To give and to receive - contemplation towards physical enjoyment<br/><br/>

All through in Toronto, you may come across many clothing collection boxes around corners of plazas and fire stations. It is even a custom in many social functions that people bring along some non-perishable food items for donation to the Food Bank. Not just a community of multiculturalism, Toronto also practices the Culture of Giving. This is an enchanting phenomenon. During Christmas and New Year, we should send out our redundant and no longer worn clothing to those in need. Children could also forward some of their toys, through the International Red Cross or the Salvation Army, to their peers living in underdeveloped countries.<br/><br/>

In July 2003, many of our youth parishioners took a trip to Mexico for a connection experience. Having had a close encounter with the local inhabitants, they understood more about their predicament. From that moment on, they alter and modify their shopping spree attitude. They even alleviate their desire to purchase luxurious items from prestigious shops.<br/><br/>

We intend to visit Haiti in June 2004. Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean Sea, on top of South America. We could thence seize more knowledge about Haiti and her people with this trip. This would definitely enhance our serious contemplative deliberation towards physical material enjoyment.<br/><br/>

Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, the Nuncio (Papal legate) to Haiti, was my classmate when we were studying theology in Rome. I hope he could introduce his local church to us that we could understand more about their faith and situation. They also have a missionary priest from Vietnam, Fr. Pierre Pach C.S.S.R. Fr. Pierre is the elder brother of one of our parishioners. He is willing to take us to tour around their local mission churches. The Haiti government is still at stake with chaos. It remains as an unknown factor whether we could affect our trip. However, let us pray for the Haitians.