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| Dates, Times & Speakers 2012-13
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2012-13
Put Out into the Deep:
The Beauty of the Apostolate
Nothing More Beautiful is the name Archbishop Richard Smith has given to a five-year initiative in service of the New Evangelization. His inspiration came from the words of Pope Benedict XVI during the homily for his inaugural Mass in 2005: "There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ."
The focus of Nothing More Beautiful is a series of evening encounters that combine music, prayer and speakers, all meant to draw us to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and a renewed appreciation of our beautiful Catholic faith.
In our fifth year, Nothing More Beautiful takes as its focus the beauty of the lay apostolate. As "salt of the earth and light of the world," (cf. Matthew 5:13-16) lay people are sent by the Lord into society with the leaven of the Gospel in order to transform the world! Jesus, sent by the Father out of love for the world, in turn sends us as agents of that love (cf. John 20:21).
What does it mean to evangelize the family, the workplace or the political and social order? These are the questions to be addressed in our first three sessions. The final two encounters will close our five years of Nothing More Beautiful. A special celebration of sacred music inspired by the beauty of the faith will take place in April. Our closing evening, on our patronal feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, will be a solemn celebration of the Eucharist, in which we give thanks to Almighty God for the blessings of NMB, and from which we shall be sent forth to announce the beauty of the Gospel to our world.
Here are the dates for our fifth and final year of Nothing More Beautiful.
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Thursday, November 1, 2012
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
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Thursday, February 7, 2013
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
All are Welcome! Each event takes place at 7 p.m., St. Joseph's Basilica, 10044 -113 Street, Edmonton
A children's program is offered for ages 3-9 and we provide simultaneous ASL translation.
Evangelizing the Family
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Catechist: Most Rev. Richard Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton
Witness: Pierluigi Molla
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Archbishop Richard Smith, a native of Halifax, was
ordained to the episcopate on June 18, 2002, and
served the Diocese of Pembroke before being
appointed to the Archdiocese of Edmonton in 2007. He
holds a bachelor of commerce degree as well as a master’s in divinity and a doctorate in theology. In 2011 he was elected President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Proficient in French, Italian and American Sign Language, Archbishop Smith is a keen reader and traveller. He also enjoys golf and the love of five nieces and nephews. His inspiration for Nothing More Beautiful came from the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.”
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Pierluigi Molla is the eldest child of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian pediatrician, wife and mother who is best known for refusing both an abortion and a hysterectomy when she was pregnant with her fourth child, despite knowing that continuing with the pregnancy could result in her death. A few days before the child was due, she told doctors: “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child - I insist on it.” A week after giving birth in 1962, she died of complications at the age of 39, when Pierluigi was only 5. She was canonized as a saint in 2004 – in a Vatican ceremony witnessed by her family. Pierluigi, now a business consultant in Milan, was asked by the National Catholic Register what we could learn from his mother’s life. “As Catholics we need to learn how to be consistent with our values and beliefs,” he said. “My mother grew up in a family where she received the faith and values from her father and mother, and [learned] how to live life in a correct way. She was consistent in these values, which she learned in the first years of her life, and she was consistent to the end.”
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Evangelizing the Social and Political Order
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Catechist: Most Rev. Frederick Henry, Bishop of Calgary
Witness: Sara Michel
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Bishop Frederick Bernard Henry was born in London, Ontario, 1943, and ordained a priest in 1968. He served as a professor and rector at St. Peter's Seminary in the Diocese of London before being appointed Auxiliary Bishop in 1986. In 1995, he was named Bishop of Thunder Bay, and in 1998 he became Bishop of Calgary. Bishop Henry serves on several national Church committees and organizations, and is currently the Liaison Bishop to the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association (ACSTA) and Chancellor of St. Mary’s College. He is also well known for his columns in the Western Catholic Reporter and his ready willingness to speak out on social and political issues in today’s society. |
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Sara Michel has degrees in history and international affairs and currently serves as regional animator for the Alberta/Mackenzie region of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, the Church's international development agency. It's a position which allows her to use her faith, education and international experience for a purpose in which she passionately believes. "Development to me doesn't mean us, the more fortunate, going to help them, the less fortunate," Michel said in an interview with the WCR. "It's not about us doing things for locals that they can't do for themselves. Real development is to help them build capacities." Born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Coptic Christians, Michel spent the first 12 years of her life in the United Arab Emirates before moving with her parents to Alberta in 1995. She was appointed to D&P in 2010. |
Evangelizing the Workplace
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Catechist: Most Rev. Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan
Witness: Rob Taylor
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Archbishop Gerard Pettipas was ordained as a Redemptorist priest in Toronto in 1977. He worked in parish and youth ministry in St. John’s, Toronto, and Saint John, New Brunswick, before being assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Grande Prairie as pastor. He was appointed Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan in 2006 and was ordained to the episcopate in 2007. |
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Rob Taylor is a pharmacist who faces the daily challenge of living out his Catholic faith in his professional practice in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Rob is a Member of Pharmacists for Life Canada and has been involved in conscience clause negotiations with Alberta College of Pharmacists. Born and raised in Leduc, Alberta, he converted to the Catholic faith in 1979 and serves in several ministries at his parish of St. Michael-Resurrection. He has also served in pre-marriage ministry and as a volunteer at Our Lady of Victory Camp. Rob and his wife, Carol, have four children and seven grandchildren. |
Evangelizing through Culture
Thursday, April 11, 2013
A Concert of Sacred Music by the Greenwood Singers
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For this session of Nothing More Beautiful, we will focus on the beauty of our faith as it is reflected in music. The Greenwood Singers will perform a selection of choral pieces from the rich tradition of Christian sacred music in the context for which they were composed – our place of worship. Music Director Robert de Frece has selected a number of pieces from the works of composers from the 15th, 16th and 20th centuries, each on the basis that it supports St. Augustine's premise Qui cantat, bis orat ("he who sings, prays twice.") He will speak on the power of each piece the choir will sing, illustrating the importance of fine music in enhancing the liturgical experience |
Sent Forth to Evangelize
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
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The last event in our Nothing More Beautiful journey will be a Eucharistic Celebration at which we reflect on our mission going forward in the New Evangelization. We will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Edmonton on the feast day of our patron, St. Joseph the Worker, and a new icon will be unveiled and blessed. This day also marks the 50th anniversary of the dedication of St. Joseph’s Basilica, the cathedral church of the Archdiocese. Archbishop Smith will preside at Mass and deliver the homily, and we will gather afterwards at a reception. |
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