鱿鱼视频app

TORONTO - Bright lights, booming music and large crowds 鈥� there is no party quite like Nuit Blanche. For one night each year, the streets of downtown Toronto erupt in celebration of the city鱿鱼视频app rich arts culture. This year the city鱿鱼视频app Catholic community joined the party.

The Newman Catholic Students Club (NCSC) from the University of Toronto facilitated an all-night adoration at St. Thomas Aquinas Church Sept 29. They called the event Nuit Benoit, which translates to 鈥淏lessed Night.鈥�

鈥淪omething on your heart? Spend some time with Christ,鈥� read a small whiteboard easel on a quiet corner at St. George Street and Hoskin Avenue, inviting passersby to enter the church from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

鈥淭his is the Year of Faith, the year of evangelization,鈥� said Christina Alaimo, NCSC president. 鈥淲e want something that can draw people鱿鱼视频app attention. We want them to be seduced by Christ.鈥�

Nuit Benoit is NCSC vice president Natasha Milavec鱿鱼视频app brain 

child to counter the events of Nuit Blanche as part of the group鱿鱼视频app new initiative.

Milavec recalls hearing the creak of the church鱿鱼视频app large wooden doors and watching an adorer step out.

鈥淗e looked like he was just filled with the Spirit,鈥� said Milavec. 鈥淗e said that if he had known that this was here, he would鈥檝e come sooner. I think that is what is most satisfying about this event. People鱿鱼视频app faces just looked other worldly when they came out.鈥�

More than 100 people attended the event and adored the Blessed Sacrament throughout the night. Many also participated in praise and worship and received the sacrament of Reconciliation.

As Nuit Benoit worked to act as a retreat from the city, the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) saw the evening as a platform to display its message to the community. Four exhibits were featured over the night.

John Notten, a teacher at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School, presented an art piece for the third year in a row. This year鱿鱼视频app piece, The NeXt Desk, was displayed at the Distillery District as part of Thom Sokolsky鱿鱼视频app project, Dada Reboot. It is a 13-foot wheel of 20 classroom desks. 鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app mobile, interactive and interconnected,鈥� said Notten.

The NeXt Desk is a symbol representing a new vision to integrate 21st-century technology more seamlessly into the school system.

鈥淭he notion of traditional education has been unchanged since the Industrial Revolution,鈥� said Notten. 鈥淏ut in the 21st century, technology is forcing us to re-examine how we educate our kids today.鈥�

Notten鱿鱼视频app students understood the state of change in their own way. They called it 鈥渢he state of flux.鈥� Each student took a piece of a car and transformed it into something that represented their experiences. These individual pieces were then reformed on Yonge and Gould Street as the Fluxmobile.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a huge honour for the students. I鈥檓 so proud of them,鈥� said Notten. 鈥淚t took my whole life to get my art featured at Nuit Blanche and these 16- and 17- year-olds already have one.鈥�

A second installation from Mary Ward, supervised by Marissa Largo, was located at Wychwood Theatre. Paralandscape is an art piece where people were instructed to take hold of a white parachute as images from Google Earth are projected onto the cloth. As the images shift, they shook the cloth to skew the landscape for 鈥渁n interactive globetrotting adventure.鈥�

St. Joseph鱿鱼视频app College also had its own art piece called the Magic Window. Students collected 35mm unused slides from across the school board and projected them through the windows of their school. This 鈥渟tained-glass quilt鈥� displayed 50 years worth of traditional curriculum against the modern frame of the building.

(Din, 21, is a third-year journalism student at Ryerson University in Toronto.)

Ottawa - The pre-Vatican days of Latin-language Masses are on the rise among Catholic youth.

In Ottawa, St. Clement鱿鱼视频app parish moved its daily traditional Latin Mass to St. Anne鱿鱼视频app Church in Lowertown to accommodate its growing congregation, including many young families.

Michael and Rebecca Trolley, a couple in their 20s, are very active at Annunciation Anglican Use Catholic Church. 鈥淎nglican Use鈥� refers to a particular form, or 鈥渦se,鈥� of the Roman rite (or Mass) which draws heavily upon the Anglican liturgical and musical tradition, incorporated into a Catholic context.

鈥淲e were both nerdy bookworms,鈥� said Michael, who is very interested in Church history. 鈥淔or a lot of young people, I think there鱿鱼视频app a deep skepticism about contemporary culture. And if they want to do something spiritual, the last thing they want is something that looks like everything that鱿鱼视频app going on around them. If they鈥檙e going to do something different, they鈥檙e going to do something really different.鈥�

Prior to 1970, the Roman Mass was celebrated in Latin; this older form of the Mass is now commonly referred to as the traditional Latin Mass. After the Second Vatican Council, the Mass was translated into many different languages, including English. Some communities such as St. Clement鱿鱼视频app, however, still celebrate the traditional Latin Mass.

The Trolleys note the similarities between their traditional Anglican Use liturgy and the older form of the Roman rite.

鈥淭he differences aren鈥檛 so much the text of the liturgy,鈥� said Michael. 鈥淚n the way that they鈥檙e celebrated, our Mass has a great deal in common with the Extraordinary Form (the traditional Latin Mass). They鈥檙e both celebrated facing east, it鱿鱼视频app usually chanted, with incense. It鱿鱼视频app quieter in some ways, it鱿鱼视频app more formal, a greater spirit of reverence.鈥�

Rebecca disagrees: 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say it鱿鱼视频app more quiet, especially when we do a High Mass. It鱿鱼视频app very noisy, because we鈥檙e singing a lot. Music is more a part of our tradition. Anglicans like to sing, Catholics don鈥檛,鈥� she jokes, referring to the tradition from which their liturgy derives.

Many young Catholic Canadians do not know much about traditional forms of worship, what a traditional liturgy consists of and how it differs from what is seen in a regular Catholic parish.

鈥淲e鈥檝e actually tried to bring back some of what were originally monastic practices into the life of a parish,鈥� said Subdeacon Andrew Bennett, a regular worshipper at Ottawa鱿鱼视频app Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Chaplaincy.

鈥淭he vast majority of people at the chaplaincy are students,鈥� said Bennett. 鈥淚n a culture that often lacks an understanding of what mystery is, an understanding of how we as human beings need liturgical worship to enter into the mystery of God present in His Church, I think young people crave authenticity. And in the Christian tradition, if they see authenticity, they鈥檙e drawn to it.鈥�

鈥淢onastic practices鈥� refer to the services regularly observed in monasteries. Thus, worshippers at the chaplaincy sing Matins (a service of morning prayer) before the Divine Liturgy (the term for the Mass in the Eastern churches) every Sunday morning.

鈥淎 Roman Catholic coming in off the street would notice first of all that it鱿鱼视频app longer and that we sing everything,鈥� Bennett said.

Everything in the Divine Liturgy (except the homily) is chanted in the Byzantine rite, a collection of Eastern churches which have come into union with the Roman Catholic Church. But according to the subdeacon, this custom is not exclusive to Byzantine Catholics such as those who attend the chaplaincy.

鈥淭he Roman rite has this tradition as well, but in most parishes since the Second Vatican Council, this tradition of the sung Mass has been lost,鈥� said Bennett. 鈥淏ut now you鈥檙e seeing again a return to some of these traditions in the Roman Catholic Church.鈥�

(Candy, 21, is a third-year English student at the University of Ottawa.)

Toronto - With Toronto鱿鱼视频app universities heavily populated by students who live off-campus, on-campus Catholic chaplaincies work hard to keep commuters coming back.

鈥淓veryone has a different experience with chaplaincy,鈥� said Joseph Zambon, a pastoral assistant at York. 鈥淪ome members just come for Sunday Mass while other members just go to one-time events held by the chaplaincy throughout the school year.鈥�  

At the University of Toronto, the approach of the Newman Centre chaplaincy is to break it down into smaller, more focused groups. This builds a stronger sense of community with its members. There is also one major retreat for students each term as well as regular services such as Mass seven times a week and adoration after every Friday Mass. The Newman Centre also hosts 鈥淎 Date to Remember,鈥� a popular speed-dating night for single Catholic young adults.   

York University鱿鱼视频app chaplaincy team, which is located on the Keele campus about an hour north of downtown Toronto by public transit, deals almost exclusively with commuters. Because of this, the chaplaincy has very little activity over the weekends, except for Sunday Mass.

The bulk of its services run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, when the campus is alive with students and when they can come and go depending on their class schedules. When the campus virtually shuts down on the weekend, so too does the chaplaincy team for the most part.

Despite the lack of weekend activity, the York chaplaincy enjoyed a successful welcome week on campus. It celebrated a 鈥淏litz Week鈥� handing out popcorn, doing surveys and questionnaires to raise awareness about the chaplaincy. The most recent event, Grill the Priest, was held on Sep. 18 and Sept. 20 in the early afternoon. Students had a chance to ask a priest any tough questions about the Catholic faith. 

The Ryerson University chaplaincy, located at the heart of downtown Toronto, estimates that 50 per cent of its student members commute more than 45 minutes to get to school. 

鈥淚t has been my experience that commuter students are eager and excited to get involved. They have a desire to join a student group precisely because they are a commuter student and they want to feel connected to the campus,鈥� said Oriana Bertucci, chaplaincy director at Ryerson. 

Ryerson鱿鱼视频app chaplaincy also takes on the role of 鈥済athering the scattered.鈥� The chaplaincy group meets students where they are: on campus, at a coffee shop, at a church or other places Ryerson students hang out. The concept allows the chaplaincy and its events to be more accessible to students regardless of whether they commute or live near campus.

The Ryerson chaplaincy plans most of its events during the day time or early evenings to agree with the schedule of its large commuter group. In addition, the chaplaincy provides a place for prayer in the large space of the St. Michael鱿鱼视频app Cathedral. It also holds themed monthly Sunday dinners to encourage interaction with other student groups on the Ryerson campus.

鈥淥ur Sunday dinners often attract students who enjoy going to Mass with their friends and having the opportunity to break bread afterwards. Even if they have to travel a bit to come for Mass and dinner, they enjoy the fellowship,鈥� said Bertucci.

鈥淗ow we define growth in the chaplaincy is by answering: Are we meeting the needs of our students?鈥� Bertucci said. 鈥淲e need to be adaptable.鈥�

(Jereza is a second-year journalism student at Ryerson University.)

Ottawa - There are no windows in the Catholic chaplaincy office at Carleton University. The small and simple room holds a desk, a couch, one or two holy garments and an array of other materials used to rouse student interest in the word of God. The chaplaincy is underground in one of the concrete tunnels that connect the buildings on campus.

鈥淚 think the university chaplaincy was neglected for many years,鈥� said Fr. Tim McCauley, Carleton鱿鱼视频app chaplain.

In its early years, the chaplaincy lacked the funding and the student interest to justify any increase to its finances. When the Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) established itself on campus in 1996, its mission was barely welcome among the students.

鈥淭his has been a really tough campus,鈥� said Kristin Konieczny, the team leader for CCO at Carleton.

But things have changed. Now many of the CCO鱿鱼视频app events host more than 120 students. Konieczny has used a variety of methods 鈥� from surveys to cupcakes 鈥� to get the students talking about a topic that so many are hesitant to discuss: their faith.

鈥淭here aren鈥檛 many people who are courageous enough to start the conversation,鈥� Konieczny said. 鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app kind of a taboo topic.鈥�

But this unspoken discomfort is only one of the challenges to the faith of many university students. McCauley said there is a subtle persecution of Catholicism brought on by secularization.

Three outspoken Catholics and University of Ottawa students have seen this first-hand. Though they said their faith never wavered, it has taken one or two intellectual jabs. Tess Mc Manus, a 20-year-old theatre student, saw a multiple choice question on one of her philosophy tests with only one correct answer: 鈥渢here is no God.鈥� Although the purpose of the question, regardless of content, was to test students鈥� reasoning skills, it didn鈥檛 sit right with her. For Mc Manus, it was like the answer was poking fun at the faithful. 

Caitlin McCann, a third-year history student, said a lot of people feel comfortable mocking Catholicism because that鱿鱼视频app what the media do so often.

While both students were also quick to point out that universities are usually very tolerant places, there seems to be an underlying resistance that they want to arm themselves against.

鈥淲hat am I supposed to say when a professor with a PhD comes up to me and says there is no God?鈥� Mc Manus asked in frustration.

Even without a firm answer, one student always made a point of defending his position. Brendan Mc Manus, Tess鱿鱼视频app older brother and a 22-year-old graduate from the University of Ottawa, said that a lot of his classmates actually appreciated how he stood up for his religion. He said this was especially true of his Muslim friends.

鈥淎lthough we were of different religions, we had a mutual respect for each other,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e understood the commonalities we had.鈥�

The majority of challenges that face Catholic university students aren鈥檛 unique to Catholicism. Muslims, Jews and Hindus share in a similar university experience with many of the same religious difficulties. But for some, it also means a newfound enthusiasm.

Ehsanul Khan, a fourth-year electrical engineering student, seemed eager to share his spiritual journey with anyone interested enough to wait with him outside the small prayer room in Carleton鱿鱼视频app university centre.

鈥淲hen I came (to university) it made me stronger in my faith than when I was back home,鈥� said Khan, who hails from Bangladesh. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e back home, you just do what you鈥檙e told to do. You don鈥檛 get much time to think for yourself.鈥�

After exploring a few different religions, he said he found that Islam was the only religion for him. He added it gave him the ability to sort out which things are important in his life.

With the help of a few tasty treats and a gentle push from the people at the CCO, many Catholic students are beginning to do it too.

As the interview with McCauley wrapped up, people began crowding into the chaplain鱿鱼视频app office. 鈥淒o you need help setting up for Mass?鈥� they asked him. McCauley replied, 鈥淲ell, I don鈥檛 want to do it myself鈥�.鈥� 

(Bronca, 21, is a fourth-year journalism student at Carleton University in Ottawa.)

TORONTO - Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, who took over Covenant House for homeless youth after its founder was accused of financial and sexual improprieties, will be remembered in Toronto as a tireless, enthusiastic and passion- ate role model, said Carol Howes.

Howes, director of Program 鱿鱼视频app at Covenant House in downtown Toronto, said Sr. McGeady 鈥渉ad the needs of the kids first and foremost and that鱿鱼视频app what drove all of her decisions around where the agency went.鈥�

Sr. McGeady, who ran Covenant House from 1990 to 2003, died of respiratory failure in Albany, N.Y., on Sept. 13. She was 84.
After Covenant House was rocked by financial and sexual scandal, Sr. McGeady stepped in and is credited with rescuing the organization, restoring its resources and reputation.

A member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, during her time as Covenant House president, the number of homeless young people served by the international network doubled annually.

According to Howes, Sr. McGeady inspired Covenant House staff to do more for the kids they worked with.

鈥淚 was always really impressed that when she would come to speak to our staff or our donors, she always had some kind of personal story to tell about the kids,鈥� Howes said.

She recalls Sr. McGeady鱿鱼视频app habit of meeting youth in elevators, for example, casually speaking to them about their lives and following up when she ran into them at a later date.

鈥淪he really did stay very connected to what challenges the kids were dealing with. And that was helpful in terms of helping all of us find ways to be supportive to the kids. 鈥�

Sr. McGeady was in her mid-60s when she became president and kept in touch with each Covenant House through travels to countries where Covenant House programs operate.鈥ㄢ�淪he really had a passion for expanding services as much as possible because she was hearing about need all over the place, both here in Canada, across some other (U.S.) states and in Central America,鈥� said Howes.

During her tenure, Covenant House expanded its reach dramatically, with new crisis shelters, street outreach and long-term residential programs for homeless youth.

鈥淗ere in Canada, we felt that she was very instrumental in allowing us to expand our services through the purchase of an additional building so we could have transitional housing, our rights of passage program for youth, and that allowed us to have a space for our school program and our job centre program.鈥�

She was a strong advocate who saw need and acted upon it, said Howes. And that鱿鱼视频app why there is also a Covenant House in Vancouver.

Covenant House now reaches more than 57,000 children and youth in six countries each year.

Sr. McGeady was born June 28, 1928, in Hazelton, Pa., and worked with children for more than 40 years before joining Covenant House. Howes said Sr. McGeady 鈥渨ould want to be re- membered for the impact that she had on the lives of young people and how she helped them turn their lives around.鈥�

(With files from Catholic News Service.)

BRAMPTON, ONT. - A group of Brampton high school students are finding out if you can鈥檛 stand the heat, get out of the kitchen 鈥� and away from the cameras.

Rogers TV is going into the kitchen at Brampton鱿鱼视频app Cardinal Leger Secondary School where hospitality and tourism students star in a new reality TV series, Cardinal鱿鱼视频app High School Cafe. The show features Grade 12 students operating all aspects of an upscale bistro, and it鱿鱼视频app not just the kitchen that gets heated.  

The show first aired on Sept. 3, the opener of a six-episode season that features mainly five students, one per episode, and the challenges and struggles they encounter on the job and with each other. Episode six is the season finale where the students cook at their principal鱿鱼视频app house for administrators. It airs Oct. 8.

鈥淚 want to keep the suspense, but all sorts of things go wrong on that episode,鈥� said Kerry Greco, the show鱿鱼视频app community producer and the school鱿鱼视频app hospitality and tourism teacher.  

Greco, after 20 years experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, including owning her own pub and restaurant, started teaching English when she first entered the education field. But when she realized that tourism and hospitality would be offered, she wanted to make students aware of the opportunities available to them.

She had approached Rogers about giving students a chance to show off their culinary skills, which landed students the gig of cooking demonstrations on daytime. Then Greco pitched the idea of reality TV.

鈥淪tudents who are not always successful in the traditional academic environment can really thrive in the hospitality program,鈥� Greco said.

The first student to be featured on the show, Chris Kelloway, discovered the joy of cooking at age 10.
In Grade 10, he enrolled in the Hospitality and Tourism Specialist High Skills Major program and stayed until Grade 12.

鈥淚 just had a passion for cooking and putting all my creativity into dishes I had made,鈥� he said.

At the bistro, Kelloway and the students in the program served students, faculty and local community members, including seniors from a nearby residence.

Greco tapped into funds available for students enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Major in hospitality and tourism, and that鱿鱼视频app how the cafe, equipped with an industrial kitchen, was built.

鈥淭hey learn what it is to actually serve in the exact same manner that they would if they were working in a high-end restaurant,鈥� Greco said, a lesson that includes dealing with conflict in the kitchen.

But Kelloway鱿鱼视频app favourite aspect of the experience is how they 鈥渁ll co-existed together in one team鈥� to ensure 鈥渃ustomers had a great experience.鈥� He has no regrets.

The biggest challenge the students faced, running a fast-paced restaurant, remains the same whether or not they were on camera, said Greco.

鈥淭here鱿鱼视频app always challenges with making sure that the food is executed to the tables properly and the service is executed properly.鈥�

But the cameras did cause additional stress.

鈥淭he best part of the program is that it forces students to really be the star of their own life.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e there and you鈥檙e on camera doing the show, you鈥檙e accountable for everything you do,鈥� Greco said.

Off-camera, one of Greco鱿鱼视频app past students went on to attend Chef Gordon Ramsay鱿鱼视频app culinary academy in London that offers a Cordon Bleu diploma. And since filming season one of the show between February and June, his last semester at Cardinal Leger, Kelloway has graduated and is now beginning his career in culinary management at George Brown College.

鈥淢y most treasured story, the very first graduate from the program was the first from her entire family to graduate from high school.

鈥淎nd I think that鱿鱼视频app why the program is there, because she was able to visualize the success that she could have in a very real way,鈥� Greco said.

The bistro is open every Friday at the school for all three lunches, with quality meals such as New York steak on the menu for about $7 or $8.

Cardinal鱿鱼视频app High School Cafe airs Monday nights at 11 p.m.

The Catholic Register is pleased to introduce our new Youth Speak News team. These 14 young people were selected from a record number of applicants to The Register's successful YSN program.

Lianne Milan Bernardo
Age: 25
Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Education: Master's degree in European, 鱿鱼视频app and Eurasian Studies from Carleton University.

Marie Boston
Age: 24
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
Education: Third-year fine arts and drama student at the University of Calgary.

Tristan Bronca
Age: 20
Hometown: King City, Ont.
Education: Fouth-year journalism student with a history minor at Carleton University.

Emma Brown
Age: 19
Hometown: Orillia, Ont.
Education: Second-year journalism student at Carleton University.

Zack Candy
Age: 21
Hometown: Lanark, Ont.
Education: Third-year English student at the University of Ottawa.

Caroline D'Souza
Age: 15
Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Education: Grade 11 International Baccalaureate student at Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Camilo Guzman
Age: 20
Hometown: Toronto, Ont. Education: Former religious studies student at I.V.E Seminary.

Beatriz Jereza
Education: Second-year journalism student at Ryerson University.

Suzanne Joanes
Age: 17
Hometown: Brampton, Ont. Education: First-year Concurrent Education student at Queens Uni- versity.

Jean Ko Din
Age: 21
Hometown: Thornhill, Ont. Education: Third-year journalism student at Ryerson University.

Francis Olaer
Age: 18
Hometown: Guelph, Ont. Education: Grade 12 student at St. James Catholic High School.

Darren Pereira
Age: 17
Hometown: Toronto, Ont. Education: Grade 12 student at Brebeuf College School.

Reagan Reese Seidler
Age: 21
Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask. Education: Political Science graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan.

Terence Wong
Age: 20
Hometown: Richmond Hill, Ont. Education: Fouth-year history and political studies student at Queens University.

TV star Nathan McLeod is taking his talents from the small screen to the church.

McLeod will lead the band Look Out Below at the Oratory Youth Concert Sept. 21 at Toronto鱿鱼视频app St. Vincent de Paul parish.
Known for his role as Gabe, the hot older brother who loves dishing out girl advice to his younger brothers on YTV鱿鱼视频app Life with Boys, McLeod鱿鱼视频app abilities go beyond acting. Performing in musical theatre since he was nine, the 18-year-old plays the guitar and piano, but thinks of himself as a singer first when it comes to his musical skills.

These skills will be on full display when McLeod headlines the Oratory Youth Concert.

McLeod is a Catholic and said he was attracted to St. Vincent de Paul鱿鱼视频app Latin Mass and has been commuting to Toronto from Oakville to attend the service since last summer. McLeod has performed in other churches before, but this is his first time doing so at St. Vincent de Paul. He plans on performing Christian rock, praise and worship and original songs. 

鈥淓very song that I write has a story behind it and God鱿鱼视频app always been a really big part of my life,鈥� said McLeod, 鈥渟o His influence completely affects what I write about, even in my secular music.鈥�

One of the original songs he plans on performing at the youth concert, 鈥淪tand Tall,鈥� is about God helping him through being bullied in elementary school. McLeod will also perform 鈥淯nborn Baby,鈥� a song he wrote for his older brother Nicholas. The elder McLeod is active in the pro-life community and is currently studying in seminary with plans to join the priesthood, says his younger brother. 

McLeod first turned to songwriting at age 12 when his grandmother Rose Sliger died of a severe form of Parkinson鱿鱼视频app Disease. McLeod recalls Sliger as 鈥渢he luckiest woman in the world鈥� who would always beat him at board games and who taught him about patience.

鈥淭ill her dying day she was the toughest woman I knew. She was for sure a great example for my life,鈥� he said.

鈥淕rowing up in music theatre, music was always a big part of my life that when something tragic and something that affected me so much as my grandmother dying, it really encouraged me to want to write her a song, which was the reason I learned the guitar.鈥�

With guitar in hand, McLeod will be playing with Look Out Below, a group of five friends from the Etobicoke School of the Arts. 

鈥淲e respect Nathan as a singer,鈥� said band leader Sanjay Parker, who classifies his band鱿鱼视频app sound as funk dance music.

Parker says they can鈥檛 guarantee they all will play together in the future, 鈥渟o we want to play as much as we can now.鈥�

The concert, organized by St. Philip Youth, will have young acts performing for their peers.

鈥淚 believe God is sending me on this journey of music to be in  a position of power so that I can be a good role model and bring about change,鈥� McLeod said.

This article was amended on Sept. 26, 2012 to remove a quote attributed to Fr. Carlos Martins.

TORONTO - York University students now have the option of a new extracurricular activity: Catholic campus evangelization.

York鱿鱼视频app Catholic chaplaincy launched Apostles on Mission this summer, a six-session program designed to teach students how to minister at the university. Planned and run by chaplain Fr. Carlos Martins and associate pastor Fr. Ben St. Croix, the program targets 鈥渢he more spiritually mature students,鈥� Martins said. But the invitation remains open and any student is free to join.

These student evangelizers 鈥渁re going to minister on campus and be an extension of the Catholic chaplaincy in the hallways and in the corridors,鈥� Martins said.

The curriculum covered the Catholic Church鱿鱼视频app teaching on evangelization, what exactly evangelization is, why evangelize, whom to evangelize and elements of how to pray. Misconceptions of the Catholic Church and how to defend the faith were included. The sessions also covered effective ways to give a testimony and how to start a conversation with a stranger. It鱿鱼视频app about 鈥渉ow to approach somebody in a situation where you don鈥檛 know the person and to do so in a way that makes the person you鈥檙e approaching comfortable and feel safe,鈥� Martins said. 鈥淲e (Martins and St. Croix) are members of the Companions of the Cross. This is our bread and butter.鈥�

York has about 55,000 students. Its main Keele campus is where the Apostles on Mission will volunteer a minimum of two to four hours a week, but Martins promises that the skills learned through the sessions can be applied anywhere.

This month, the Apostles on Mission will begin to to provide Catholic resources and provide information on what the chaplaincy has to offer. The students also have the option of running Bible studies.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make people aware that there is something here that is being offered that they may appreciate and desire,鈥� said Martins. He does not want people to be treated as potential converts, with their individuality disregarded as a result.

The plan is 鈥渨e鈥檙e throwing seed out,鈥� said Martins.

鈥淯ndergirding our belief here at the chaplaincy is the belief of the Church that God has prepared the hearts of those who will receive His message to respond to Him.鈥�

The sixth session took place on Aug. 23 and allowed participants to practise their conversion story or testimony. 

Lolita Akimana was looking for a Catholic student group when she joined the chaplaincy at York. She has been to two Apostles on Mission sessions. She is unsure how she is going to approach students, but feels ready to share the word of God. In her conversion story or testimony, she spoke about growing up in the African country of Burundi. 

鈥淚 used to go to church with friends, but I didn鈥檛 really know God,鈥� she said.

She has four siblings and her father died before she was born. Akimana asked Jesus to be her father and He provided, she said. For her, God no longer seems abstract.

Akimana鱿鱼视频app testimony, said Martins, is an example of Christ filling a need in one person鱿鱼视频app life.

Martins anticipates the student evangelizers will face two main challenges: time and lack of confidence. The pressures of school leave students little free time, he acknowledged. And though he鱿鱼视频app never encountered hostility on campus in the year that he鱿鱼视频app worked at York, evangelizers will need self-assurance to help them deal with any hostility or potentially bad experiences.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l come away learning about themselves and learning about the faith,鈥� Martins said.

The main Apostles on Mission sessions have been recorded with the hope of making them available to students as a training program. And interest from students who were unable to be on campus during the summer has Martins interested in training more students during the academic year.

鈥淪tudents have risen to the challenge,鈥� he said.

Alexandra Jezierski is hoping to enlist the help of 100,000 letter writers to influence Prime Minster Stephen Harper and members of Parliament to support a motion that would open debate on when an unborn child becomes a human being. 

The Grade 12 student from Kingsville, Ont. began her Letters4Life campaign in support of Motion-312, Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth鱿鱼视频app private member鱿鱼视频app motion to open a debate on when a human life really begins.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping it (Motion-312) will help Canada to recognize the humanity of our unborn children,鈥� Jezierski said.

The goal is to send 100,000 letters to the prime minister and MPs asking them to vote in favour of Woodworth鱿鱼视频app motion. The letters are tracked online where visitors to the Letters4Life web site can input the number of letters they have sent. By late August, the online letter count was just above 58,000.

Visitors to Jezierski鱿鱼视频app site can also choose from two available letter templates: one specifically for Motion-312, the other asking the prime minister to re-open the abortion debate. Jezierski has higher hopes for the effectiveness of the former.

鈥淲hen Motion-312 came up, I realized that it鱿鱼视频app easier to ask our government to do something in increments,鈥� said Jezierski, 鈥渁nd asking them to support Motion-312 is a lot easier than asking them to end abortion.鈥�

She was inspired by a pro-life letter-writing effort by the Teenage Life Club in the United States, a group of high school girls attempting to have one million letters sent to the U.S. government by November in their Stand Up for Life Campaign. 

The second hour of debate on Motion-312 will be held on Sept. 21, the first Friday after Parliament resumes for the fall session. The Letters4Life deadline is Sept. 26, when the vote on Motion-312 is expected to be held.

Woodworth put the private member鱿鱼视频app motion forth earlier this year.

鈥淚 think that many people think it鱿鱼视频app going to solve the abortion question, and it certainly won鈥檛 do that,鈥� Woodworth told The Catholic Register.

Motion-312 is meant to create a committee that will focus on scientific evidence and testimony of medical professionals on the development of a child in the womb. For example, 鈥渘eurologists can testify about the point at which a child鱿鱼视频app brain function can be recorded,鈥� said Woodworth. 鈥淎n anatomist can talk about the development of a child鱿鱼视频app organs and limbs before birth.鈥� 

Currently, subsection 223(1) of Canada鱿鱼视频app Criminal Code says a child becomes a human being only after birth.

鈥淢y goal and deep abiding belief is that no civilized country, including Canada, should tolerate a law like subsection 223(1), which dehumanizes and excludes and condemns any class of person,鈥� Woodworth said.

He had the motion delayed when his mother fell ill last May. 鈥淲hen the vote came up in June, I didn鈥檛 feel quite capable of proceeding with the second hour of debate,鈥� he said.

Woodworth鱿鱼视频app mother died in late August, but he鱿鱼视频app expecting to be able to proceed with the motion as presently scheduled.  

Woodworth is not surprised that youth have supported Motion-312.

鈥淭his is an issue which does tend to engage idealism and thank goodness youth possess idealism,鈥� he said.   

Jezierski said the numbers of youth who have rallied behind her campaign is 鈥渦nbelievable.鈥� She and her peers also host letter-writing parties, where they meet their goal for the event, 100 letters for example, while listening to pro-life music.

There is a core of about 10 Letters4Life members and their main goal is to involve churches and write to bishops. Jezierski cites six bishops as her supporters. Though she is Catholic and so are most of the campaign supporters, she said Letters4Life has multi-faith support.

鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for Alexandra鱿鱼视频app support and the support of the many thousands of people across Canada who share with me a desire to see an unjust law at least looked at and discussed,鈥� Woodworth said.

However, he does not want to set parameters on the discussion. 鈥淚 genuinely want people to look at this with open minds and hearts.鈥� 

Whether the motion passes, Woodworth鱿鱼视频app advice for Jezierski is, 鈥淐anadians at large should understand that no important issue rises or falls on a single vote in the House of Commons.鈥�

In her anti-abortion campaign and in support for Motion-312, Jezierksi has met with hostility online. She said pro-choice supporters threatened her team with 鈥渃annibalism and death鈥� over Facebook.

鈥淯nborn children, it鱿鱼视频app their lives that we are fighting for, so whatever inconveniences arise, it just makes us more passionate because we know that the unborn children, they鈥檙e the most important.鈥�