ALL SOULS
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 closest sibling in age. Although his death has brought me much…
Novalis Seeds of Faith
SAINTHOOD IS FOR EVERYONE!
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 for the burial of her sister’s ashes. She was really distraught…
Q&A WITH MARIETTE MARTINEAU, AUTHOR OF SOWING SEEDS: INQUIRY, FAITH AND EARLY LEARNERS
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, all ages, to engage in exploring their relationship with God…
PRAYING FOR OUR DEPARTED LOVED ONES DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
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 and culmination of our earthly pilgrimage. Our faith gives us…
ST. JOHN PAUL II
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 to become bishop of Rome. But it took almost no…
RELIGION INJECTS $67.5 BILLION INTO CANADIAN ECONOMY
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 good. But what’s it worth in cold, hard cash? A…
WORLD FOOD DAY
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. In 2019, more than 39,000 people visited an emergency food…
THANKSGIVING
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 to your surprise but somehow oddly soothing. Already the same…
NEW ENCYCLICAL IS A CRI DE COEUR FROM POPE FRANCIS
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 politics and the economic sphere, being naïve about human nature,…
HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS
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 anchor that can make a world of difference to a…