2 THANKSGIVING PRAYERS
I offer you on this day of bounty not one, but two thanksgiving prayers. I do this to acknowledge that we do not all approach this feast under the same set of circumstances. Some gather at the table encircled by…
Novalis Seeds of Faith
THE ROSARY, PRAYING AND LIVING A MYSTERY
Using prayer beads in meditative prayer is part of many religions in the world. In Buddhism and Hinduism there are 108 beads for the 108 Sacred Mantras. In Islam there are 100 beads for reciting the 100 great names of…
BLESSED FEAST DAY OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, THE EARLIEST OF ENVIRONMENTALISTS
I am proud of myself that I ate one tomato from my garden this year. One tomato! I placed my statue of St. Francis in the garden and my tomato plant flourished. Still, I was only able to harvest a…
ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX
The liturgical tradition does not have a ceremony for every scenario of loss but it does offer a rich ritual repertoire from which we can draw inspiration and hope. On this Seeds of Faith blog, I am exploring how the…
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION: MOVING BEYOND THE ORANGE SHIRT
Earlier this week, I saw a tweet from an Indigenous person lamenting that many Canadians would be wearing an orange shirt on September 30, and then for the next 364 days, it would be business as usual, with nothing changing…
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
If you have ever lamented the state of divisiveness in the Church today, it may help to delve into a history book and time travel back to the days of St. Vincent de Paul. When he studied in the Faculty…
WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
Once again, the media brought out the plight of migrants this week in the coverage of their shipment to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. They were loaded onto planes and buses and sent somewhere under false pretences. Many expressed feeling embarrassed at…
THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
The liturgical tradition does not have a ceremony for every scenario of loss but it does offer a rich ritual repertoire from which we can draw inspiration and hope. On this Seeds of Faith blog, Simone Brosig explores how the…
THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Not much factual information about Mary’s birthday is known. We have been taught that she was conceived without sin as the Immaculate Conception. We know that her parents were Anne and Joachim whose feast we celebrate at the end of…
JESUS: ALPHA AND OMEGA, LORD OF BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS
As summer winds down for many of us here in Canada, we see this time as one of beginnings and endings. We are grateful for the season of heat and dripping ice cream. We recall the yellow lawns and desperate…