{mosimage}A Story to Be Told: Personal Reflections on the Irish Immigrant Experience in Canada by M. Eleanor McGrath (Liffey Press, 215 pages, hardcover, $65.00).

TORONTO - Between 1940 and 1990, the reasons behind Canada’s last great wave of Irish immigration were about more than Ireland’s poor economy — there were social, cultural and political factors too.

{mosimage}Sexuality is an inescapable topic, yet teens just aren’t being given the tools to evaluate their relationships properly, say the authors of a new book for Catholics called How Far Can We Go?

“Kids don’t like scare tactics, so if you tell them they might get pregnant or get AIDS, it often doesn’t help — it basically reinforces the idea that if you don’t get AIDS or get pregnant then there’s no problem. But if you say it’s bad for your relationship... and if you find out what level of intimacy is appropriate to you, that’s much better than saying here’s what not to do,” said co-author Brett Salkeld.

TORONTO - Years of experience as a husband and father provided a natural progression towards the priesthood for Deacon Stephen Crowley, now just days away from his May 1 ordination in Hamilton, Ont.

The father of three adult children lost his wife Maureen, to whom he had been married for 32 years, to muscular dystrophy in 2008.

“I just think that the priesthood now is a logical conclusion or a logical extension of me living out my baptism to the fullest as was my married life,” said Crowley, who worked as a medical laboratory technologist. “I see that they’re both ways of living out my baptism as a Catholic man of God and serving the community, first as a nuclear family and now as a larger family.”

TORONTO - Between “rock concerts for God” and their work in integrating special needs kids with their peers, the members of the Blue Veil ministry have had a busy life the past two years, catching the attention of students and faculty at Ontario Catholic schools from London to Oshawa.

Blue Veil is a non-profit, non-denominational, Toronto-based charity — the creation of executive director Cris Smith and half of her eight children: Jeff, 28, Phill, 26, Donny, 24 and now David, 20.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Sr. Theresa Rodgers and Sr. Teresa Garvey of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto will don their walking shoes this month in support of two fellow Canadian Sisters working in Haiti.

Rodgers, 67, said she and Garvey (who is in her mid-80s) originally were just curious to see how long it would take for them to walk from their residence (which at that time was 74 Wellesley St. W., above St. Joseph College) to St. Joseph Morrow Park in Toronto’s northern reaches where they worked.  

{mosimage}TORONTO - After a gun-wielding 14-year-old killed his son Jason at the local high school, Anglican minister Dale Lang led a memorial service and publicly prayed for the killer and his family. That was 10 years ago, and to this day, the Taber, Alta., resident continues to share his story and message of forgiveness.

Lang was in Toronto Nov. 20 for a restorative justice conference to speak about forgiveness as a means to break a cycle of violence.

“I’m not religious. I’m spiritual.”

Catholic spirituality expert Michael Hryniuk has heard this one too many times. But he says while many people leave the Church in pursuit of something “more spiritual,” many of those still practising their Catholic faith miss out on the Church’s valuable mystical tradition — often because the terminology scares them away.

{mosimage}The way is now clear for the canonization of Quebec’s first male saint after Pope Benedict XVI’s decree of a miracle attributed to Blessed Brother Andre Dec. 19.

“During these days leading up to the majestic celebration of Christmas, we have another reason to exult as we have learned that the Holy Father has officially recognized the miraculous cure which was obtained by the intercession of Blessed Brother Andre,” said Fr. Claude Grou, CSC, rector of Montreal’s St. Joseph’s Oratory. “This important step has revitalized our expectations to see Brother Andre among the saints of the Catholic Church.”

{mosimage}TORONTO - When it comes to family finances, parents should include their children in discussions on how to cut costs, says Cynthia Kiy.

Negative talk about finances can put children in a very dangerous mindset where hopelessness and desperation can even drive them from the home, said Kiy, a social worker with Covenant House in Toronto.

TORONTO - The man who travels the world bringing eucharistic adoration to children captivated young spirits and old at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in Toronto May 11.

Fr. Antoine Thomas, a native of France, has been leading children in adoration of Jesus for 15 years and his adoration program, “Children of Hope,” is widely used in parishes around the world. His rare Ontario visit began in Midland, Ont., followed by the May 11 session at the Toronto church, which was also to host two Toronto primary schools for a session May 12. More than 100 people joined his Tuesday Holy Hour at Blessed Trinity.