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These beautiful
words of Jesus should be a constant inspiration to us all, especially since
our Parish is blessed with so many young families. Each Sunday we can see this lesson
come alive as our many young children rush to line up for their
Children’s Liturgy – a sight that brings smiles to many of us at
Sunday We all
know that in today’s world, raising a family can be a challenging and
difficult task. The noise of modern life frequently intrudes on our
“quiet family moments”; and the pressures of job and commuting
conspire to drain our energy before we arrive home at night. If we are
to persevere in our desire to instil Christian ideals into our home and
social environments, we need constant, positive reinforcement from
like-minded individuals, and a supportive community network.
Recognizing
this need, our Parish Knights of Columbus Council has created an initiative
to visibly reinforce the Christian “culture of life” which is
central to every true Catholic community. With the emphasis on
“community”, the Knights naturally reached out to our Parish
Catholic Women’ League Chapter and our seven
Initially, the Knights and the CWL undertook to create a
“special area” for our children within our Church. This area, located
in the north nave near the Tabernacle, offers a quiet corner that is alive
with the bright and multicoloured light which streams from the nearby stained
glass windows depicting the Seven Sacraments, and the four Evangelists. The
area is highlighted by the “Support Life!” Medallion (pictured
below), which emphasizes to our children that Jesus loves them in a special
way, and that He wants to be united with them in their pursuit of all things
good. [This lesson is equally applicable to us as adults when we recall that
Jesus also said, “…unless you become as little children, you
shall not enter the kingdom of heaven…”].
The
“Support Life!” Medallion depicts Christ surrounded by the Children
of the World. It is a most appropriate representation for our diverse
Unionville community wherein our schools echo with the happy voices of
children who can trace their heritage to all four corners of the globe. The
figure of Christ at the centre offers comfort to the smallest child, while
the surrounding children encircle and cling to him with total trust and joy.
They are as open in sharing their flowers with him as they are in sharing
their thoughts and innermost secrets. Such is the innocence and love of childhood ! Complementing
the tranquility of this area, a votive light stand has been donated by one of
our Parishioners, allowing the children to light a candle if they choose
while enjoying their special visit with Jesus.
Equally
important, the other goal of the “Support Life !”
initiative is to work with each of our Parish Schools individually to focus
on their involvement in one or more Life-affirming activities as a
part of everyday Catholic life. Working together within the Parish and in
cooperation with our Schools, our Families can thus promote activities that
affirm the sacredness of life at all stages of our human journey – and
express this affirmation through activities which support for those in need our
assistance. Our Schools have responded with
ideas for a variety of specific activities wherein students will reach out to
others, as an expression of their support for the “culture of
life”.
Those assisted by the School projects
include, §local groups (ex., a
Senior’s home; a Food Bank; a Women’s/Children’s shelter); §children in the §“inner city” (or local
community) citizens As well, some schools have focused their participation
specifically with their students preparing to receive the Sacraments.
To emphasize the unity between School and Church in
“supporting the culture of life”, the Knights will be providing
each school with a framed picture of the “Support Life!”
Medallion, inscribed in recognition of their School’s support of this
activity. The first two plaques were distributed on The occasion
included three special presentations after Mass, each one recalling events
where people reached out to others who needed their assistance, and by doing
so reaffirmed the dignity and importance of the person being assisted. The first
presentation was made to Sr Joan Stafford OSU,
Pastoral Care Director at the Good Shepherd Refuge downtown. Naz and Rita
Perta and their Family presented Sr. Joan with a sample of the “Baby
Month” items which had been donated – food, clothing, toiletries,
bedding, diapers, toys, and bedding, clothing, food, toiletries, newborn
gifts, diapers, and a nursery toy. Sr. Joan will be coordinating the
dispersal of the items to needy Parents in the downtown area. Two
“Support Life!” commemorative plaques were presented to two
Parish Schools, in recognition of outreach programs they have undertaken over
the past year. Our Council Chancellor A
“Support Life!” plaque was also presented to St. Matthew Catholic School on At the 2003
Knights’ Appreciation Evening on At the Two other
Parish Schools received their Support Life! Plaques at the March 2004 Support Life! Sunday On the
occasion of the 2005 Support Life! Sunday Mass, two Support Life! Plaques were
presented: the first was given to Mr Merlyn Selva
of Merlyn’s Catering in Unionville for his exemplary effort in raising
community awareness and support for the reconstruction and expansion of
To mark
the first anniversary of the “Support Life!” initiative,
and to visibly reinforce the “Culture of Life”, our Council
initiated a “Baby Month” campaign in March of 2003. This month-long
campaign asked the Families of the Parish to donate baby items (food,
clothing, toiletries, diapers, etc) to assist less fortunate new Mothers and
Fathers in caring for their newborns and small children (under 2 years old). It also provided
a focus for our Council to honour the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord
[March 25th] which is also recognized by the Knights of Columbus
as the “Day of the Unborn
Child”. A second campaign was conducted in
March 2004 (confirming the tradition for an annual collection drive). It was extremely successful thanks to the generosity of the Families and Individuals who
donated items. While our recipient Moms welcomed the material goods we were able
to deliver, more important to them was the thought behind the collection and
the delivery – because it said to them that we (the families in the St.
Justin Martyr Community) recognize and appreciate their efforts to protect
and raise the precious life that God has entrusted to their care ! This was truly
a fitting response to this project which we initiated as our Council’s
way of supporting Knights “Day of the Unborn Child” which is
celebrated annually on March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation. Annual
deliveries are now made to some or all of these institutions: ·
Rose of Sharon ( ·
·
Rosalie Hall ( ·
Vita Manor (Streetsville) ·
Romero House ( ·
FCJ Refugee Centre (formerly Hamilton House) ( ·
as well as to some individual families
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