instead our preparation for Christmas is mostly a time of making ready to celebrate with our families, friends and colleagues.

God blesses us when we undertake to do good

December 21, 2015

Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Year C) Dec. 27 (1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Psalm 84; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52) Hannah’s fervent prayer had been answered. During a previous visit to the shrine at Shiloh, she had stood before the shrine and prayed to God for a child. Her murmured prayers earned her an unjust rebuke from Eli the prophet, who accused her of drunkenness. Hannah promised that if God blessed her with a son, she would dedicate him in service to the Lord. Now she fulfilled her promise as she brought her son Samuel — who would grow up to be a great prophet — to Eli for training and instruction.

Spirit of giving overcomes commercialization of Christmas

December 21, 2015

TORONTO - To curb the commercialization of Christmas, Alice Chan has made a tradition of volunteering with her two sons over the Christmas holidays.

Mexico's Michoacan: Where priests tell people it's OK to fight back

December 21, 2015

COALCOMAN, Mexico - Fr. Emiliano Mendoza Magana, pastor of the St. James the Apostle parish in this town of timber cutters, recalls parishioners coming to confessions in past years with questions about grabbing guns and fighting back against a marauding drug cartel.

Student carollers get life lessons outside of class

December 21, 2015

TORONTO - On a wet and windy early December night the leadership team from Holy Spirit Catholic School set out with a group of 27 students from the northeast Toronto school to carol in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Mideast Catholic patriarchs encourage hope, joy amid suffering

December 21, 2015

BEIRUT - Catholic patriarchs from the Middle East encouraged their trouble people to find inner peace at Christmas and urged the world to remember them.

December 22

A sweet Christmas tradition: baking cookies with mom

December 22, 2015

My hands are covered in flour and my mom is wrist deep in dough. The oven is preheated and the cookie trays are lined with parchment paper. She asks me to choose the cookie cutter for this year, and I select the angel.