Today we mark the World Day for Consecrated Life—and well we should. Throughout history and in many countries around the world, religious communities have been the channel of the Church’s message of love and faith. In Canada, we suffer from…
January was cruel for Toronto public schools, teachers, students and parents. Putting aside the resignation of the Director for alleged plagiarism, everyone has suffered from the lack of leadership displayed by most of the adults in this sorry tale. Parents…
As a young university student, I learned a prayer that continues to speak deeply to me to this day: “Grant, O Merciful God, That I may ardently desire, Truthfully acknowledge, And perfectly accomplish, What is pleasing to Thee, For the…
Today’s commemoration of the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus has entered the public imagination in ways that go beyond Church circles or even Christianity. We often refer to our own “Damascus” experience to describe our own…
For most of us, the feast days that celebrate our type of faith should be the Sundays of Ordinary Time. While the ordering or numbering of Sundays gives the name to Ordinary Time, as a faithful ordinary Catholic this time between Christmas…
If I know anything about human nature, I’d say the rich young man who asks Jesus about eternal life expects a very different answer. While today’s Communion antiphon is taken from Matthew’s gospel, this encounter is detailed in all three…
I never asked, but am pretty sure that no one saw the heavens open on the day of my baptism. Nor did I notice it happening at any of the hundreds of baptisms I witnessed as a music minister at…
When many of us hear the term ‘catholic,’ we often think of the Catholic Church. In fact, each Sunday you might recall that we say this word when we pray the Creed: “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic…
“The two aspects of a miracle are therefore God’s compassion for human suffering and faith in God’s presence in our lives. Brother André prayed the stations of the cross every day because he saw in Jesus the God who shared…
When news slows down over the Christmas season, media outlets often resort to seasonal stock stories. A classic piece asks astronomers about the star that led the wise men to Bethlehem. Was it a comet? A meteor or supernova? As engaging as…