THE WORK OF ALL SOULS DAY

For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the leaves have fallen and begun their decay. There is little left in our gardens but the most tenacious blooms and produce. The longer nights have begun to impinge on daylight…

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How often do you think about food? I never before reflected on this question but I realize that I think about food every day. I am not a professional chef or a foodie. I am no longer responsible for feeding…

ST. TERESA OF AVILA

I like to think of Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) as a diamond, many faceted and beautiful. It is said that when she was a young girl, both she and her brother ran away to become martyrs in the conflict with…

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

This post is largely a photo and prose prayer based on photographs taken while preparing Northern Light (Novalis, 2020). Ponder each photograph to find how God is speaking to you as you consider these samples of the Canadian landscape. Last…

ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL

June 29 is a day of great significance for the Church as it celebrates the legacy of two pillars of Christian faith: St. Peter and St. Paul. Where would the world be today, I wonder, without the groundwork for the…

FATHER’S DAY

You didn’t have to embrace the politics of Joe Biden to feel his anguish over the very public trial of his son Hunter on charges he failed to disclose his own addictions when he applied for federal approval to buy…

CORPUS CHRISTI

One of the traditional features of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi is a liturgical procession. Processions were a significant feature of the 19th century church as shown here in this painting of a Rogation Day procession through the wheat fields…

ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

Unannounced, an angel appears, bearing a special message. In everyday language it would be something like this: “Mary, there is something special for you to do. God hopes you will say yes. God knows you are ready for it.” There…

LENT – WHERE WE DARE NOT GO

Back on the 1st Sunday of Lent we read Mark’s Gospel account of the temptation in the desert where Jesus begun his 40 days in the desert among the wild beasts, being tempted by Satan, and tended to by angels.…

BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Most of us cradle Catholics do not remember our baptism. Taken to the church in a white garment, we were sprinkled with water from the font and blessed with the oils of salvation. We grew up knowing who our godparents were,…

GLIMMERS OF CHRISTMAS LIGHT

On Christmas morning light glimmers through the stable door: the light of hope, the light of peace and the light of love. These shards of light glimmer around us today. A glimmer is like a positive trigger. Whereas a trigger…

BLESSED THANKSGIVING

In Mary Jo Leddy’s book Radical Gratitude, she introduces the following phrase for reflection: “It would be enough if….” This is a wonderful way to fall into a spirit of gratitude. It would be enough if I owned a house…

WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

This past July I was fortunate to travel to Darien, Illinois to participate in a Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph collaborative event. My friend and I travelled in a climate-controlled vehicle, with a connected GPS and lots of good…

ST. PIUS OF PIETRELCINA

Today, we celebrate the feast day of the man affectionately known as Padre Pio. We ponder the gifts, graces and lessons his life might offer.  Well known for carrying the stigmata – bearing visible wounds similar to the excruciatingly painful…

ST. MATTHEW

When you enter into a church off the Piazza Navona in Rome called San Luigi dei Francesi, a series of chapels culminate with the Contarelli Chapel which holds three huge depictions of key moments in Matthew’s life: the calling, the…

THE PALLIUM MASS

I am fortunate to be in Rome studying this summer with a group of students from Regis College and St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. And I am supremely fortunate to have been here on June 29, the feast of…

ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL

I suspect that almost everyone knows who Sts. Peter and Paul were. These leaders of the early Church are known from Scripture, especially from the Acts of the Apostles and from Paul’s letters. Both were Jewish before they became Christian.…

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY

How important is a land acknowledgement? It may seem like a trite and pointless exercise, a trivial response to the injustices of colonialism. However, imagine a new generation of Canadians who understand the history of this land from the perspective…

WE ARE WITNESSES: EASTER SUNDAY

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! After the 40 days of Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving, after the three intense days of the Triduum, here we are at the empty tomb, rejoicing! Today’s gospel is action packed. Mary Magdalene…

HOLY THURSDAY

Can you imagine the tension building during that last Passover that Jesus celebrated with his friends in that upper room? The rejoicing of the crowds welcoming Jesus on that Palm Sunday may have quieted some of the threat, but the…

ANNUNCIATION

Are you one of those people who never takes down your Christmas lights? Or maybe you’re the neighbour scowling at one of those people? Exactly nine months before the birth of Jesus, we celebrate his conception. Today’s solemnity of the…

ST. JOSEPH

I often think of St. Joseph as the patron saint of shy men. In the little we read of him in the Gospels, he says nothing, but when called upon by an angel messenger from God, he does his duty:…

ST. PATRICK

What do you know about St. Patrick? That his favourite colour was green? That he banished all the snakes in Ireland? That he was Catholic? So little is known fact about St. Patrick because he lived sometime between 389 and…

SOFTENING OUR HEARTS THIS LENT

I admire those of you who keep steady and committed Lenten observance.I feel like my work in music ministry keeps me mindful, but if I wasn’t singing, I might get distracted and fall off the journey. I have no problem…

LIVING LENT

It’s a mark on the forehead that means so much. A gym full of children listen to the readings, sing hymns and receive their ashes. They are a bit silly, asking each other about what the cross looks like on…

SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD

The New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship by Peter E. Fink, SJ states that God’s word is more than“mere external utterance or intellectual discourse. It is the self-communication of God to creation.”This is where we encounter God. The logos — Jesus…

ALL SAINTS

When one hears the words All Saints, images of painted plaster statues placed on pedestals or icons of beautiful representations in gold may come to mind. We can be distracted by ideas of perfect virtue or supernatural holiness. It is…