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OTTAWA - With Christmas and the commercialization of the holidays, it is easy to get depressed about the consumerism in the modern world, said Sr. Nuala Kenny.

“Pay attention to the notion of commercialization and commodification because that������Ƶapp the world in which we find ourselves,” said Kenny, a Sister of Charity of Halifax whose resumé includes work as a pediatrician and bioethicist at Halifax������Ƶapp Dalhousie University. She is also an officer of the Order of Canada.

TORONTO - Jeremy Taggart, drummer for popular Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace, wants to help stop the stigma around mental health issues.

On Nov. 25, he did just that, relating his personal story as keynote speaker for the third annual “No Health without Mental Health” symposium run by the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Taggart spoke about his brother������Ƶapp battle with schizophrenia.

“We’re here because we’re trying to gauge what is crazy and what is normal,” the former Catholic school student told the audience of about 300 students and teachers. “And it������Ƶapp a struggle that we all try to gauge every single day.”

Change, one year at a time. That is the idea behind 1Focus, a charitable organization founded by Toronto students Miranda Dela Cruz and Isabel Ng-Lai.

Their goal is to focus on one issue every year. This year, 1Focus announced its first mission would be to promote education by raising $10,000 for three schools run by the Loretto Sisters in Darjeeling, India: Loreto Panighatta, Loreto Lolay and Loreto Sadem.

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has created a new comic book as an educational tool to raise awareness of the struggles faced by those in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We believe in the power of youth to change the world and that they hold the future in their hands,” said Shelley Burgoyne, youth programs officer at Development and Peace. “So by reaching out to them in such a dynamic format we really hope to raise awareness of the struggles of our brothers and sisters in the (Congo) and encourage our Canadian youth to speak out.”

VICTORIA, B.C. - If a picture is worth a thousand words, then pro-life students at the University of Victoria (UVic) have been doing a lot of talking in an effort to show the truth of what abortion is.

Youth Protecting Youth (YPY), UVic������Ƶapp pro-life club, partnered with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform to bring the campaign “Choice” Chain to campus Nov. 16-17.

“Choice” Chain is a campaign where volunteers hold pictures of fetuses aborted in the first trimester of pregnancy with the word “Choice” emblazoned on the top and seek to engage passersby in discussion about the meaning of abortion.

VICTORIA, B.C. - Calling Katrina Laquian busy is an understatement. Already external affairs officer for the Canadian Catholic Student Association (CCSA), the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace������Ƶapp youth representative for the diocese of Victoria and co-youth representative for the B.C./Yukon region, Laquian, 23, is the newly elected North American co-ordinator for the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS).

A fourth-year sociology student at the University of Victoria, Laquian laughed when asked about how she keeps balanced.

“I just don’t stress any more,” she said.  “I’ve come to a point where I know that things are out of my control and I just need to let go and let God.”

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - Teaching children about the new Roman Missal means not only educating them about changes to prayers and gestures, but also about a “liturgical renewal” in the Church, say authors of a new children������Ƶapp book.

Bernadette Gasslein and Sharon McKeever co-authored The Mass: Step by Step. Starting Nov. 27, the first Sunday of Advent, Canadians will begin to use the new Missal which introduces changes to the prayers and gestures of priests and the congregation.

McKeever said the Missal invites Catholics to rediscover the “key mysteries” of the Mass, such as Christ������Ƶapp presence in the Eucharist and belonging to the Body of Christ in the world.

Students at Mississauga������Ƶapp Holy Name of Mary College volunteered at 14 different agencies to be a living sign of hope to neighbouring communities through their contribution of time and work.

On Nov. 3, more than 80 students took part in the school������Ƶapp inaugural “A Day of Hope,” volunteering in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Thornhill and Hamilton at places like Good Shepherd Shelter, Daily Bread Food Bank and St. Felix Centre.

“They were a visible sign of hope through anything from peeling potatoes to painting hallways to cleaning out horse stalls to serving the poor in soup kitchens,” said James McLevey, head of religion and chaplaincy at Holy Name of Mary College and teacher organizer of the day.

VAUGHAN, ONT. - The Sara Elizabeth Centre (SEC), which offers arts-based inclusive programs for young adults with developmental and physical disabilities, officially opened its doors on Nov. 5.

Established in 2006, the SEC never had a place to call home, until now. The centre is located at 7412 Kipling Ave. in Vaughan.

The permanent location has provided a new beginning for the organization, said Cris Smith, founder and executive director of Blue Veil Charity, the non-profit charitable organization that runs the centre.

PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. - Friendship can often be symbolized in the simplest way: the classic friendship bracelet.

Jordyn Sinkie, a Grade 12 student at Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, B.C., has taken this concept a step further to create ties with underprivileged girls in Ghana.

Sinkie founded the fundraising group, HandmAID. HandmAID is a group of 20 senior students from Archbishop Carney that came together in July to create handcrafted bracelets by weaving embroidery floss to form colourful braids of string and sell them to the community at parish functions, flea markets and around the school.