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WASHINGTON - The following children's books are suitable for Christmas giving:

TORONTO - In Divine Vintage: Following the Wine Trail from Genesis to Modern Times, authors Randall Heskett and Joel Butler ask not what would Jesus do but rather what wine would Jesus drink?

WASHINIGTON - Dave Brubeck, the influential and prolific pianist whose composition "Take Five" became a standard in the annals of jazz, died Dec. 5 at age 91, one day before his 92nd birthday.

TORONTO - After years of singing together on a daily basis at St. Michael鱿鱼视频app Choir School in Toronto, a group of alumni came together to continue making music.

Called The Mistletones, their love of song and unique vocal blend have culminated in a sold-out Christmas concert on Dec. 13 at Toronto鱿鱼视频app Glenn Gould Studio.

鈥淭he style of the group is a combination of choral and jazz,鈥� said Gerry Litster, group member and choir school alumni, who is also joined in the group by his brother, Mike.

鈥淲e are definitely not barbershop as some have asked in the past, although for the most part our singing is a capella.鈥�

The all-male voiced group, who sing in TTBB vocal formation, have been together since 1980 and have been friends since their days at the choir school 鈥� some even knowing one another for as many as 49 years.

鈥淭he group was formed to fill the musical void we experienced after graduation from the choir school,鈥� said Douglas Tranquada.

The Mistletones currently consist of nine members: Pat Power and Rob Thomas (bass); Tranquada, Paul Townshend and Paul Kenny (baritone); the Litster brothers (second tenor); Dan Fantin and Leonard Tawaststjerna (first tenor).

Their rich blend and concise, complex harmonic aptitude form a unique and well-developed vocal style.

鈥淲e all had musical training during our years at the choir school,鈥� said Townshend. 鈥淭hat included piano, organ, theory, harmony and music history.鈥�

Their sold-out show will highlight the group鱿鱼视频app dense vocal harmonics, all while showcasing favourite music of the Christmas season.

鈥淭he program is a mix of a few sacred songs along with some popular Christmas favourites, but not your typical Christmas carols,鈥� says Tawaststsjerna.

The group has performed in some of the city鱿鱼视频app most storied venues, places such as Roy Thomson Hall, Koerner Hall, the Princess of Wales Theatre and Massey Hall.

This time around, The Mistletones are looking forward to bringing their sound to an audiences at a venue that has a unique atmosphere.

鈥淭he beauty of GGS (Glenn Gould Studio) is that it鱿鱼视频app like singing in an intimate surrounding 鈥� not unlike being in someone鱿鱼视频app living room,鈥� said Kenny.

For more information on The Mistletones visit their facebook page at .

TORONTO - Pianist David Braid originally got into jazz after developing a deep affinity for one of history鱿鱼视频app greatest composers 鈥� Mozart. Indeed, it was once said of Braid, by the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 鈥淚f Mozart played jazz, he鈥檇 be David Braid.鈥�

Currently en route to Beijing to perform two concerts, Braid鱿鱼视频app resum茅 boasts two Juno Award wins, Jazz Pianist of the Year in Canada and a SOCAN Composer of the Year award. He has composed more than 80 works for piano, ensembles and orchestras, and has released nine recordings. However, despite his lauded career and whirlwind of performance engagements, Braid cites a much more reflective inspiration for some of his work 鈥� one that comes from a Sunday evening student Mass at the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto.

鈥淭he students seemed particularly still in a moment of silent prayer while a particularly beautiful but irregular hymn with an atypical harmonic movement and meter was being performed. The feeling of that particular harmony, rhythm and meter at that particular moment impressed upon me a buoyancy and uplifting feeling which I liked very much,鈥� said Braid.

鈥淚 wanted to capture that and recreate that feeling in a piece of my own to share with my audiences. Fifteen years later, my composition 鈥楽ay a Silent Prayer鈥� is one of my most performed and popular pieces.鈥�

This inspiration, drawn deeply from a lifelong involvement in the Catholic Church, presents itself in Braid鱿鱼视频app prolific body of work 鈥� not always in an obvious sense, but subtly colouring his uniquely melodic compositions.

鈥淚n a general way, when I think about the largest quantity of music I was exposed to throughout my childhood, it must have been church music at Sunday Mass because music was not a big part of my culture at home outside of my piano studies,鈥� said Braid. 鈥淚n my opinion, the large body of hymns in The Catholic Book of Worship, which I hear every Sunday, never manifest in any of my writing, but I think there is a vocal or lyrical quality in my melodic writing which relates back to those songs.鈥�

Born in Hamilton, Ont., Braid attended Regina Mundi Elementary School followed by St. Thomas More High School. After moving to Toronto, where he is a faculty member at the University of Toronto, Braid began attending St. Basil鱿鱼视频app parish as well as St. Vincent de Paul, due to an increasing interest in the Tridentine Mass.

Despite his accomplishments in jazz, a field that boasts a select number of stars, Braid is quick to highlight the integral role that his faith has played in his overwhelming achievements.

鈥淚 can not honestly take any ownership of whatever success I might have had. This is because I feel I am just trying my best to live out a vocation with enough sincerity that I can continue to grow,鈥� said Braid.

鈥淥n another level, I can say that experiencing the Catholic sacraments throughout the weeks and years of my life lead me to understand that my faith does not exist as 鈥榓 role鈥� but rather intrinsically changes who or what I am fundamentally. In this way, I would say that at my best moments of creating music, I am certainly not the creator but a kind of instrument able to respond to a mysterious inspiration.鈥�

Braid is certainly a prolific creator. He writes for solo piano, jazz ensembles, chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras 鈥� a well-rounded composition portfolio that certainly augments any pre-conceived notions of jazz composition.

鈥淚n my opinion, writing traditional jazz music is more like 鈥榮ong writing.鈥� A song becomes interesting when the performer is spontaneous with the melody, harmony and rhythm鈥� good quality song writing, or good quality jazz writing inspires interesting improvisation,鈥� said Braid.

鈥淐ontemporary jazz composition does essentially the same thing, however the composition鱿鱼视频app elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm and form are typically more complex.鈥�

Additionally, Braid has found some specific elements of his Catholic practice that work their way into his writing.

鈥淒irect inspirations include my composition 鈥楨l Castillo Interior,鈥� inspired by the book of the same title written by St. Teresa of Avila in 1577,鈥� said Braid.

鈥淎nother popular piece of mine, 鈥楻everence,鈥� was based on the first four chords of a folk hymn that I heard a lot growing up called 鈥楾hough the Mountains May Fall.鈥� I am a bit ashamed to admit that I always felt a little embarrassed by a kind of sentimental feeling I felt from that song, but I later used the opening chords to launch a new piece of my own.鈥�

Braid鱿鱼视频app upcoming performances on Dec. 5 and 6 in Beijing, which he has been doing annually since 2006, will be a solo piano recital at the Forbidden City Concert Hall as well as a premiere of music he has written for string quartet and piano at the Beijing University Centennial Concert Hall with the Peking Sinfonietta String Quartet. Braid has also just released a double CD album of two live recordings for the CBC radio broadcast The Signal.

As a man with such a wealth of performance and musical moments under his belt, Braid finds it difficult to pinpoint one particular moment that he cherishes best.

鈥淲ithout trying to be facetious, my favourite performance and moment is definitely the next one. I feel that my work is always on an incline where I am always looking up ahead at where I am going. Whenever I feel like I am looking behind at what I was involved with before, I have stopped growing.鈥�

TORONTO - The pipe organ has held an inimitable place in Western musical canon since the 16th century. However, the instrument that is the cornerstone of the Church鱿鱼视频app sacred musical practice is in the midst of an undeniable renaissance, both in Canada and abroad, in and out of the Church.

An indicator is the appointment of several internationally revered organ masters to prominent appointments in Canadian institutions 鈥� most notably Hans-Ola Ericsson, Swedish organist, composer and technician who has been appointed to the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal. Ericsson will be reaching Toronto audiences on Nov. 23 when he performs at the Church of the Holy Trinity.

鈥淚鈥檓 obviously looking forward, very much, to performing in Toronto since it鱿鱼视频app one of the big centres of Canadian music, and a very respected school of music,鈥� said Ericsson of his first engagement outside of Montreal since his appointment at McGill.

Ericsson will be performing works from Bach and Messaien amongst others at Holy Trinity. He is also hosting a master class for some of the University of Toronto鱿鱼视频app organ students. He notes the pedigree of young organists in Canada is laudable.

鈥淚 have been very impressed, I must say. The undergraduates that I teach here at McGill, they are very fine and they know their way around (the instrument),鈥� said Ericsson. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very capable鈥� They are very eager at the ages of 18 and 19 and have a great working capacity.鈥�

The trend towards an emerging talent pool of organists is blossoming across the country and outside the spectrum of the universities as well.

鈥淲e have had several young pianists introduced to the organ over the past decade and they are all doing really well in their careers as professional organists,鈥� said Gordon Mansell, founder of the ORGANIX organ festival and member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists.

This interest has thrown weight behind, and perhaps fostered, a number of new organ-related projects in the country.

鈥淗ere in Montreal鈥� due to the fabulous work of my predecessor John Grew, we have the Montreal Summer Organ Academy鈥� which is a great thing for reaching out to young people,鈥� said Ericsson. 鈥淎lso of course, the CIOC (Canadian International Organ Competition), which is happening next year for the third time in Montreal. I see a lot of initiatives happening.鈥�

In addition to the organ鱿鱼视频app prominence in Canadian academic study and performance, the instrument is moving up in the liturgical landscape as well.

鈥淲e had a vibrant organ culture through the mid- to late-1970s,鈥� said Mansell. 鈥淗owever, as the demographics of Canada changed with many people coming from places where either Western art music or organ music are foreign to their practise of faith 鈥� such as the case of people arriving from hot climates 鈥� then the preferred instrumentation for church services is more likely to be guitars.鈥�

Ericsson also stresses the organ鱿鱼视频app vitality within the liturgical context. His own achievements and compositions with the instrument are also highly regarded in the church. He was an integral part of the Project Studio Acusticum in Pitea, Sweden.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app everything as an instrument within the service, within the Mass,鈥� said Ericsson.

鈥淎n instrument underlining the worship and the service, as such, that can give colour, but also be able to be an instrument that can stand on its own, this is so important.鈥�

With local innovators like Mansell already established in Canada, the hope is that the injection of international credential will only further the already prolific field of organists.

鈥淭heir experience is different from ours. Perhaps a bit exotic,鈥� said Mansell of his European contemporaries.

鈥淭hey are confident, well balanced in their musical tastes and can deliver an exciting program. They are quite accustomed to large audiences and know how to reach out to them to make them feel welcomed and entertained.

鈥淟ikewise, when an institution settles on a talent that has a more international base of experience, that institution is saying that they are serious about the future of the organ and they are interested in developing an organ culture of high international status.鈥�

Ericsson echoes this sentiment.

鈥淚 hope, and I think, that there will be a great future for organ music. There are many wonderful young players that reach out to an audience that perhaps is a new audience.鈥�

For most of us, stilling the mind seems too unproductive to be a good idea. But then again, it鱿鱼视频app an attractive idea.

鈥淲ho do you say I am?鈥� is the burning question Jesus asks His disciples in chapter nine of the Gospel of Luke. In Benedictine Dom Laurence Freeman鱿鱼视频app 75-page book The Goal of Life, the author seeks to illustrate how Christian meditation can help us come up with our own answer.

Freeman, the director of The World Community for Christian Meditation, is essentially giving readers a road map to happiness via the mind and spirit, should they choose to follow his lead.

But first he debunks the widely held misconception that meditation is a 鈥済et-away-from-it-all narcissistic indulgence鈥� 脿 la Elizabeth Gilbert鱿鱼视频app best-selling Eat, Pray, Love. Instead, it is 鈥渢he practice of silence and stillness, of non-action beyond thought and imagination.鈥� It鱿鱼视频app also not a leisure activity. It鱿鱼视频app hard work.

Meditation is the work we do to accept the gift of contemplation which is already given and present in the heart, writes Freeman.

The goal of life 鈥� heaven 鈥� is to know who we are. But to figure this out we must be able to say who Jesus is. If you鈥檙e willing to give the gift of total self, you may one day be able to answer that question. He is asking no small feat.

The book is small, but don鈥檛 be deceived. You鈥檙e in for some heavy reading. It鱿鱼视频app also chock full of strong declarations and promises. 鈥淭he humanity of Jesus and His relationship to the universe come to be experienced from within.鈥�

Never having meditated, I read the book with an open mind. But how does one meditate? It takes a while to get to that. In fact, the majority of the book is spent discussing what it is and why one would seek to achieve Christian enlightenment, with only a few pages dedicated to the how.

Essentially, you are to sit upright and breathe calmly. Then, close your eyes and in your mind and heart repeat the word 鈥渕aranatha.鈥� It鱿鱼视频app an Aramaic word he recommends to beginners which means 鈥淐ome Lord. Come Lord Jesus.鈥�

But it鱿鱼视频app not quite so easy to clear your mind of your busy life. Freeman admits this and addresses the very real challenges of doing anything so counter-cultural.

To meditate, we must accept Jesus鈥� challenge to go beyond the fear of letting go of our favourite anxieties, the ones we鈥檝e grown accustomed to, along with getting over our fear of peace. 鈥淭he practice of meditation is a way of applying His teaching on prayer; it proves through experience that the human mind can indeed choose not to worry.鈥�

The book successfully breaks down preconceived notions about what meditation is. Freeman shows us instead a holistic path of prayer.

So, who is Jesus? Freeman isn鈥檛 going to put it in words for you. The real goal of Christian meditation is an encounter with Jesus that goes beyond words and tidy definitions. It鱿鱼视频app a reality that has to be felt in your heart as well as your mind. When you get it, Jesus is there in everyday life, in all the distractions and tedium of the day and in the dreams that light the still mind before dawn. Christian meditation is just one more tool to be implemented on the neverending journey of faith.

VATICAN CITY - The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments is establishing an office to promote the development and use of appropriate liturgical art, architecture and music.

The new office was approved in early September by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state; final arrangements and the designation of personnel are being made, said Marist Father Anthony Ward, undersecretary of the congregation.

The office will provide advice, encouragement and guidance, he said, but it will not attempt to impose specific styles.

"The church has always adopted local artistic, architectural and music styles," Father Ward told Catholic News Service Nov. 14. At the same time, as the Second Vatican Council taught, "it always has emphasized Gregorian chant as the homegrown music of the Latin rite."

While the Pontifical Council for Culture promotes efforts in the area of sacred art and music, the congregation's new office will focus specifically on art, architecture and music used for Mass and other formal moments of prayer.

The Second Vatican Council document on the liturgy said, "The church has not adopted any particular style of art as her very own; she has admitted styles from every period according to the natural talents and circumstances of peoples, and the needs of the various rites."

It called for the preservation of the great liturgical art of the past and the encouragement of modern artists to create pieces appropriate for Catholic worship, "provided that it adorns the sacred buildings and holy rites with due reverence and honor."

VATICAN CITY - Sacred music can bolster people's faith and help lapsed Catholics rediscover the beauty of God, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"Sacred music can, above all, promote the faith, and, what's more, cooperate in the new evangelization," he told participants attending a conference and pilgrimage sponsored by the Italian St. Cecilia Association. St. Cecilia, whose feast day is Nov. 22, is traditionally honored as the patron saint of musical performers.

"Music and singing that are done well can help (people) receive the word of God and be moved in a positive way," the pope said in his address Nov. 10.

Many people, including St. Augustine, have found themselves attracted to God because of some profound experience prompted by the beauty of liturgical music and sacred song, he said.

In the church's missionary outreach, he said, it urges Catholics to recognize, respect and promote the musical traditions of the local people.

Traditionally Christian countries, like Italy, have a rich heritage of sacred music which can help lapsed Catholics rediscover God and be drawn again to the Christian message and the mystery of faith, he said.

Because of their important role in new evangelization, he urged church musicians to dedicate themselves "to improving the quality of liturgical song, without being afraid of reviving or emphasizing the great musical tradition of the church, which has two of its highest expressions in Gregorian and polyphony."

"Show how the church may be the place in which beauty feels at home," he said.

"Sacred song united to the words, form a necessary and integral part of the solemn liturgy," he said, quoting from the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy "Sacrosanctum Concilium."

The reason why sacred music is "necessary and integral," Pope Benedict said, isn't simply for aesthetic purposes, but because sacred song "cooperates in nourishing and expressing the faith and, therefore, in glorifying God and sanctifying the faithful."

Sacred music "is not an accessory or embellishment of the liturgy, but is the liturgy itself."

The pope thanked the men and women musicians and singers for helping the faithful "praise God and make his word sink deep in their hearts."

That evening, in the Sistine Chapel, the pope attended a concert with his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who was the director of the Regensburg Boys Choir for decades.

They listened to music from a Mass composed by Msgr. Ratzinger, as well as to pieces by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Msgr. Massimo Palombella -- the director of the Sistine Chapel Choir -- and Colin Mawby, a contemporary British composer who has served as director of music at Westminster Cathedral.

TORONTO - In Mervi Junkkonen鱿鱼视频app After Life: Four Stories of Torture, we are told the plight of four survivors seeking refuge in Finland but never finding complete peace of spirit.

Their story is one of 12 鈥渋nspiring and heartbreaking鈥� films playing this month at the seventh Amnesty International Reel Awareness Human Rights Film Festival, running at Toronto鱿鱼视频app Carlton Cinema Nov. 15-18.

鈥淓ach film was chosen because they focus on a specific Amnesty International concern or priority campaign,鈥� said festival co-ordinator Elena Dumitru.

Amnesty International is a global movement to protect and promote human rights.

The festival kicks off with A Whisper to a Roar, a film shot over three years about democracy activists in five countries 鈥� Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a positive film, it鱿鱼视频app uplifting,鈥� said Dumitru.

Festival organizers say they always try to begin with a film that is not well-known.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a film that looks at activists, at people who are doing the work our volunteers do every day,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o we hope it will be an inspiration to our own members and to the public to take action on human rights issues, get involved, do more.鈥�

The festival鱿鱼视频app two main goals are awareness and engagement. So at the Carlton Cinema there will also be an action centre where festival-goers can find out how to become involved with Amnesty International.

鈥淲e still find that people are surprised when they come and see a film and they find out about the specific human-rights violation,鈥� said Dumitru. 鈥淢any times the reaction is 鈥極h my God, I didn鈥檛 know that this was happening.鈥� 鈥�

But films like After Life demonstrate how it is possible for suffering to go unnoticed and ignored by many.

Loneliness, isolation, depression, anger and helplessness are all expressed in the steady voices of the men featured.

There is Kebi, who is fighting deportation; Serge, whose will to live hinges on seeing his three surviving children again; Musa, who spends less time at home because he fears being rough with his two kids; and Hector, the artist who found it difficult at first to paint anything beautiful.

鈥淧roblems are not like clothes that you can take off and wash,鈥� says Musa.

Their faces are never fully visible, at times blurred, with the only exception being the elderly Hector who has had 40 years to settle in the country.

The film is intentionally often out of focus. It鱿鱼视频app as if the lives the men are living now are mere dreams, as if they are really still imprisoned in their home countries, as if the world around them is in focus while they are not.

As the men speak about the real life nightmares they suffered and the memories that still haunt them at night, the moviegoer will see extreme close ups of eyes, lips and hands. These images make the men鱿鱼视频app existence seem concrete and yet still keeps their identities anonymous. They each could be almost any immigrant walking the cold streets of Finland.

鈥淭his is an outstanding lineup of films that... show deeply compelling personal struggles against difficult odds,鈥� said Dumitru in a press release.

Each man鱿鱼视频app deep, contemplative thoughts and reflections, the real draw of After Life, can be seen on Nov. 18.

For more on the festival, see .