Bridge Builders
Last weekend I went on retreat with about 30 people from across Ontario. We were a diverse group, with women and men of all ages, vocations and very different views about God and faith. Despite our seemingly radical differences, we…
Novalis Seeds of Faith
Greening Your Church
In 1930, an Englishman named Edmond K. Blyth was driving home from a visit to Liverpool Cathedral. He’d been a soldier in the First World War, and three of his friends from when he was a cadet—John Bennett, Arthur Bailey…
Friday Favourites: Peace: The Prayer of St. Francis
The Internet has failed me. To be fair, the Internet fails me on a regular basis. Today, though, the Internet has failed me in a professional sense: I can’t find the clip on YouTube I was looking for. I’m not…
Friday Favourites: The Unfolding Journey
In one of my favourite fantasy novels, Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett—this relates to The Unfolding Journey, I promise—two people are sitting in a beautiful landscape magically removed from the normal world. There is wind and sunlight in the…
From a Pilgrim’s Notebook
A pilgrimage is unlike any other form of travel. The goal is not how many pictures you’ve taken or how many souvenirs can be squeezed into a suitcase but achieving some form of spiritual growth, a chance for a new…
Friday Favourites: Signs: Seven Words of Hope
On Wednesday night a group of us from Novalis were invited to a film screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, hosted by the Jesuit community in Toronto. There was good wine, beef and shrimp sliders (for us), popcorn (not for…
From a Pilgrim’s Notebook: The Spiritual Masterpieces of Florence
Art has long served as a source of spiritual inspiration—a way to learn more about what we believe as well as a vehicle to express thoughts and feelings transcend words. There is no greater treasure trove of Christian religious art…
From a Pilgrim’s Notebook: Saint Catherine of Siena
Faith is at once a communal act and something intensely personal. While we pray together as one Church, our experiences, needs and concerns provide each of us with a very individual lens through which our faith life is filtered. So…
From a Pilgrim’s Notebook: Assisi
“Hic locus sanctus est.” This inscription,which translates to “This is a holy place,” can be found at the entrance to the little chapel of Porziuncula in Assisi. The tiny church, which now is enclosed within the walls of St. Mary…
From the Pilgrim’s Notebook: The Catacombs and St. Peter’s Basilica
The sheer scope of Christianity was brought home to our Living with Christ pilgrimage on our second day of touring. In the morning we visited the Catacombs of Saint Calixtus on the Appian Way, the road where Christ is said…