The Horizons of Hope: A Toolkit for Catholic Parishes on Palliative Care is a resource from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), helping parishes reflect on and provide palliative care through a faith-based, community-centred approach.  It’s designed to educate and empower parishioners, caregivers and pastoral teams; foster compassionate community care grounded in Catholic moral and pastoral theology, and offer support through illness, death, suffering and bereavement. Available materials include: A facilitator’s guide, video content, social media images, posters and four thematic modules.

The Feast Day of St. Teresa of Ávila is celebrated on October 15th. St. Teresa was the originator of the Carmelite Reform, which restored and emphasized the austerity and contemplative character of Carmelite life, to deeply meditate on divine law. Over the course of twenty years, she traveled tirelessly across Spain, often in under difficult conditions, founding seventeen convents for women and supporting the establishment of monasteries for men. Her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, have helped generations of women and men.

Catholics worldwide are invited to pray for and give on World Mission Sunday, observed the second last Sunday in October. Organized by the Pontifical Missions Society, the funds collected assist approximately 1,250 mission dioceses globally. Pastors and pastoral workers are invited to encourage a missionary spirit among all people of God, promote missionary vocations, and collaborate spiritually and materially in the church’s mission work, including support for all the dioceses in Canada’s northern regions (Ordo). Members are urged to respond by donating and by praying for missionaries who have responded to God’s call in this special way.

People are encouraged to wear purple to show support for survivors of domestic violence and raise awareness about “the intersection between brain injury and interpersonal violence.” The colour purple symbolizes courage, peace and survival, and wearing it helps to show survivors they are not alone and that a supportive community exists for them.

This year’s Canadian theme is Do You Know Our Suffering? The day is dedicated to praying for Christians who face persecution around the world. Resources are available for individuals and participating churches at idop.ca.

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed on November 2nd is a day of remembrance and prayer for the faithful departed—relatives, friends and all who are no longer living.