鱿鱼视频app

When Marc Viado, a Grade 11 student at Toronto鱿鱼视频app Brebeuf College School, first heard of the school鱿鱼视频app Kairos VII retreat, he did not expect much except to be told what to do with his faith. He saw the school鱿鱼视频app semi-annual retreat as just another opportunity to skip school.

TORONTO - Faith leaders and concerned citizens replaced politicians in city council chambers to hash out how faith communities can increase their participation in city building.

Updated 03/12/12

Toronto - Shattered plexiglass and tape is now what stands between the Nativity scene in front of Toronto's Old City Hall and the elements.

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 - Those involved with the music ministry at their parish are often faced with a difficulty that comes from the intrinsic duality of their role 鈥� how to maintain a balance between the performance aspect of their craft and the importance of being liturgically sound and engaged with your community.

Fr. Ricky Manalo, CSP, is a highly regarded liturgical musician, Paulist priest, teacher and composer. He will be in Toronto Nov. 3 to host an all-day interactive session, 鈥淪ing to the Lord: Liturgical Music in Today鱿鱼视频app Church,鈥� at downtown Toronto鱿鱼视频app St. Peter鱿鱼视频app Church examining the dual role.

鈥淭he first part of my talk will be focused not on music and not on any pastoral suggestions, but more on the deeper, ecclesial identity of the Church,鈥� said Manalo. 鈥淚n other words, how do we ground ourselves to first understanding that when we celebrate liturgy it鱿鱼视频app a celebration of the whole community.

鈥淔rom there we can go into some official documents, particularly what emerged out of the second Vatican Council, that called for more full, conscious and active participation.鈥�

Manalo, whose 2007 hymn 鈥淭hat All May Be One in Christ鈥� won the national hymn competition sponsored by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in the United States, feels that the skills and talents of ministers can be used as a way to promote participation during the Mass.

鈥淲hen I studied as a musician at the Manhattan School of Music, the goal there was art for the sake of art: musica pro musica. Whereas, in liturgy, it鱿鱼视频app not art for the sake of art itself, but for the worship of God. All things should point to that,鈥� said Manalo.

鈥淭his also doesn鈥檛 mean that they should pay less attention to the performative skills that they have already; that鱿鱼视频app also important. But, it鱿鱼视频app a difference between a liturgy and, say, performing in Carnegie Hall,鈥� he laughs.

Manalo also points to the challenges that come from our secular society, in that we are awash with myriad musical styles and cultural influences. However, these challenges may also yield favourable results.

鈥淭he liturgical theologian Anthony Ruff has pointed out that even during the Baroque era, a lot of the musical styles that were sung and/or performed during Mass came from secular styles that were occurring outside of the Church,鈥� said Manalo.

鈥淭here will always be various musical styles 鈥� whether they be a particular culture, a traditional repertoire that Catholics hold dear or whether they be styles that come from Africa or a generational culture group. What followed after Vatican II was an openness towards various musical styles.鈥�

For more information on Sing to the Lord: Liturgical Music in Today鱿鱼视频app Church, contact sbossi@ paulist.org (tickets are $30).

TORONTO - On the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Toronto's Capuchin friars came courting "Lady Poverty" in Parkdale, where they've been courting her the past 25 years.

"Lady Poverty" was how St. Francis, in the courtly language of the 13th century, conceived of life with and among the poor. Today's Franciscan Capuchins serve "Lady Poverty" by dishing up ravioli, salad, chili con carne and bread with coffee and dessert for $2 at St. Francis Table in the heart of Parkdale, in the city's west end.

There were seven local Capuchins at St. Francis Table serving lunch on Oct. 4. They were there to share a Franciscan feast with the poor and to honour the 25th anniversary of the Franciscan restaurant.

Since it opened Christmas 1987 there's never been much doubt about the Franciscan and Christian foundations of St. Francis' Table, said provincial superior Fr. David Connolly. But "the neighbourhood is changing," he said.

It had always been the Franciscans' intention to hand St. Francis' Table off to lay people with the drive and the ability to sustain the work. That would free up the religious order to launch new ventures.

Watching new condo towers encroach and local businesses replaced with chi-chi restaurants, Connolly thinks that day may be coming soon.

"We would certainly consider moving where the poor move... when the time comes," he said.

In the meantime, St. Francis' Table is having no trouble filling the dining room with people who need a good meal, good company and some encouragement.

Robert Tait has been coming to St. Francis Table the last six months and describes it as "a good place to be."

"It grounds me. It helps me to stay strong in my faith," he said.

St. Francis' Table also has an important ministry to thousands of young volunteers, said Grade 10 religion teacher Mark Henry. On the Feast of St. Francis, Henry brought nine of his Our Lady of the Lake students from Keswick, Ont., to get a more realistic picture of poverty.

"It opens their eyes," he said.

Noting a couple with a child in a stroller who had come for lunch, Henry said he hoped his students understood that the poor are not so different from their own middle-class families.

"It's not the clich茅 thing. None of us are that far away from poverty," he said.

TORONTO - Dr. Karen Stel made the 鈥渨onderful discovery鈥� of natural family planning during her medical residency and to this day the Toronto doctor refuses to prescribe birth control pills. Instead, she recommends the Billings Ovulation Method of natural family planning to her patients.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a a co-operative way of working with your body the way that God designed it,鈥� said Stel. 鈥淭o be able to control fertility is an amazing thing that God has given us.鈥�

Stel was a participant at a Sept. 28 Billings Ovulation Method workshop for medical professionals in Toronto. She鈥檇 come to hear Dr. Mary Martin, of the Billings Centre for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine in Oklahoma City, who was in Toronto at the invitation of the Natural Family Planning Association, funded by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto.

But the workshops had a low turnout, with just five health professionals attending the breakfast session and eight at the lunch session. Stel, a general practitioner, was the only medical doctor to attend. Participants included Billings teachers, homeopaths, naturopathic doctors, nurses and a social worker.

The Billings Method teaches couples to observe the natural biological signs of female fertility and use that knowledge to postpone or achieve pregnancy, said Martin.

Christian Elia, acting executive director of the Natural Family Planning Association which organized the event, said the workshops were open for all medical professionals to attend.

鈥淚鈥檓 disappointed but I鈥檓 constantly disappointed that more doctors don鈥檛 take the Billings Ovulation Method seriously despite the fact that it鱿鱼视频app been around for decades and it鱿鱼视频app already used successfully by millions of people around the world,鈥� he said.

Elia said the majority of medical professionals in Toronto are not receptive to the Billings Method.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 part of their training so鈥� most doctors just feel more comfortable doing what they鈥檝e been told which usually involves prescribing birth control pills.鈥�

To reverse that, Stel believes natural family planning should be taught in medical schools.

Struggling with the issue of contraception during her residency at Queen鱿鱼视频app University, Stel got in touch with the natural family planning community in Kingston, Ont., and eventually carried out a research project on the efficacy of the Billings Method as compared to contraception.

鈥淚 presented in 2001 to my colleagues at Queen鱿鱼视频app and received very good feedback,鈥� said Stel, an evangelical Christian. 鈥淚t was enough to convince me that I could practise medicine with integrity.鈥�

But it hasn鈥檛 been all smooth sailing. Recently, a patient filed a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario when Stel refused to prescribe birth control. It took about eight months to settle, but in the end, the college voted in her favour.

鈥淚鈥檝e had to be careful after that but at the same time it doesn鈥檛 change my conviction. If anything, it affirms it. If you鈥檙e getting opposition, they say you鈥檙e doing something right.鈥�

Similarly, Martin said a lot of Catholic physicians don鈥檛 know how to practise gynecology without prescribing pills. She stopped promoting birth control after a conversion experience. For her penance, a priest made her research whether the pill can cause miscarriages and induce abortions. She discovered this was a possibility.

鈥淚 had learned in medical school that there was that potential,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I had been assured by the drug companies over the years that was a very uncommon thing.鈥�

By 1999, she had stopped prescribing birth control. She was worried her clients would leave.

鈥淚t was like standing on the precipice with my toes curled over the edge and my arms spread out saying, 鈥極kay, God, catch me if I fall.鈥� And He did.鈥�

Rose Heron, program director of the Natural Family Planning Association, said doctors are often introduced to the Billings Method by patients who practise the Billings Method.

鈥淜eep in mind that we live in a society where, if a couple is trying to achieve pregnancy and they don鈥檛 within the prescribed time, many doctors just send you for in-vitro fertilization. So they move onto technological means. And many couples are looking for an alternative to that.鈥�

Pauline MacCarthy Phelps, a visiting Billings co-ordinator from Trinidad and Tobago, says advertising of the Billings Method must be improved in order to attract more people to the option.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app not common,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat鱿鱼视频app common is contraception. Nobody wants to have 10 children and contraception is what they know about and it鱿鱼视频app popular.鈥�

Lori Canlas, a social worker and psychotherapist, also believes Billings needs to be promoted further. But what struck her was the negative impact of contraception on women鱿鱼视频app health.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app also highly interesting that doctors highly prescribe contraception without knowing other alternatives鈥� There is an option for them to choose something more natural.鈥�

Stel remains optimistic that medical professionals will become more open to natural family planning.

鈥淭hey respect me for this鈥� It will just take more doctors (to show others). And doctors that have time. The reality right now is that I don鈥檛 have time. But I do, wherever I can.鈥�

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.)

TORONTO - Being on the side of the poor means working to make sure the poor won鈥檛 always be with us 鈥� still poor, still desperate, trapped from generation to generation in a dispiriting cycle, said Society of St. Vincent de Paul Ontario president Jim Paddon.

The St. Vincent de Paul provincial regional council representing some 350 parish councils emerged from its annual meeting in Peterborough in early September recommitted to lobbying all three levels of government on behalf of the poor, pressing particularly for affordable housing.

鈥淲e have an obligation. We鈥檙e there to serve Jesus in the poor,鈥� said Paddon. 鈥淭he poor are suffering because of improper or lack of legislation. It (advocacy) is just an extension of what we do.鈥�

Pushing the federal government to have a national housing strategy 鈥� Canada is the only industrialized country in the world without one 鈥� the provincial government to allow municipalities to zone for more subsidized housing through inclusionary housing by-laws, and municipal governments to incorporate more affordable housing in their official plans doesn鈥檛 mean the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is turning into a political player.

鈥淲e certainly don鈥檛 want to align with a political party. I don鈥檛 envision us ever doing that,鈥� said Paddon.

But St. Vincent de Paul members, who visit the poor and help them out with small amounts to buy groceries and other essentials, see how expensive or inadequate housing is crushing families, Paddon said.

The Daily Bread鱿鱼视频app Sept. 19 report, 鈥淲ho鱿鱼视频app Hungry: Faces of Hunger,鈥� found that on average food-bank clients spend 71 per cent of their income on rent. The waiting list for subsidized housing in Ontario stands at 150,000.

St. Vincent de Paul members get discouraged when they see not only that they are serving the same people month after month and year after year, but also that they are serving second- and third-generation clients.

鈥淥ur members get just as frustrated as anyone,鈥� said Paddon. 鈥淵ou tend to get a little cynical. What we need to do is direct feelings like that toward things like systemic change.鈥�

For more than three years, St. Vincent de Paul has been part of the steering committee for the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition, working with religious leaders of all faiths to keep issues of poverty in front of provincial legislators.

Up until now, most of the St. Vincent de Paul advocacy efforts have fallen to its Toronto council.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app a good fit. When you want to talk to politicians, you find them at Queen鱿鱼视频app Park,鈥� said Paddon. 鈥淎nd there鱿鱼视频app so many government offices located there.鈥�

There are always a few worries that talking to politicians and demanding action for the poor will somehow distract Vincentians from direct service to the poor. But that sort of squeamishness about anything political was not part of the origins of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris in the 1830s. Founder Frederic Ozanam used his position as one of the most prominent intellectuals of his time to advocate for the poor and to push for a kind of Catholic democracy which could provide the social justice the French Revolution had failed to produce.

鈥淥ur system is always charitable works, addressing what you would call the end results of poverty,鈥� said Paddon.

But by patterning its program more closely on the vision of Ozanam, Vincentians can add a kind of advocacy that is backed up by real, concrete charitable involvement in the lives of poor people, he said.

And there鱿鱼视频app more to campaigning for affordable housing than just an economic calculation. The value of a home goes beyond family finances.

鈥淗aving a home, what does that mean to a family? I think it plays a huge part,鈥� Paddon said.

The traditional fall education campaign of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is on hold until Oct. 15 while staff and volunteers scramble to come up with less political material that will gain the backing of all of Canada's bishops.

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Richard Smith and general secretary Msgr. Pat Powers informed Development and Peace Sept. 5 that several bishops had objected to the fall campaign and did not want the material distributed in their diocese. It is the first time in the 45-year history of the Catholic development agency that the bishops have intervened to block an education campaign.

Neither the CCCB nor Development and Peace could tell The Catholic Register how many bishops have objected to campaign materials, which have been printed but not yet distributed. Through a spokesperson, Smith declined to be interviewed for this story as "the bishops have not had a chance to discuss the issue."

Bishops on the CCCB's Standing Committee on Development and Peace were not consulted on the move to halt the campaign and have not seen the materials.

"I haven't had it explained to me, so I can't really comment," said Toronto's Bishop John Boissonneau, chair of the committee. "I was aware that the president of the conference sent out a letter, but there's been no follow-up with me directly."

"I kind of feel out in the cold on this," said committee member Bishop Richard Grecco of Charlottetown.

The last time the bishops' committee met was May 31 for a consultation with the Development and Peace liaison committee for relations with the bishops. Meanwhile, work on the fall education campaign had been delayed until June while the organization dealt with major restructuring to accommodate a drastic cut in Canadian International Development Agency funding.

The fall campaign was to have veered off-course from Development and Peace's five-year plan of environmentally themed education campaigns. This campaign, which included postcards addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was conceived as a national consultation on the direction of Canada's foreign aid policy.

A copy of a Development and Peace postcard addressed to Harper was obtained by The Catholic Register. It asks Harper to "launch a national consultation on the future of Canadian development assistance." The card also urges a "Special Parliamentary Committee to examine the new direction of Canadian assistance."

"The trend in how Canada's foreign aid programs are administered has changed quite dramatically," Development and Peace executive director Michael Casey told The Catholic Register. "The role for civil society organizations like us is becoming less apparent. More of the money is going to multilateral institutions, private sector development.... We wanted to see if a constructive critique of this policy from our perspective could get a hearing."

The campaign did not mention the $35-million cut over five years in CIDA funding to Development and Peace, said Casey, and is not an attempt to revisit the funding decision, he said.

"Concerns were expressed regarding the nature and methodology of the campaign with respect that it could create some divisiveness within the Church community and that perhaps there should be some more consultations within D&P and also with the broader Church," said Ronald Breau, Development and Peace national council president.

Archbishop Smith

- Register file photo

Breau wrote to the Development and Peace membership Sept. 17 to explain the delay.

"We are fully aware that our decision will disappoint many of our active and engaged members," Breau wrote.

While the campaign will be modified, the fall action campaign will remain focussed on Canada's development aid policies. But the national council is heeding Smith's warning that the original campaign would "lead to division among our base, among bishops and among our supporters," Breau wrote.

"The bishops are concerned that ongoing dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Government of Canada on some important, timely and sensitive issues might be compromised by our approach at this time."聽

Parish Development and Peace leader Greg Kennedy is left wondering what his group will do while it waits for the campaign to launch.

"Traditionally Development and Peace at the parish level operates basically two times a year 鈥� one in the fall with the education campaign and then the Share Lent or ShareLife in (the Toronto archdiocese)," said the Jesuit, who is studying for the priesthood and helping out at Our Lady of Lourdes in downtown Toronto. "Without those bookends, really there's not much to do until Lent."

The appearance that the bishops are divided or opposed to Development and Peace has become a challenge for parish groups, said Kennedy. And the idea that the bishops' conference did not inform its own standing committee will be even more confusing.

"The bishops set up these avenues through which both they and Development and Peace would work and all of a sudden that gets over-ridden. That's disturbing," he said. "What's the point of having them if they're not going to be used."

But lobbying the government on policy does not amount to education, said Grecco.

"We can have that dialogue (on Canadian development policy). I just don't think it should be a campaign. That's not what D&P should be about."

TORONTO - From your library to the confessional, from relics to rejoicing, the archdiocese of Toronto has lined up a year鱿鱼视频app worth of ways to rediscover faith.

The Year of Faith kicks off inter- nationally on Oct. 11, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. In Toronto, the year will start with a solemn opening Mass with Cardinal Thomas Collins at St. Paul鱿鱼视频app Basilica on Oct. 14. All 223 parishes in the archdiocese are being encouraged to send representatives, particularly their RCIA catechists, youth leaders and parish council members, to the 4 p.m. Mass at the downtown basilica.

Collins will also dedicate this year of lectio divina programs to a biblical understanding of faith.

The Office of Formation for Discipleship wants to add the Catechism of the Catholic Church to your reading list. And they hope to introduce young people to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and the YouCat youth catechism produced for World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011.

鈥淓xploring the Catechism: Faith Alive!鈥� is an eight-part series, and the catechism-based six-part series 鈥淏asic Teachings of the Catholic Church鈥� will be promoted in parishes by the Office of Formation for Discipleship. A Fr. Robert Barron 10-part video series called Catholicism will also be available.

The Office of Catholic Youth will run catechetical events based on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and YouCat.

A chance to visit with martyrs and saints will be coming to many parishes. Relics of 17th-century Jesuit martyrs from the Martyrs鈥� Shrine in Midland, Ont., and of St. Br. Andre虂 Bessette from St. Joseph鱿鱼视频app Oratory in Montreal, will tour the archdiocese.

On Oct. 21 seven blesseds will become saints, including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks. The canonizations will happen in Rome. Parishes are being encouraged to organize events to celebrate Canada鱿鱼视频app first aboriginal saint.

Penance will lead local Catholics to faith with the all-day confessions event called 鈥淩eturn to Me With All Your Heart.鈥� The program will be offered in many parishes during Lent.

鈥淭he renewal of the Church is also achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers,鈥� Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his October 2011 announcement of the Year of Faith, Porta Fidei. 鈥淏y their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us.鈥�

TORONTO - When 21-year-old Tia McGregor sees the younger kids who like her have grown up in foster homes 鈥� kids who have to figure out life without a family to support them the day they turn 18 鈥� she tells them to follow their highest ambitions and their most cherished dreams.

"Do what you love and the rest will follow," she says.

The fourth-year Queen's University drama student knows her message is pretty hard to take seriously when you're 18 and have just been kicked out of your foster home.

"It didn't help me when people told me," she said. "For youth in care, there is so much more you have to think about."

Most former foster kids think they can't afford ideals, dreams and ambitions, said McGregor. They've got to worry about the rent, groceries, tuition. They've got to walk the tight-wire of daily life without the safety net of a family.

McGregor attended her third annual Hope For Children Foundation awards dinner Sept. 19 at Hart House on the University of Toronto campus. She collected a $2,000 scholarship to help with another year of post-secondary education. In total, the Hope For Children Foundation gave out $140,000 this year in scholarships to Catholic youth who had been through the foster care system with Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

One-hundred-six young people collected scholarships this year in amounts of $1,500 for community college students and $2,000 for university students.

For these kids the scholarships are a very small part of their financial picture, said Catholic Children's Aid executive director Mary McConville.

"We wish it was more," she said.

Statistics Canada released a study Sept. 12 showing the average Ontario undergraduate pays $7,180 in tuition fees alone. Since 2006 Ontario tuition fees have increased by a cumulative 71 per cent, said the Canadian Federation of Students 鈥� Ontario. Add in modest living costs, books, transportation and the real cost of an academic year is more like $11,000, according to the Hope for Children Foundation.

But still, the high-achieving McGregor urges idealism and big dreams on younger foster students. A high school math and science whiz, McGregor began university in astrophysics, trying to pursue the safe science career people expected of her. She wanted to study a little theatre on the side, but chemistry got in the way of a drama minor.

"In the end, I couldn't lie to myself," she said.

She switched programs despite the expectations of her foster family and former high school teachers, because the alternative to following a dream is grim and lifeless. She's blossomed as a writer, comedian and actress and spent last summer with the Thousand Island Playhouse summer theatre program acting and leading writing workshops for high school students.

None of this success was built into McGregor's beginnings. Her mother discovered she was pregnant at 15, and because the father was black the family rejected their daughter and granddaughter. McGregor's mother developed a drug addiction and her father was mostly absent. At six McGregor took refuge at her best friend's house every day and then every night.

Eventually that best friend became McGregor's foster sister and by the time she was eight the neighbour family officially became her foster home. Soon afterwards, McGregor's foster family moved from Scarborough two-and-a-half hours' drive east to Campbellford, Ont.

Small-town life was stable, warm, accepting 鈥� all she could have asked for. Unlike many foster children, McGregor stayed in the same home until she went away to university.

But she never had to look far to see how much more difficult things could have been. One of her foster sisters turned 18 last year before graduating from high school. Under Ontario law foster children are no longer crown wards at 18 and must immediately move out. McGregor's foster sister found a place with a school friend 45-minute's drive from her school. The 18-year-old managed to finished high school despite the dramatic dislocation and is now attending college.

McGregor believes the things she's experienced and seen in her life as a foster child have done more than toughen her up for life. They've also made her a better writer.

"I have more life experience, maybe," she said. "And that makes for a good writer."

TORONTO - When Immigration Minister Jason Kenney walks into a room full of bishops in St. Ad茅le, Que., Catholic refugee agencies are hoping the minister gets an earful.

Five Catholic immigration and refugee organizations in Toronto have written to the bishops asking that they challenge the minister on changes to Canada鱿鱼视频app refugee and immigration laws. Kenney will address the bishops between Sept. 24 and 28 in a private, off-the-record session at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops鈥� annual plenary meeting.

Romero House, Sanctuary Ministries of Toronto, FCJ Refugee Centre, The Mustard Seed and Becoming Neighbours want the bishops to ask Kenney:
o Why Canada is treating refugees from some countries differently than refugees from other countries?
o Whether it鱿鱼视频app fair to rush certain cases through the system before refugees hire a lawyer and prepare a thorough case?
o Why the government is limiting basic health care for refugees?
o Why do so many of Canada鱿鱼视频app 200,000 foreign workers have no stable pathway to permanent resident status?
o Why are refugees smuggled into Canada as a group blocked for five years from re-uniting with their families even if they are found to be legitimate refugees?

The CCCB won鈥檛 say whether these questions will be asked, but it has the potential to re-open an old feud between the bishops and Kenney. In November 2010 the bishops鈥� Justice and Peace Commission wrote to Kenney to complain of sections of 鈥淭he Balanced Refugee Reform Act and the Maritime Transportation Security Act.鈥�

鈥淢any of the clauses of this legislation may contravene international law and Canadian law, and penalize refugees more than the smugglers,鈥� said the CCCB letter, adding that his anti-smuggling bill 鈥渞isks creating serious obstacles to sponsorship and family reunification.鈥�

Kenney did not welcome the bishops鈥� criticism, telling Canadian Catholic News Ottawa correspondent Deborah Gyapong the letter reflected a 鈥渓ong tradition of ideological bureaucrats who work for the bishops鈥� conference producing political letters signed by pastors who may not have specialized knowledge in certain areas of policy.鈥�

Romero House director Sarah Villiger hopes this approach to Kenney through the bishops will draw a warmer response.

鈥淲e knew that (Kenney) would be there, personally invited. I think that in itself is a bit of a different tone, as opposed to just writing him a letter,鈥� she said.

In part, the refugee agencies wanted to remind the bishops of their own stand on refugee and immigration issues. The letter quotes the bishops own 2006 pastoral letter 鈥淲e Are Aliens and Transients Before the Lord, Our God.鈥�

鈥淥penness should be shown to persons of all cultures and origins, no matter their immigration status. Christians are to be among those who refuse to let injustice toward migrants continue, let alone increase,鈥� the bishops wrote.

鈥淲e thought it was important that they get the input of people who work on the ground with refugees,鈥� said Villiger.

The organizations also took the opportunity to remind the bishops of the many refugees and immigrants who actually occupy pews on Sunday morning.

鈥淭he Canadian Catholic Church has historically been an immigrant Church, and today many of the Catholic faithful are immigrants and refugees who form a vital part of and make a significant contribution to the Church in Canada,鈥� they wrote.

TORONTO - When Barbara and Stephen Barringer decided to announce to their children that he would be working towards becoming a deacon, their son鱿鱼视频app immediate comment was, 鈥淥h wonderful. Dad鱿鱼视频app always been great at preaching and now they鈥檙e going to give him a licence!鈥�

TORONTO - There鱿鱼视频app no denying that Deacon Kevin Brockerville is a communicator.

When he talks about his wife, he smiles wide. When asked how he balances family and his deacon responsibilities, he jokes about having two ropes tied around his neck, eyes lighting up in laughter. And when he describes the people who have helped him throughout his life, his emotion is clear.

And he communicates all of this while being deaf.

Not able to hear since age three, Brockerville credits his faith with moving him forward. And it all started with a teacher in his hometown in Newfoundland.  

鈥淪he would always take me to the church,鈥� Brockerville said through an interpreter. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really understand what church was. I would sit there and see people kneeling and praying but I didn鈥檛 know what that was.鈥�

It was this teacher who also made sure Brockerville received the proper education.

鈥淪he found where the school for the deaf was that I could go to,鈥� he said. 

The school was in Halifax, and moving there for Brockerville was a necessary step in his spiritual journey.  

鈥淭here I started understanding,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey taught religion, so I got the idea about my faith. It鱿鱼视频app a struggle for the deaf to understand religion but I鈥檓 very happy that I had the education that helped me.鈥�

Brockerville moved back to Newfoundland after school, and  met a missionary priest from the United States who could sign.

鈥淢y mouth was wide open, I was so shocked,鈥� Brockerville said. 鈥溾�榊ou mean there鱿鱼视频app a priest that can sign?鈥� It really inspired my wanting to serve. He鱿鱼视频app a priest and he鱿鱼视频app serving us.鈥�

By the end of the 1960s, then with a wife, Gertrude, who is hearing impaired but not deaf, and his first child, Brockerville moved to Toronto for work and started attending Holy Name Church at Pape and Danforth, where the deaf ministry in Toronto gathered at the time.

鈥淓veryone was signing and the priest was signing,鈥� Brockerville said. 鈥淲ow, it was so powerful to me to see that everyone would come.鈥�

The ministry has since moved to St. Stephen鱿鱼视频app Chapel in downtown Toronto, where Brockerville serves as a deacon.

鈥淚 just felt that God was calling me to serve the deaf people,鈥� he said about his decision to join the diaconate.

But he described his studies 鈥� culminating in his ordination in 1984 鈥� as a 鈥渞eal struggle.鈥�

鈥淚 was the only deaf person,鈥� Brockerville said. 鈥淚t was harder (for me) than (for) the hearing people because I had a hard time understanding the language.鈥�
Brockerville explained this is a common thread for all deaf people in grasping theology, and said homilies have to be very simple when signing.

In the end, though, he made his way through the four years of diaconate study.

鈥淚 kept listening with my eyes. I kept watching,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know that I struggled. But I had to trust God and I trust Him.鈥�

Today, there are four locations for the deaf ministry in the archdiocese of Toronto: in Toronto, Barrie, Oshawa and Mississauga. Brockerville, who spends his time at the downtown Toronto location, is the only deaf deacon, and so has much responsibility, not only with serving at Mass and giving homilies, but also in helping deaf people with further interpretation of the services.

鈥淪ome of the deaf have questions about their faith, and if they鈥檙e studying something or reading something, I help them,鈥� Brockerville said.

But this man 鈥� who said above his responsibilities in the diaconate and in the deaf ministry is his responsibility to his family 鈥� is anything but boastful.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 look for rewards, I look to serve,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just follow the faith. I鈥檓 here to serve and I serve the best way I can.鈥�

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