Feature

In the purest form of parish unity and compassion during a season known for it, Ajax, Ont.’s St. Francis de Sales’ annual Advent and Christmas Carol Concert united five choirs in harmonious celebration, raising funds for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and encouraging hundreds to keep Christmas with them throughout the year.

For the 10th straight year, Knights of Columbus from two Abbotsford parishes teamed up for an annual tradition — assembling the outdoor St. James Church Nativity display that requires all the effort, planning and manpower of a miniature community barn raising.

Even in the Archdiocese of Toronto’s oldest parish, the spirit of Christmas brings a renewed spirit to family and strangers alike each year, thanks in large part to music remaining the soul of holiday worship over more than two centuries.

During Christmas season, as we sing joyfully of the Nativity stories, I am reminded of the Christians of Bethlehem.

While some may have believed last year’s record couldn’t be topped, the Ontario Knights of Columbus are on pace to surpass their own mark this winter as councils push toward 20,000 brand-new winter coats for children in need.

The single word “ours” has become the quiet heartbeat behind everything the Catholic Children’s Aid Foundation is doing this Christmas through initiatives that are making sure children and families are looked after in more ways than one.

Charlotte Mescall, a Grade 11 student at Holy Cross High School in Saskatoon, was so moved by the community outreach at St. Mary’s Parish that she coordinated two Christmas concert fundraisers on behalf of the church.

As Christmas approaches and "Silent Night" begins to fill churches and homes across the world, it is worth remembering how unlikely its beginning truly was.

Just about everyone enjoys a Christmas holiday with all the trimmings, including Santa’s ho ho ho and Rudolph’s red nose. But the preparatory time of Advent can serve as an invitation to explore more deeply the true spiritual meaning of the Incarnation and to focus more intently on the virtues that reflection on that mystery should promote.

Located in an industrial strip mall and known for educating students who have experienced incarceration, trafficking, gang life, addiction, poverty or homelessness, St. Gemma Outreach High School can inspire trepidation on a first visit.