OUTREACH
As Franciscans we have been given the gift of faith, a precious gift that is not meant to be kept to ourselves, but to be shared with others. As such we continue to strive to benefit others with the sharing of our faith in our outreach efforts. Currently, our outreach efforts are in three main areas: Eucharistic Adoration, Awareness Campaigns and Honduras Mission.
Eucharistic Adoration
Our fraternity hosts a Eucharist Adoration hour, every third Wednesday of the month, between 8pm-9pm, at the chapel of Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church.
Eucharistic adoration is time of divine intimacy with the Lord, of loving the Lord, of being in His presence, communicating with Him, receiving His blessings and graces and so much more. As the Servant of God Pope John Paul II stated in his encyclical letter, Ecclesia De Eucharistia (Church of the Eucharist), "The Eucharist is a priceless treasure: by not only celebrating it but also by praying before it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very wellspring of grace" (25).
Our fraternity hopes that more individuals will come to know of our Eucharistic Adoration hour and come to experience the many benefits of being in our Savior's presence.
Awareness
Our awareness efforts extends primarily to three campaigns: abortion, same sex "marriage" and the Shroud of Turin.
Abortion
United with our fellow Catholics and Christians alike, our fraternity has entered into the debate on abortion and same sex "marriage." As conscientious Catholics, we are troubled by the on going killing of developing human beings in our society . In response, we feel that awareness is the most effective way our fraternity can make a difference. The primary focus of our Abortion awareness effort is Canada's annual Life Chain abortion protest held every Fall and most recently, our participation in 40 Days For Life, a community based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion in Canada, through the use of a three-point program: prayer and fasting, constant vigil and community outreach. Our fraternity builds up to these events with our promotional efforts that includes the distribution of our Abortion Awareness document, word of mouth advertising and the information contained on our web site at our Abortion page.
Same Sex "Marriage"
With the proposals set forth by the previous Liberal government's attempt to reinvent the institution of marriage and with the eventual passing of the Canadian Same Sex "Marriage" Bill C-38, our fraternity added the same sex "marriage" controversy to our awareness efforts. In response to the passing of Bill C-38, the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano has characterized the passing of this bill as a manifestation of "violent attacks aimed at the natural family, based on a union between a man and a woman." As Catholics we hold marriage to be a sacrament and a sacred covenant between a man and a woman joined together with God. The family is the basis of society and the strength of the family is vital for the well being of our whole society. Inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, our fraternity hopes to bring continued awareness through our site's "Same Sex Marriage" page.
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin, the precious cloth whose affect on people draws them closer to Christ together with Monsignor Ricci's Holy Shroud of Turin exhibit held in March'2006 at Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church, prompted our fraternity to add this to our awareness efforts. Our fraternity assisted in the display of the several photographic and text panels in the Church hall, guided and helped viewers during the exhibition and posted information about the special significance of the shroud on our Shroud of Turin page.
Honduras Mission
On a international level, our fraternity assists the mission of Father Albert Gauci, OFM located at St. Gertrude's Parish, Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras. Father Albert whose Franciscan journey has taken him from Malta to Toronto to Honduras has positively affected the lives of the Honduran people, especially the most needy of society: the elderly, the poor, orphans and prisoners. With Franciscan hope and love together with his many projects, Father Albert lives the Franciscan philosophy of "attend, simply and directly, to the spiritual and other basic human needs, especially those of the poor and disenfranchised, promoting justice for all". The result has been great success for Father Albert and his mission, with his most recent success of the new prison, Granja Penal De Juticalpa, Olancho.
In typical fashion, Father Albert has already moved on to the planning and fundraising for his next project, a two million dollar sports complex. As Father Albert states, "... somehow the money always comes. Somehow St Francis always manages to open hearts. He finds the money and I spend it." It is through our web site's Honduras page that we strive to let people know of the good work being done in Honduras, the efforts of Fr. Albert and to encourage all to assist him in any way that they can.