TORONTO - Canadians are a giving people, according to report released by the Charities Aid Foundation America.

In the Alexandria, Va., foundation’s 2010 World Giving Index, Canada ranked third in terms of charitable behaviour.

The report tracks how willing a nation’s people are to help those in need.

The Peace Bridge connecting Canada and the United States at Niagara Falls was lit up on Aug. 26 in honour of the centenary of Mother Teresa’s birth. But it also represented a coming together of cross-border dioceses, said Kevin Keenan, director of communications with the diocese of Buffalo.

Illuminated in blue and white, the colours of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, the Peace Bridge initiative was a result of efforts of Buffalo Bishop Edward U. Kmiec and Msgr. Wayne Kirkpatrick, administrator of the diocese of St. Catharines, Ont.

TORONTO - Mirella Monte walks more than 6 km five days a week. She meets her walking group at 6:30 a.m. and then does a tour of the neighbourhood in about one hour and 10 minutes. Monte is one healthy 68-year-old.

“There’s a lot my children and my grandchildren can give me but I have something to give back too,” said Monte. “I can be an example to them in what I can do.”

Monte is the picture of good health. In addition to walking, she is on a bowling team and takes exercise classes for people over 50 when the weather is sub par.

Her healthy eating supplements her active lifestyle.

“We don’t buy any prepared food,” said Monte. “We cook our food.” In her household, they eat a bit of everything: lots of soup, vegetables, fruits and meat — although they seem to want less meat the older they get, she said.

Alan Law wanted to know why the gates were closed so early at Cuatro Vientos air base on the eve of the papal vigil at World Youth Day. So he posed this question on the wall for the official World Youth Day Facebook group, run by event organizers.

“Why were the gates closed so early? A lot of people were locked out,” wrote Law, who is a product development manager with Tour Design, a travel company that brought many Canadian pilgrims to Madrid.

He waited for a response but heard nothing. So the next day, he checked again. To his shock, he couldn’t find his comment. It had been erased.

As group leaders and pilgrims settle back home after World Youth Day, discontent at the fact that an estimated 250,000 pilgrims were locked out of Cuatro Vientos airbase for the overnight vigil and closing Mass is starting to be vocalized. Some 1.4 million pilgrims showed up for the overnight vigil and World Youth Day organizers were only equipped to handle about a million, turning away registered pilgrims from around the world.

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - International Christian Voice is hosting a dinner Sept. 9 in Mississauga to thank Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government for their work in promoting religious freedom internationally.

The Toronto-based human rights organization is run by Peter Bhatti, the brother of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani minorities minister and Christian who was assassinated last March after speaking out against the country’s blasphemy laws.

“The Conservative government has made an announcement of an international religious freedom office (the Office of Religious Freedom) and they’re trying to promote religion internationally, so we want to thank them,” said Bhatti.

“When my brother was murdered, (Immigration Minister) Jason Kenney attended his funeral… and gave him tribute. And before, nobody was even talking about religious freedom. But now, Stephen Harper has made an announcement that they would open a new office with the focus internationally on religious freedom and that makes us very hopeful.”

TORONTO - The Knights of Columbus in the tornado-ravaged town of Goderich, Ont., are front and centre in the efforts to help the town recover from a devastating tornado that hit Aug. 21.

"(Our hall is) the evacuation centre," Steve Winter, Grand Knight of the Father Nagle Council 5420, told The Catholic Register. "We have a hall that will hold 600 people for banquets."

When the tornado tore through the town, "we were the spot in town that had electricity because we're hooked up to the town's generator," said Winter.

Because the Knights of Columbus hall is the central location for those in need, the Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Victims Services and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are set up in the hall, too.

MADRID, SPAIN - This World Youth Day, I have been given the gift of reflection.

I had known the theme for World Youth Day Madrid for months before my departure: “Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, Firm in the Faith.” But only after being here do I appreciate its meaning and importance.

We have to be firm in our faith because it’s so easy to be distracted in today’s world. Our priorities are out of order as we discern between what we want to be and what society tells us we should be. Money, prestige, a “perfect” outward appearance: these are all things the media tells us matter most. Firm in our faith, we can challenge these fallacies.

A strong faith will give us an anchor on which to root ourselves when the tides get rough.

“Make God the centre of your life,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily at the closing Mass. We have to make a conscious effort to put God at the top of our priority list.

MADRID, SPAIN - The papal welcome ceremony at Plaza de Cibeles Aug. 19 was easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I ended up being only a few feet away from Pope Benedict XVI as he passed through the streets of Madrid in the Popemobile. Although it all feels like one big blur, here is a breakdown of what led up to the day’s grand finale.

1:27 p.m.: After meeting with the Office of Catholic Youth group, the leaders told us we needed to get to Cibeles as soon as possible in order to secure good seats. With a big Canadian flag being held up high to lead the way, we started walking very briskly. This soon turned into running through the streets. When we got to the front entrance, half our group made it in but the other half (my half) was stopped by police and told we had to enter the square via a different route. We changed our route and kept on running.

2:25 p.m.: We made it in. After changing our location three or four times, we re-locate to a spot near the papal route (where Pope Benedict would pass — so we were told — in the Popemobile before the ceremony).

3:05 p.m.: Reality kicks in. We realize we have about five hours to wait before the Pope arrives. We are directly in the sun and sitting down on the ground is not a good option — without a towel or mat the ground is extremely hot. I lather on SPF 60 sunscreen and begin the countdown.

MADRID, SPAIN - While 1.5 million pilgrims gathered at Cuatro Vientos airbase for the World Youth Day closing Mass, about 85 Canadian pass-holding pilgrims who were denied entry to the grounds because of overcrowding gathered in a hotel lobby to celebrate Mass and hear the words of Pope Benedict XVI.

With a BlackBerry in hand, Toronto Auxiliary Bishop William McGrattan read the Pope's homily before the Pope himself had read it to the crowd at Cuatro Vientos. Despite a rough night for many pilgrims who were shut out due to volume, spirits were high at the hotel Mass.

"Dear young friends, as the successor of Peter, let me urge you to strengthen the faith which has been handed down to us from the time of the Apostles," read Pope Benedict's homily. "Make Christ, the Son of God, the centre of your life."

The homily also strongly emphasized that following Jesus means "walking at His side in the communion of the Church."