Summary of this Issue

Links to some powerful reflections on prayer are provided.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born just over 100 years ago. A testimonial to her was written by Fr. Raymond J. De Souza.

The next 40 Days for Life campaign starts September 22^nd. Schedule of Information Session and Kick-off Mass is available in this issue. Please pray about getting involved in this life saving and culture changing effort.

Campaign Life Coalition and Catholic Insight have joined forces to produce a wealth of material which documents the McGuinty Government’s nefarious and insidious attempts to indoctrinate our children through their Equity & Inclusive Education Strategy. An action plan on how to counteract this strategy is also proposed.

PEACE (Public Education Advocates for Christian Equity) has also gathered some very pertinent and comprehensive information on the on this Equity & Inclusive Strategy which has been gradually introduced in the Public Boards over a number of years. Their Web site includes a link to a shocking training video on how teachers are to indoctrinate our children.

A number of concerned parents have developed a comprehensive questionnaire designed for Catholic School Trustee candidates in anticipation of the municipal elections on October 25^th. Volunteers are sought to pass this information on to our Pastors once results are available.

A link is given to must read excerpts from Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput's address at a recent symposium for the Canon Law Association on the vital importance of living and telling the truth particularly in today’s society.

A Catholic philosopher provides advice on what must be done to win the battle over same-sex marriage.

An important Prayer Request.

Included are video links of humorous renditions of perhaps the most famous composition by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Links to new Catholic Social Media sites are provided.

An effective reflection about The Stanger in most of our families is given.

The line-up of Theology on Tap talks for this fall is available.

Upcoming Events of Note:

• Monday September 13^th: 40 Days for Life General Information Meeting in the Scavi of Saint Patrick’s Basilica at 700 PM.
• Tuesday September 21^st at 7:00 PM: 40 Days for Life Kick-off Mass at Saint Patrick’s Basilica followed by a candle light procession to the abortion facility at 65 Bank Street where a rally will take place.
• Saturday September 25^th: Men’s Breakfast at St. Augustine Parish. 
• Tuesday October 12^th: Theology on Tap - “Popular Mechanics for Christians: Why Knowing the Fathers is Essential for Creating a Culture of Life” by Fr. Michael Winn.
• Saturday October 23^rd: Men’s Breakfast at Annunciation of the Lord Parish with Archbishop Terrence Prendergast on the “Purification of the Church”.
• Tuesday October 26^th: Theology on Tap - Catholic Ecumenism in the Twenty-first Century" By Dr. Catherine Clifford, St. Paul University.
• October 28^th to 30^th: International Pro-life Conference will take place in Ottawa
• Tuesday November 9^th: Theology on Tap - "Priests, Deacons, and Lay Persons after the Second Vatican Council: Collaborators or Rivals?" By Dr. Anne Asselin, St. Paul University
• Tuesday November 23^rd: Theology on Tap - "Pope Pius XII: Hitler’s Pope or Righteous Gentile? New perspectives on an old debate" By Dr. Robert Ventresca, University of Western Ontario

Remembering Mother Teresa, born 100 years ago

“The world only knew her as diminutive and wizened, with a slight stoop and gnarled hands. Yet all who met her found her beautiful, for her eyes sparkled and her smile radiated joy.”

To read more, click on Saint of the Gutters by Fr. Raymond J. De Souza

September 22^nd – October 31^st

40 Days for Life Closing Rally November 1st 2009

This fall, Ottawa will be one of a new record 238 locations in the US, Canada, Australia, England, Northern Ireland and Denmark to take part in the 40 Days for Life campaigns from September 22 to October 31.

Unlike our previous campaigns, this one will cover 12 hour periods, 7 am to 7 pm each day of the 40 day campaign. As in previous campaigns, the most visible aspect will consist of a peaceful vigil across from Ottawa’s abortion facility at 65 Bank Street, to pray for the innocent unborn child and the mother.

An information session will be conducted in the Scavi (basement) of Saint Patrick’s Basilica, 282 Nepean St at 7:00 PM, Monday September 13^th. All Pro-life, 40 Days, and anyone interested in the Pro-life cause is cordially invited.

A kick-off Mass will be held at St. Patrick’s Basilica on Tuesday September 21^st at 7:00 PM. This will be followed by a procession to the abortion facility on Bank St. where a rally will take place. More details will be provided at the September 13^th information session.

For more info on the Ottawa campaign, please contact Campaign Life Coalition at 613-729-0379.

Ottawa Web site: http://www.40daysforlife.com/ottawa/

For more general info on 40 Days for Life, visit http://www.40daysforlife.com/

Now's the time to be thinking -- and praying -- about how you can be a part of this life-saving/ culture changing effort.

&

Campaign to counter McGuinty’s “child indoctrination” strategy

Canada’s national pro-life and pro-family political action group, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), has just launched an important campaign to help Ontarians resist Dalton McGuinty’s misguided “Equity & Inclusive Education Strategy” (henceforth EIE Strategy).

CLC has posted a video and created a special ACTION PAGE to help mobilize Christians and other concerned parents against  the Ministry of Education’s EIE Strategy. That Strategy is due to be ratified by all publicly-funded Ontario school boards by Labour Day.

The special CLC web page provides parents and concerned citizens with the easy ability to:

• email all Catholic and/or Public school Trustees with one click of the mouse
• email all Directors of Education, both Catholic and Public, with one click of the mouse
• phone your Trustee(s) to arrange a face-to-face meeting
• email your local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) with your concerns

CLC hopes that its special web campaign will help nurture large enough of a public outcry from Ontarians, that McGuinty will be once again forced to retract the EIE Strategy, just as he was forced in the recent past, to retract the K-8 Sex Ed curriculum and his misguided “Eco-Tax”, thanks to loud public outcries. 

We urge you to visit the web page and also to pray daily for its success.

Extracted from http://catholicinsight.com/online/church/education/article_1030.shtml

Other articles by Catholic Insight related to this topic:

Parents beware: The effects of teaching same-sex attraction during pre-adolescence

McGuinty’s poison pill for Ontario schools

How I.C.E. and its Ontario allies let Catholics down

Parents: alarm bells are ringing for your children

PEACE was started in response to the Ontario Government’s Equity & Inclusive Strategy by Phil Lees, a former teacher (with 30 years experience) and administrator with the Public School Board in the Hamilton area. He has developed a powerful Web site with a whole host of useful information on this strategy and on what actions parents can take:

http://peacehamilton.org/index.php

In includes links to a training video designed for teachers on how to ‘brainwash” our children and rob them of their innocence. This video is actually being used by some School Boards.

Efforts are underway to establish a PEACE chapter in Ottawa. Stay tuned.

Ottawa Catholic School Board Elections 

On October 25^th, Municipal elections will take place in Ottawa. In additions to the Casting ballots for Mayor, a City Councillor , citizens will also have the opportunity to elect a School Board Trustee.

In light of these Catholic School Board Trustee elections, a number of concerned parents have created a questionnaire for all trustee candidates that touch on a variety of important issues within Catholic education. The questionnaire can be found at http://concernedparentsottawa.blogspot.com/ .

All the candidates have been contacted, and it is hoped that responses from all of them will be available and posted on the Web site by the end of September.

Volunteers are sought to help publicize this Blog among the pastors and fellow parishioners.

For more info on this initiative please visit the above Web site, or email:  catholiclife777@gmail.com

Frank talk from Archbishop Charles Chaput

“Living within the truth also means telling the truth and calling things by their right names. And that means exposing the lies by which some men try to force others to live.”

MUST READ Excerpts from Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput's address to the 15th symposium for the Canon Law Association of Slovakia on Tuesday August 24^th .

Visit: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/aug/10082503.html

Philosopher: To Defeat Gay ‘Marriage’ Conservatives Must Defend Traditional Sexual Morals in General

"If Christians and conservatives are not prepared to defend traditional sexual morality in general, then they are going to lose the battle over 'same-sex marriage” To read more, click on: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/aug/10081914.html

Prayer Request 

Several months ago, I believe I may have contacted your website in regard to a man whose name is William ("Bill"). If I am correct about having previously contacted your site, I thank you for your prayers and ask that you please continue to pray with me for this man's salvation (also, for those in his life who don’t know Jesus). I am not in a position to witness to this man personally, but others have been contacted to this regard. Please ask the Lord to extend His spirit to facilitate and lead a conversational witness through anyone whom He may choose. Please ask God to extend His grace toward Bill, doing everything needed to chase him, overcome his pride, lift the veil from his eyes, bring conviction to his heart and show him his need for a Saviour. Like us all, Bill has made some mistakes, and has unfortunately had some tragic things to happen in his life. He also has some issues with addiction.  Please also ask God to help him, to purify his mind, to work on his heart with His spirit; that He’ll place him in the company of believing friends, and that He will not only save Bill, but will use his testimony to bring others to Christ and further the kingdom. 

In Him for His glory and with thanks.

Francesca Bailey

For classical music lovers 

Toccata und Fuge in D minor is one of the more famous organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. Here is an organ version with some interesting sonic graphics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

Below are two humorous renditions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMfgKvs4mXE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTIsF2wZ8e0

Catholic Social Media

Some Catholic techies have developed some effective ways of using Social Media. Check out the following links:

·         http://www.facebook.com/jesus.mercy

·         http://www.opensourcecatholic.com/about-osc

The Stanger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family.  The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind he had a special niche.  Mom taught me manners and good from evil. Dad taught me obedience and responsibility. The stranger was our storyteller. He could keep us spellbound for hours. He made me laugh and he made me cry.  He was our friend.

Our friend never stopped talking but Dad didn't seem to mind.  Sometimes Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.
 
(I wonder now if she sometimes prayed for him to leave.)

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always seemed to know the answers.  He took my family to our first major league ball game. 

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions.  Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home; not from us or our friends.  But oddly our friend often violated these rules and got away with it!  He would even talk freely about sex, to the point of sometimes making my Dad squirm and my mother blush.  

Time after time he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.  I now know that he influenced my concepts of love, life and faith. 

Years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.  Long ago he blended right in with us and became our friend.  I must admit he is not nearly as fascinating today as he once was.  But time has not diminished his ability and willingness to entertain us with his stories.
 
His name?

We just call him 'TV'.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fall 2010 Lineup of Talks

All talks start at 7:30 PM SHARP at Malone's Pub on Dow's Lake (advise you show up earlier to get a good seat)

First Talk: October 12
“Popular Mechanics for Christians: Why Knowing the Fathers is Essential for Creating a Culture of Life” By Fr. Michael Winn, Holy Spirit Seminary

It is clear from Scripture and Tradition that all human life is sacred and inviolable at every moment of existence. The Fathers were no exception to this... statement and provide a wealth of commentary for the pro-life movement. Come hear Fr. Michael Winn, rector of Holy Spirit Seminary in Ottawa, discuss the importance of the Church Fathers and how they can help us create a culture that respects life from conception until natural death.

Second Talk: October 26
"Catholic Ecumenism in the Twenty-first Century" By Dr. Catherine Clifford, St. Paul University

After the Second Vatican Council there was a new thrust towards ecumenism. This has met with success but also many challenges in the four decades following. Come hear Dr. Clifford, vice-dean of theology at St. Paul University and herself a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, discuss the state of ecumenism in the Catholic Church.

Third Talk: November 9
"Priests, Deacons, and Lay Persons after the Second Vatican Council: Collaborators or Rivals?" By Dr. Anne Asselin, St. Paul University

The active involvement of lay persons is but one of the riches of the Catholic Church. But, as in any family, roles must be understood and defined if dysfunctionality ...is to be avoided. Come out and hear Dr. Asselin, dean of canon law at St. Paul University, present an understanding of the close mutual collaboration of the ordained and the non-ordained as intended by the Second Vatican Council.

Fourth Talk: November 23
"Pope Pius XII: Hitler’s Pope or Righteous Gentile? New perspectives on an old debate" By Dr. Robert Ventresca, University of Western Ontario

Pope Pius XII is a polarizing figure: saint to some; ‘Hitler’s Pope’ to others. Some argue that Pius XII was indecisive and ineffective in confronting Nazism and the horrors of the Holocaust. Others maintain that the Pope should be considered a “Righteous Gentile” for his part in directing the rescue of thousands of Jews fromthe Nazis. The historical truth lays somewhere in between these polemical interpretations. Come hear Prof. Ventresca revisit the controversial debate over Pius XII’s role during the Holocaust by dissecting some of the common assumptions and outright ‘myths’ that persist in public memory and explore how and why many well-meaning defenders of the wartime Pope fail to acknowledge the obvious ambiguities and unresolved questions arising from Pius XII’s response to Nazism and the Holocaust.

 Men's Breakfast at St. Augustine Parish – September 25^th 

Men's Breakfast at St-Augustine (1060 Baseline near Merivale), Saturday, Sept. 25 at 8 AM; Speaker: Michael Sarich who will speak on Life in the Spirit with a focus on his personal testimony.

Continental breakfast (with eggs & beans!). Cost: $4 at the east door of the church.

RSVP email: breakfastformen@gmail.com or call Denis at 228-7646.

Click HERE for more info.

All men welcome.

Men’s Breakfast at Annunciation of the Lord Parish – October 23^rd

A men's breakfast we are holding at Annunciation of the Lord Parish on Sat. June 5th,  8:30 to 10:30 am. Archbishop Terrence Prendergast who will speak on the “Purification of the Church”. 

More details to follow

For info or to reserve contact Jim Meuse

E-mail: rebeccameuse@rogers.com
Home Number - 744-3026
Cell Number - 878-3026

Sponsored by Knight's of Columbus Council 8008

From October 28 to 30 Ottawa will witness a gathering of some of the titans of the global pro-life and pro-family movement at the annual International Pro-life Conference.

The lineup of speakers will include John Smeaton (President of The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, UK), Bill Saunders (Senior Counsel, Americans United for Life), Dr. Jack Willke (President, International Right to Life Federation), Brad Mattes (winner of a 2010 Emmy Award for his pro-life TV show, “Facing Life Head-on”) and John-Henry Westen (Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews.com).

It will also feature world-renowned Canadian novelist, author, artist and speaker Michael O'Brien, and Rev. Johnny Hunter, President of the U.S. group LEARN, which exposes the devastating effects of abortion on the African-American community.

Click HERE for more info.