The spring of 1633 was a time of controversy in the Catholic Church. The Inquisition had decided to bring a Florentine scientist named Galileo Galilei to trial for authoring a book that declared the heliocentric model of the universe as unequivocally correct, which contradicted the Church’s teachings at the time.

Marshall McLuhan, a communications philosopher and former professor at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, once stated that “we make our tools, and then our tools make us.”

With the start of a new year, what has become increasingly evident to me is how fortunate I am to have strong, faith-filled female friends.

Over Christmas break I had the privilege of attending Catholic Christian Outreach’s annual Rise Up conference. Throughout the five-day conference I reflected on the conference theme “Made for Greatness” and how it relates to my life.

It was in my final year of religion class where I learned about Jesus’ sermon on the mount. The sermon, which begins in Matthew 5, is a good guide for self-reflection. What resonated with me the most from the sermon starts on Matthew 6:19 with Jesus’ lessons on treasure.

While there is evidence that youth are less civically engaged than the general population, Reid Locklin says it’s merely that they are differently engaged.

Since becoming The Catholic Register’s youth editor in February, I’ve been trying to recapture what it truly means to “give Catholic youth a voice.” To me, it means capturing the energy and the spirit of youth ministry.

Now that exams are coming to an end and Christmas break is beginning, there’s more free time to rest and make the most of the season.

We are all called to be saints as we are all called to claim our place in Heaven as children of God. Because this is no easy task, God has given us the saints that have come before us as a huge source of inspiration.

National Geographic recently named the Virgin Mary as the world’s most powerful woman. What an honour as Catholics to have our Mother seen to hold such a beautiful and mighty role on Earth, and to get this recognition from the secular world.

It’s that time again in the Catholic Church: the beginning of a new liturgical year and start of the season of Advent.

It was in my last year of high school when my school’s chaplain asked me to come to his office one day. We talked about what I’d been going through. It was clear to myself and to others that I hadn’t been myself.

Mark your calendars. Find all your friends and tell them to do the same. From Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, 50,000 heads of state, foreign dignitaries, private sector innovators and environmental advocates will gather in Paris to discuss global initiatives related to curbing the effects of climate change — this year’s biggest UN environmental conference. Frankly, I can barely control my excitement.

More students today are facing unemployment or underemployment, even in specialized fields. A report from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, based on 2011 data, has found that only 29.7 per cent of those with engineering degrees actually work in their fields as engineers.

During my high school years, I struggled with mental illness. I felt hopeless. I was alone. I was hurting and I knew that nothing could change the way I felt. It was during this time that I grew in my faith.