Bring Hope to the World
It is small wonder that the early church chose Dec. 25 to represent the day that Christ was born. Just after the winter solstice, the day of the year in which we experience the longest night, the birth of Jesus…
Novalis Seeds of Faith
St. John of the Cross
Editor’s Note: The following article was to be posted on Monday. Unfortunately, due to some difficulties, we were unable to post it at that time. However, given the significance of St. John of the Cross, we share this post written…
It’s Our 80th Birthday!
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception holds special meaning for all of us here at Novalis. It was on this feast day, Dec. 8, 1935, at a Catholic Action congress in Ottawa that Fr. André Guay proposed to create what…
Do Catholics Really Read the Bible?
It is a well-worn shibboleth that Catholics do not read the Bible. Unlike those studious Protestants, Catholics through the centuries were thought to leave all that Scripture stuff to the priests and nuns. Like any other shibboleth, this one turns…
Climbing the Spiritual Ladder
On the feast of the Presentation of Mary, we remember how the pious Joachim and Anna who have been childless for a long time, in thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, bring her to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate…
Faith and Politics Matters: Supporting Refugees
We were all grief-stricken at the sight of a drowned little boy on a beach in Syria a few short months ago. Unlike nothing else, this image pierced our hearts and galvanized us to take action to help refugees halfway…
Faith is More than a Starbucks Cup
A post appeared on my Facebook newsfeed the other day asserting Starbucks’ newest coffee cup attacks Christianity and its celebration of Christmas. I disregarded the post at first and assumed it was from the satirical news site, The Onion. To my dismay, however,…
We Remember…
Let us pray this day for all those women and men who have given their lives in service of this country. O God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their…
Faith and Politics Matters
The recent federal election was one of the most hard-fought in recent years. It’s become clear that the voter turnout was up considerably and the interest in politics has jumped to a new level. How timely, then, that we at…
Praying with Scripture
Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Jerome (c. 347–420). This monk and theologian was fluent in classical Latin, Greek and Hebrew and was the greatest biblical scholar of the ancient Church. We remember him most for his translation of…