Carolyn Girard, The Catholic Register

Carolyn Girard, The Catholic Register

{mosimage}“Ministry with Maturing Adults; 55+” has lifted the spirits of many parishioners at St. Mary’s parish in Barrie, Ont.

For the past year, Sr. Mary Rose Marrin of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto has led a variety of programs in this unique ministry addressing the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of retirees and seniors. It is based on the Spiritual Gerontology and Lifelong Faith Formation course offered in St. Louis by Richard Johnson, author of Parish Ministry for Maturing Adults. Marrin has completed the course. 

“I’m very committed to it and I think it’s a need in our church,” Marrin said.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Thanks to the Sisters of St. Joseph, the elderly have a new venue for making social connections in southern Etobicoke.

The Sisters’ newest Fontbonne Ministry outreach program, Village Mosaic will welcome seniors in the community for a variety of social activities in the newly renovated 3,500-square-foot venue at 2794 Lakeshore Blvd.

“We want the seniors to help us develop programs for them rather than say ‘here we are and we’re going to do this,’ ” said Sr. Anne Marie Marrin, the director of Village Mosaic.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Have you ever wanted to understand the Traditional Latin Mass? If so, you might consider heading out to the Newman Centre in Toronto on March 20.

An outline and brief explanation will be provided beforehand to guide the congregation as it celebrates its first Tridentine Mass in approximately 40 years.

“Given the fact that we are part of an educational community, it was felt we should at least have an opportunity for people to experience that form of liturgy, be educated in it, so they can be a bit more enlightened on its history as they read more about it, and as they might come across it in some places,” said Fr. Pat O’Dea, pastor of the Newman Centre parish.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Whether the product of a profound devotion to St. Joseph or a great excuse to break the Lenten fast, zeppole, an Italian pastry, rises in popularity every March.

Zeppole, which originated in southern Italy, are traditionally made and given out or sold on March 19 in honour of St. Joseph’s feast day. It could be compared to a French Cruller but with custard cream and sour cherries in the middle. In Canada, zeppole can be found in some parishes as Italian communities bake and sell their own to raise money and can also be found in multiple Italian bakeries across the city.

{mosimage}TORONTO - After five years of helping young men discern the priesthood, Fr. Liborio Amaral, 45, rector of Serra House in Toronto, is getting ready to pass the torch.

Amaral will be taking a six-month sabbatical, starting in July, when he will rest, refocus and recharge before taking on parish ministry once again — a calling he filled at St. Elizabeth Seton in Newmarket before he was appointed to Serra House in 2004. Serra House is a place of reflection and discernment for men considering a vocation to the priesthood. 

{mosimage}TORONTO - As a young boy in his hometown of Calabria, Italy, Giuseppe Rauti (better known as Joe) grew up seeing the Way of the Cross re-enacted in the streets during Holy Week.

His mother used to take him to daily Mass, instilling in him a love for the church and a great love of God — something unmistakably evident in the now 70-year old man who plays Jesus Christ in Toronto’s downtown Way of the Cross, which draws spectators from around the globe.

{mosimage}TORONTO - This year’s ShareLife campaign is off to a good start, with some $2 million raised by the first of three ShareLife Sunday collections in parishes throughout the archdiocese of Toronto March 28-29.

ShareLife’s overall goal this year is $14.3-million. The charitable fundraising arm of the archdiocese hopes to raise $12 million through its parish appeal and $1.625 million through the corporate campaign.

{mosimage}TORONTO - When he was young, fishing meant going down to the ocean side in South Korea and watching the divers disappear underwater to catch the fish his parents requested.

Today, fishing has taken on a different meaning for Fr. Hansoo Park as he prepares to take over as Director of Vocations for the archdiocese of Toronto.

{mosimage}TORONTO - During his two-month placement as a novice with the Paulist Fathers in Toronto, Anthony Rosado, 24, combined his love for evangelization and music in a unique concert series. 
In a performance called “Four Sacred Art Songs” held from March 9 to April 6 at St. Peter’s parish, Rosado featured original classical songs he composed last year. 
As a Paulist novice, Rosado has to perform the normal tasks of a novice, but he was also told he needed to do something “on his own terms” in the parish. This became his enthusiastic project.
{mosimage}TORONTO - What does it mean to be a religious brother in modern society? Plenty, if you ask Brother Anthony Canterucci, a man who has served the Missionaries of the Precious Blood for 60 years. 
Canterucci, now 80, continues his work with undying passion. When he first started his vocation as a religious brother in his hometown of Niles, Ohio, his work included an assortment of tasks including administration, youth ministry and cooking. But since 1976, Canterucci has been a key co-ordinator in the order’s mission work in Tanzania, working from St. Alphonsus parish in Toronto.