TORONTO - On a wet and windy early December night the leadership team from Holy Spirit Catholic School set out with a group of 27 students from the northeast Toronto school to carol in the surrounding neighbourhood.
TORONTO - To curb the commercialization of Christmas, Alice Chan has made a tradition of volunteering with her two sons over the Christmas holidays.
Wreath is symbolic of Christ’s light shining on a dark world
By Evan Boudreau, The Catholic Register
TORONTO - After watching friends and families with children come together to create a Christmas tradition making decorative wreathes, Sarah Fairley finally decided to give it a go herself.
From the very beginnings of Christianity the grotto where Jesus was born has been revered as one of the most sacred places in the world. Today it is designated a World Heritage Site and Roman Catholics from all over the world gather here every Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass.
Christmas poems and stories, like “The Night Before Christmas” or “The Gift of the Magi,” are remarkable in the way they enchant young people from generation to generation. But there is one Christmas story that never grows stale, that is fresh to all ages and places, to young and old, to men and women. Here is how it goes.
The lives of the saints are a huge part of Christian tradition and there are many who we associate with the Christmas season. You probably know the story of St. Nicholas. There’s also, of course, the Nativity story and the birth of Christ, with Mother Mary, St. Joseph and St. Gabriel the Archangel.
But do you recall the least known Christmas saints of them all? Here are just a few.
KLEINBURG, ONT. - For more than 30 years, Msgr. Gregory Ace has been fascinated by Nativity scenes from around the world. He has collected more than 1,000 Nativity sets from 126 countries worldwide and every Advent, his pieces are displayed in schools, city halls and other churches.
MONTREAL - What began as a modest display of some 25 cribs in 1979 has blossomed into a popular Montreal tradition at St. Joseph’s Oratory. This year, the Nativity has been interpreted by more than 200 artists from around the world in the form of a multi-media exposition of figurines, carvings and paintings that depict the birth of Christ.
It will be a sadder Christmas for Rick Campanelli and his family this year as they celebrate their first Christmas without family matriarch Antoinette, who passed away over the summer. Antoinette was the heart of the Campanelli family holidays. She prepared everything from the gifts to decorating the family home in Hamilton, Ont., and, of course, cooked Christmas brunch and dinner. The whole family rallied around Antoinette’s love for Christmas.
Christmas is a time of sharing, and what better thing to share than our faith? The following are some of the books suitable for Christmas giving that can teach youngsters some of the tenets of the Catholic faith.
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Just in time for Christmas, the Vatican is reminding the world just how Jewish the Christian religion really is.
Catholic Family Services making sure everyone is involved at Christmas
By Jean Ko Din, The Catholic Register
Christmas is a celebration of the family, which is why Catholic Family Services offices across the country are working hard to ensure that it is a merry season for everyone.
Dufferin-Peel board names Mazzorato as its new director of education
By Evan Boudreau, The Catholic Register
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - Marianne Mazzorato has been named new director of education for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
Editor’s note: this is an edited version of a blog entry Oriana Bertucci, director of Ryerson Catholic Campus Ministry, shared about what campus ministries offer to students in the Archdiocese of Toronto. It originally appeared at archtoronto.org.
University campuses represent the fertile landscape of our society, nurturing culture and giving root to our future world leaders. This is where research and technology develop and emergent ideas flourish. And today, it’s a place in desperate need of the life-giving water of the Gospel message.