Courtney McGrailOnline Advent calendar launched
Archbishop Eamon Martin has launched a specially commissioned 2015 Advent calendar on the homepage of the Irish Catholic bishops’ website www.catholicbishops.ie to coincide with the beginning of Advent on Sunday, November 29.
The online calendar will each day reveal Advent information and prayer resources, including an audio thought for the day, by clicking on a virtual numerical door. Archbishop Eamon said he welcomed the inclusion of materials for the Year of Mercy in this year’s Advent calendar “and I invite everyone during the Advent season to visit and to reflect on the information provided on our online calendar, especially the themes of mercy and peace”.
Schools to host charity ‘Mad Hair’ day
The Society of Missionary Children is calling on Irish students to host a ‘Mad Hair Day’ in their school to raise funds for children living in poverty.
The annual fundraising initiative takes place on December 11 and participants are asked to donate one euro. All proceeds will go to help children who live in a cemetery in Manila in the Philippines.
“Children are by their nature caring and want to share what they have with children who have nothing,” said National Secretary of Missionary Children, Jackie Pallas.
“In my years organising this wonderful event, I am so touched by the generosity of Irish children who really get into the spirit of the day.”
Cooking sister wins reality TV show
A Chicago nun who works in a soup kitchen has won a reality TV cooking competition.
Sr Alicia Torres (30) won a Thanksgiving-themed episode of Chopped on the Food Network, winning $10,000 for Our Lady of the Angels Mission to provide more home-cooked meals for neighbours in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighbourhood. “The Lord gave me this talent,” Sr Torres told the show’s judges. “I believe the kitchen is my canvas where I get to express myself creatively.”
Sr Torres is a member of the Order of the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago, founded by Fr Bob Lombardo of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.