{mosimage}TORONTO- Less than a month after a devastating earthquake flattened the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Christian leaders in Toronto rallied the faithful to continue praying and supporting those touched by the disaster.

In light of the powerful Jan. 12 earthquake, and the many violent aftershocks the country has suffered, Archbishop Thomas Collins called on Christians attending an ecumenical prayer service for the people of Haiti Feb. 1 to respond in solidarity.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Giving to charity doesn’t necessarily mean having to write a cheque or digging around in your pockets for bills and change.

At the archdiocese of Toronto, Paul Nazareth, manager of planned giving and personal gifts, gets to see a variety of creative givers, including one donor who gives to 25 different charities all at once through the gift of stocks.

{mosimage}TORONTO - After a tremendous campaign to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti, ShareLife has switched gears to now help those in its own backyard.

“Our Catholic community has always responded to the needs and been very generous and now, as we do each year, we are going to turn our attention to the needs of our greater community in the archdiocese of Toronto and the many people who rely on ShareLife social service agencies and ShareLife agencies for help each year,”  said Arthur Peters, executive director of ShareLife.

{mosimage}TORONTO - A religious sister who survived the January earthquake in Haiti reflected on her experience at a prayer vigil in Nathan Phillips Square Feb. 9.

“When you pray ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ think of the Haitians,” said Sr. Mary Alban, CSJ.

{mosimage}TORONTO - In prayer and silence, the brains behind Toronto’s Listening Post patiently await visitors to their unique ministry at Danforth and Broadview three times a week. 

Deacon Robert Kinghorn and Eusebia da Silva, both experienced in spiritual direction, have opened a space for the city’s spiritually starved to sit in silence or find a listening ear to their problems.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Valentine’s Day meets with spirituality through a special dinner some parishes have adopted to help couples strengthen their relationship and rekindle romances.

Table for Two surfaced for the first time at St. Patrick’s parish in Toronto this year, hosted by the Redemptorists. It is modelled on a similar event at a Redemptorist parish in Winnipeg.

{mosimage}TORONTO - A relic of St. Anthony of Padua will be returning to Canada accompanied by three Italian Franciscan friars this month.

St. Anthony, commonly referred to as the patron saint of lost articles, joined the Franciscan order in 1221 at the age of 26. He is a Doctor of the church and is typically portrayed in art with a book and the Infant Child Jesus.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The Vatican has its eyes on outer space to bridge the divide between science and religion and promote good science, said Fr. José G. Funes, S.J., director of the Vatican Observatory.

Funes was in Toronto March 16 to give the Naming the Holy lecture at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto on “The Evolving Universe.” The lecture is sponsored by the Newman Centre and the Regis College Jesuit community.

MONTREAL - Thousands of agricultural workers from abroad have come and gone with the growing seasons since the 1970s, unnoticed by most Canadians. But a Spanish Mass that drew nearly 2,000 people to St. Joseph’s Oratory Basilica July 18 was evidence that, for a few faith-filled Quebecers, seasonal workers are as important to the community as their neighbours.

“It’s easy to develop a friendship with them. They’re just so respectful,” Louise Guinois said. Guinois is a former farm owner from St. Remi, Que., and organizer of the annual pilgrimage to the Oratory.

A grassroots organization is calling on the Quebec public to stop euthanasia and assisted suicide “from being smuggled into the public health care system under the guise of medical treatment.”

But time is running out for the Montreal-based group, Vivre dans la Dignité (Living with Dignity), to sway public opinion on euthanasia. On June 22, the group launched a campaign to help people better understand the issues as the National Assembly draws an online survey to a close July 16, part of a public consultation on euthanasia.