Everyday For Life Canada: February 2023

A Lenten meditation like no other: the forensic way of the cross

Dr. Fredrick Zugibe's book, The Crucifixion of Jesus: A Forensic Inquiry, attempts to make the case that Jesus died from the effects of brutally being scourged and the crucifixion caused hypovolemic and traumatic shock producing cardiac arrest. Hypovolemic is “a significant fall in the blood volume due to hemorrhage or a loss of body fluids” and traumatic shock results "from a serious injury” causing “severe pain."

Zugibe was the Chief Medical examiner-forensic pathologist, of Rockland County, New York, from 1969 to 2002.

Feb

"... We recognize that often what is being cancelled and corrected are perspectives rooted in Christian beliefs"

This first Sunday of Lent, we post the address given by Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez to the Congress of Catholics and Public Life, in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 4, 2021. It was delivered online. It's a great reflection about the state of Christianity in the West, especially during this Season of Lent.

Feb

Fr. Augustus Tolton: A man for all seasons

The Venerable Fr. Augustus Tolton was an American priest who had to overcome racial boundaries, poverty and prejudice in order to become a priest. He's truly a man for seasons. His life is an example of the only real way to undo present day discrimination, racial bias, woke ideologies and cultural divisions. We must put God in first place.

Tolton's mother and father were slaves, but they managed to free their son and with the help of others he eventually got to study in Rome.

Feb

CLC to TCDSB trustee Markus De Domenico: We Say YES to Lift Jesus Higher Rally

Campaign Life Coalition sends this message to Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee:

We Say YES to the Lift Jesus Higher Rally

TCDSB Catholic Trustee, Markus De Domenico, Says NO

The Lift Jesus Higher Rally "is an annual event for youth and adults that focuses on evangelizing through uplifting music, testimonials, reflections, Divine Mercy celebration and Eucharistic Adoration."

Cardinal Collins will be celebrating Mass.

Feb

TCDSB 2023 student survey is optional, but don't expect the schools to tell parents and students

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is again this school year instructing school principals to send letters out to parents about the student survey for Grades 4-8. The 2023 census is to collect "information from students about their feelings of safety and the general school climate." What parents aren't told is that they can tell their children not to complete it. It's optional. So, just don't do it.

Feb

Open Letter to Canada's PM Justin Trudeau: how many Christian churches must be desecrated and destroyed before the truth is told?

Dear PM Justin Trudeau,

How many Christian churches must be desecrated, vandalized and burned to the ground before your Liberal government tells the truth about the so called mass residential school graves? So far, one news source reports that 71 churches have been attacked in one form or another since you and the legacy media have told Canadians about the graves found near residential schools, in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Feb

Ash Wednesday: we're not mere earthly dust

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We post a very wise reflection by the Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty. She was born in Russia, in 1896, and founded Madonna House Apostolate in Combermere, Ontario. They help the poor in several countries. The reflection is taken from her book Season of Mercy, published by Madonna House. Doherty died in 1985. Readers can learn more about her life here.

Feb

Russian Orthodox Church primate calls for "the restoration of fraternal communion" in the Ukraine war

On the 15th Sunday after Pentecost after the Liturgy at the Alexander Nevsky Skete, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill delivered this sermon. (Note: We used Google Translate for the English version of the sermon.)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16).

Feb

Happy Family Day

Today in Ontario we have a holiday to celebrate Family Day. We should celebrate the family and life because it's God's plan for humanity. The family and life are a gift from God, not the state. Moreover, the month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family. Wishing all our readers a blessed and peaceful Family Day. And let's not forget that everyday is family day.

Here's a little of what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches about the importance of the family to society.

Feb

This "animal of mon pere"

From the EWTN website, we post a short biography of Blessed Isidore Bakanja. He suffered very much and died defending his Catholic faith. He was beatified in 1994 by Pope John Paul II. He gave us the kind of courageous witness and bold evangelizing the Church badly needs today.