Everyday For Life Canada: 2012

Feast of the Holy Family: an example for all families

During the Fifth World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Spain, Pope Benedict XVI gave an address on the importance and meaning of the family for the Vigil of Prayer. As we celebrate and remember the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as the defining event for the universal Church family and our own families, it's worth reminding ourselves of just exactly what the Pontiff said:

"The family is the privileged setting where every person learns to give and receive love.... The family is an intermediate institution between individuals and society, and nothing can completely take its place.... The family is a necessary good for peoples, an indispensable foundation for society and a great and lifelong treasure for all couples.

Dec

World Day of Peace message: we are called to be peacemakers

Pope Benedict XVI has chosen the theme of "Blessed are the peacemakers" to celebrate the World Day of Peace, on January 1, 2013. He states he has taken his inspiration from the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

Our advice: please read this wonderful message of hope, love and insight written to the faithful and the entire world. Make it a New Year's resolution to use this message to re-charge the spirit and nourish the soul.

Dec

New Age practices harm souls

Are New Age practices harming you or your family? At a recent Catholic parents' meeting in the Toronto area, what struck me was the number of comments describing extreme concern that New Age activities and materials are present everywhere in our society’s mass media: in books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, television, the movies, popular songs and even in the games we play to entertain ourselves. But a greater fear is that the Age of Aquarius has entered the Catholic schools.

Dec

The massacre of the Holy Innocents continues

In the Gospel reading from Matthew (2:13-18), we read:

When the magi had departed, behold,

the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,

'Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,

and stay there until I tell you.

Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.'

Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night

and departed for Egypt.

Dec

A perfect Christmas gift: Jesus of Nazareth

Title: Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

Author: Pope Benedict XVI

Publisher: Random House Inc., 2012

Translated by: Philip J. Whitmore.

Pope Benedict XVI's third book about Jesus has now been published. It's called Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives. This final text of the trilogy covers the question of Jesus' origin and his mission.

Dec

What fruits does a culture of death produce?

By now, the whole world knows about the horrible tragedy that just a week ago took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty children and six adults were gunned down. The massacre included two other lives, the gunman who killed his mother and then committed suicide. In total, 28 people were left senselessly dead.

Dec

Educating the artistic mind and soul

Title: Arriving Where We Started

Author: Michael D. O’Brien

Publisher: Justin Press, 2012

In the Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis , in 1965 Pope Paul VI wrote: “Since all Christians have become by rebirth of water and the Holy Spirit a new creature so that they should be called and should be children of God, they have a right to a Christian education.

Dec

A primer for decoding and surviving inclusive language

Yes, we need to teach our children the ABC's and the three R's. But now Ontario schools have been mandated to include the language of phony sexual "rights" and an inclusive ideology. We all want to make sure our children are able to read, write, think and compute. However, today it's so important for parents to teach their children another skill that they will most likely not be taught in school: to acquire a vocabulary that enables them to seek out and know the truth.

Dec

A Christmas Carol as fresh and timely as ever

Recently, we got another chance to see the production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth. The whole show including characters, story and theme are as fresh and timely as ever. The story is a Christian story. Scrooge's conversion of heart has become a classic English tale of love and redemption. Most of us have seen a film version of the story.

Dec

The Lancet shows its "scientific" bias for a culture of death

It was Dr. Thomas Wakley who founded The Lancet in 1823. Over the years it's come to be known as a highly respected international medical journal. The title refers to a medical instrument, but also to a window with an arch to allow “light in” to represent the “light of wisdom”. The journal publishes original research, book reviews and medical reports. The publication aims to maintain a public image of objectivity and scientific truth.