The Anglican Diocese of Wellington was declined consent to earthquake strengthening and to alter the front of the building after a resource management hearing early in 2020.

The council then sent it a bill of £268,000 for the total costs of the hearing.

The church has appealed the decision in the Environment Court and lodged an objection to the bill. Read more

And that all important calling from the Lord is not just to be seriously considered on All Saints Day - but every day!

It is no coincidence that the Catholic Church proclaims the Gospel passage of the Beatitudes on the Solemnity of All Saints. For in this most wonderful teaching from the Son of God, we are shown the way to holiness, to blessedness, to joyfulness.

Situated in St. Matthew's Gospel within the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes chart a sure course on how to be "blessed," that is, how to be joyful!

The deeply spiritual scientist and theologian Jesuit Father Teilhard de Chardin said, "Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God."

In our hearts, you and I long for joy, that joy to the full that Jesus promises us, the joy that only he can give us. And the Beatitudes teach us the way!

And so it is that when we are

• "poor in spirit" - totally trusting and dependent on God;
• "mournful" - and allow God to comfort us;
• "meek" - living with gentle strength;
• "hunger and thirst for righteousness" - striving to live in right relationship with God, all others and ourselves;
• "merciful" to all;
• "clean of heart" - thinking, feeling and acting with purity and honesty;
• "peacemakers" - praying and working for peace within ourselves, within our families, within our nation and within our world; and
• persecuted for faithfully living out these Beatitudes, let us "rejoice and be glad" for our reward will be great in heaven! (Matt. 5:1-12).

Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation "Gaudete et Exsultate" (Rejoice and be Glad) urges us to apply the Beatitudes to the life and death situations facing our world.

He writes, "Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development.

"Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.

"We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty".

Daily I receive in my inbox the "Saint of the Day" from Franciscan Media. I always find the brief biography and refection interesting and inspiring.

Blessed are those who live the Beatitudes, for they are experiencing a wonderful taste of heaven right here on earth!

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag@zoominternet.net.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The origins of Halloween are, in fact, very Christian and rather American. Halloween falls on October 31 because of a pope, and its observances are the result of medieval Catholic piety.

It's true that the ancient Celts of Ireland and Britain celebrated a minor festival on October 31-as they did on the last day of most other months of the year. However, Halloween falls on the last day of October because the Solemnity of All Saints, or "All Hallows," falls on November 1. The feast in honour of all the saints in heaven used to be celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III (d. 741) moved it to November 1, the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter's at Rome. Later, in the 840s, Pope Gregory IV commanded that All Saints be observed everywhere. And so the holy day spread to Ireland.

The day before was the feast's evening vigil, "All Hallows Even," or "Hallowe'en." In those days Halloween didn't have any special significance for Christians or for long-dead Celtic pagans. Continue reading.

Fr Augustine Thompson, O.P., is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia.

Source: uCatholic / Catholic Parent magazine

Image: Fanpop

But here's a surprise: even the briefest glance at their biographies reveals joyful and energetic men and women who liked to have a laugh.

Indeed, the more you know about the actual lives of the saints, the more it strikes you as bizarre that so many statues, paintings and mosaics of the saints show them as unsmiling men and women. These are surely misrepresentations of the holy men and women of Christian history, many of whom were not only joyful but had terrific senses of humor.

Stories about the overt humor of the saints reach as far back as the early Roman martyrs — that is, from the very earliest days of the church. In the third century, St. Lawrence, who was burned to death on a grill, over hot coals, called out to his executioners, "This side is done. Turn me over and have a bite." In the fourth century, St. Augustine of Hippo, puckishly prayed, "Lord, give me chastity ... but not yet."

Some saints were known specifically for their rich sense of humor. St. Philip Neri, a 16th-century Italian priest, for example, was called "The Humorous Saint." Over his door he posted a small sign that read, "The House of Christian Mirth." En route to a ceremony in his honor, he once shaved off half his beard, as a way of poking fun at himself. "Christian joy is a gift from God, flowing from a good conscience," he said. And "A heart filled with joy is more easily made perfect than one that is sad."

Much of St. Philip Neri's humor was a way of keeping him humble, as he engaged in what could only be called acts of public silliness, like wearing a cushion on his head like a turban and wearing a foxtail coat in the middle of the summer.

Some saints were known specifically for their rich sense of humor. Continue reading

Image: Inside Loyola

Fr James Martin SJ is the culture editor of America magazine and author of numerous books. This essay was taken from his book, Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter are at the heart of the spiritual life

The annual tradition that combines Catholic religious rites with the country's penchant for festivity is popularly called "Undas" or Day of the Dead, a major family affair in the Philippines.

In honor of All Saints' and All Souls' Day on November 1 and 2, tombs are cleaned and repainted, candles are lit and flowers are offered.

Families camped overnight, pitched up tents and brought in food for a day-long All Saint's Day picnic by the graves and tombs of their dead.

In crowded public cemeteries in Metro Manila, police confiscated alcoholic beverages and banned gambling to maintain peace and order.

Hundreds of medics and volunteers also set up field clinics to provide medical assistance. Radio reports said many had fainted due to the extreme heat in densely packed cemeteries.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, meanwhile warned the public against fake priests roaming the cemeteries and reciting prayers for unsuspecting families in exchange for monetary donations.

And for millions of Catholic Filipinos overseas who could not come home to visit their dead, the bishops put up a special portal where they could log on and request special prayers and masses.

UCA News quoted Monsignor Pedro Quitorio III, media office director of the bishops' conference, as saying that the service is for Filipinos who work abroad for them to feel that they are also in the cemetery on All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

"That's the purpose of the photos of the cemetery, so that our overseas workers can pray for their departed loved ones by just looking at the photos," he said.

The service received 20,000 requests and garnered "positive feedback" last year from Filipinos around the world.

Sources

• AFP/Asia One
• UCA News
• Singapore Straits Times
• Image: Getty Images/i4u.com