Speaking Out

I have been thinking a lot about the future lately. Maybe it’s because I am graduating soon and like many in their last term of university a question I often get asked is this (dreaded) one: What are your plans for when you are done?

According to the International Epidemiological Association, mental illness and depression are increasing. More people are feeling depressed and lonely and some, especially millennials, are turning to astrology. 

Reading the accounts of my great-grandfather’s memories of the First World War, I am given a glimpse into the truly brutal horror of the war field. Yet in the midst of the tales of the ugliness of war, I found one remarkable incident that stayed in my memory.

The Catholic youth are the future leaders of the Catholic community, but how do we get youth involved? At some parishes that may be a problem, but not at St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in north Toronto. 

Once upon a Sunday in Ordinary Time, I happened upon a church in Toronto. It was a pleasant — and all too rare — inconvenience to find the pews so packed that people had to stand outside the front doors just to hear the words of the Mass. At the time, it was a scene so unfamiliar to me that it made me reflect more deeply on how precious the Mass truly is.

January 1 is right around the corner — to some, that means New Year’s Day. A time for clean slates, a fresh start and all the goal-setting. To the Catholic man or woman, it’s all that and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

The year is about to end and as we begin to sit down and think about our New Year’s resolution we can recall and reflect over the events of the past year to help guide us along. 

Going through grade school, Christmas was always my favourite time of the year. 

Advent is such a busy time of the year that what the season is all about can sometimes get lost among all the out-of-the-ordinary things that have become part the countdown toward Christmas.

Taking time to reflect is one of the hallmarks of the Advent season, which prompted us to dig into The Catholic Register Archives to see how our Youth Speak News writers have tackled this special time of year. From the Dec. 19, 2010 issue, Jason Coelho, then a Grade 12 student at Brebeuf College in Toronto, presented his own timeless view of this special season: