FOR PANDEMIC-WEARY KIDS, TEENS AND PARENTS: DROP EVERYTHING AND READ!
Kids and teens have a lot of time on their hands these days. In various parts of Canada, school’s out and remote learning is in. Sports and many outdoor activities […]
Kids and teens have a lot of time on their hands these days. In various parts of Canada, school’s out and remote learning is in. Sports and many outdoor activities […]
When you are born into a faith you think that everyone thinks like you do. You see the world from your own skin and your own perspective. As a child growing […]
By the time Martha looked upstream the dove was just a mote in the sky and the words “my beloved” were trickling off beyond perception like a rose petal on […]
Each year at Epiphany, I listen to James Taylor’s song Home by Another Way. In this song, he reminds us that the call to the Magi to change their plans […]
If there was ever a year I was ready to turn the page on, it was 2020. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. COVID-19 knocked us off our […]
A fresco of the Holy Family adorns the right side altar of the Church of the Assumption in Erinsville, Ontario – the church of my childhood. Mary and Joseph stand […]
What’s your favourite part about Christmas? Is it having a fresh, beautifully-decorated Christmas tree in your home? Is it trying to figure out that perfect present for a loved one? […]
Join the Living with Christ family from around the world to celebrate Christmas Eve with this cornucopia of prayers, hymns, Scripture, reflections and beautiful art. It is our gift to […]
Hi, my name is Les Miller, author of a new Novalis book called, Northern Light: A Canadian Prayer Book, which is a book of prayers and reflections with accompanying photographs. […]
The season of Advent brings us a dual focus. We anticipate encountering Christ in his second coming and in the celebration of his birth at Christmas. We meet God through history, […]
I never really knew what waiting meant until my baby was two weeks overdue. I baked. I read. I walked. I stocked up on diapers and sleepers. Also, my kitchen […]
Miss America! ¡Qué guapa! I love what you’ve done with beauty. You took its pure, lily-white supremacist notion and introduced it to some salutary sunshine. Your body is as shapely […]
I’m rather partial to St. Joseph, considering that I bear his name and was baptized on his feast day of March 19. And so I felt a special thrill when […]
Advent is a time of preparation and there is no shortage of advice on how to be ready for Christmas. But with these suggestions for Advent reading, I want to […]
waiting. waiting. while heaven downloads onto devices a million years old. this could take all month… thank God it’s Advent: season of Hope nested inside Pandemic: season of Brick Walls […]
What is this book about? Raymond Friel: It’s about being a human being, I suppose, a creature, trying to understand the Creator, trying to speak to the source of our […]
I don’t often express a disagreement with those who prepare liturgical texts, but on this feast I do. Saying that Christ is the King of the Universe, at least to […]
I remember long ago an anecdotal story of the conference of bishops of Brazil who ended their meetings about policies and procedures with the question: “Well gentlemen, how have we […]
Consider fresh water. We use it for cooking, cleaning, bathing, agriculture and for just about all our economic activities. Yet, of all the water on Earth, only 2.5% of that […]
My parents were children during the Second World War, and their memories of that time were lasting ones. They recalled doing paper and scrap drives with their pals, wearing underwear […]
All Souls Day is going to mean more to me this year than ever. I recently lost my brother to cancer. My thoughts are filled with memories, conversations and images of my […]
Messages from Heaven can come in conversations with strangers. Not too long ago, I had such an encounter with a woman on a bus. She was on her way to arrange […]
What is Sowing Seeds all about? Sowing Seeds: Inquiry, Faith and Early Learners is a book about students learning about their faith. It is about respecting the ability of children, […]
Death for a Christian is a bittersweet event. On the one hand, we are supposed to rejoice since the person that died has entered eternal life with God, the aim […]
It became so natural, but when Saint John Paul II was elected as Pope in Rome in 1978, it was almost beyond comprehension. He was the first non-Italian in centuries […]
It’s long been a truism that organized religion is beneficial to society through its volunteers, its schools, social programs and fostering of a population willing to sacrifice for the greater […]
I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve never had to worry about having enough food. Yet in the city where I live, food security is an issue for many people. […]
This year it’s a salamander gratitude— something found under rosy, painted stones upended on the damp bed of a dead river. It’s alive but mute, a form of life discovered […]
I can already imagine the criticisms of Fratelli Tutti, the new encyclical by Pope Francis on fraternity and social friendship released yesterday, October 4. They’ll accuse him of interfering in […]
When I think upon my faith as a child, I know that it was a safety net that saw me through traumatic and happy times. Faith in God is an […]
Somewhere among my memorabilia files is a little reminder note written by a 7-year old me. It reads: “Tell mom to take me to see the poope.” (That’s not a […]
As I child, I found great comfort in knowing that there were guardian angels out there, guiding us and protecting us from harm. The prayer “Angel of God, my guardian […]
You ember-eating, living thuribles coughing a smoke heavy and holy into the face of a wilderness that turns away with twisted smile, you aren’t nearly as alone as the cold […]
I once heard a talk given by Bishop Paul Andre Durocher on the topic of grace. He filled his presentation with concrete images to break this open. He told the story […]
Today we celebrate Grandparent’s Day. If I had to choose the person who had the greatest impact on my devotional life, it would have to be my great-grandmother, Mary Taylor. […]
The celebration of the Birth of Mary seems to be eminently logical, as it is nine months after December 8, the commemoration of the day Mary was conceived by Saints […]
Labour Day is always bittersweet: as the last hurrah of summer, it is a little sad, but as the beginning of the hustle and bustle of autumn, it reminds us […]
To make today’s World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation truly inspiring, I’d like to suggest that we pray Pope Francis’ wonderful prayer below. But before we do that, […]
In the history of famous Christian conversions, that of St. Augustine stands second only to St. Paul’s in stature. In both cases, Christianity would have looked very different today had […]
What is Northern Light all about? Northern Light contains prayers, reflections and photographs that sketch a spiritual geography of Canada. They are responses to a series of questions: Where is […]
Amazing Friendships Between Animals and Saints tells a story of wonderful relationships between animals and saints. Beautifully illustrated, each story teaches us that we are united with holy creatures who […]
To make a courageous choice that leads to personal loss is difficult. Most of us choose self-protection over self sacrifice. To make such a choice when that loss is one’s […]
Suffering is something that we seem to want to avoid at all costs. These words of a saint who has been honoured through the ages, remind us that love comes […]
On the feast of a saint like Dominic, the founder of all things Dominican, it can be difficult to see a model for our lives – legendary saints like this […]
It can be easy to pray for certain things – for medical test results to be negative, for a troubled family member, for the world to recover from the coronavirus… […]
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was a man led by the Spirit into many places he never thought he would have gone. In the song “Loyola,” I try to capture a […]
If you’re like me, you are so over the pandemic. We’re tired of physical distancing, tired of wearing masks, tired of the anxiety and worry about our loved ones. And […]
If you wear the lauded Iron Ring of the engineer on your little finger, you have St. Martha to thank… or rather St. Martha via the poet Rudyard Kipling. In […]
I recall when I first met Brother Ignatius Feaver O.F.M cap almost 2 years ago. It was in his office where, even now at age 80, he accompanies others as […]
As a woman, I have always been inspired and fascinated by Mary Magdalene. When we consider Mary Magdalene as a model of faith and courage, the assumptions and interpretations of her […]