The relationship between a grandchild and a grandparent can be locus of the most profound experiences of love and joy. The other day, I returned home from a month-long trip. My daughter Beth and 15-month-old grand-daughter Aliyah picked me up…
I know quite a few people who have walked the hundreds of kilometres along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Way of St. James) in Spain – either all at once or over a few years. Their reasons for…
I am fortunate to be in Rome studying this summer with a group of students from Regis College and St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. And I am supremely fortunate to have been here on June 29, the feast of…
I suspect that almost everyone knows who Sts. Peter and Paul were. These leaders of the early Church are known from Scripture, especially from the Acts of the Apostles and from Paul’s letters. Both were Jewish before they became Christian.…
How important is a land acknowledgement? It may seem like a trite and pointless exercise, a trivial response to the injustices of colonialism. However, imagine a new generation of Canadians who understand the history of this land from the perspective…
Ah, summertime… Time to kick back and relax, spend time with friends and family outdoors, take a break from the usual routine, and of course catch up on your reading! Here are a few great reads from Novalis for the…
On a Tuesday night at St. Ignatius Parish 14 young people stand ready to be anointed with oil. They have come from many different situations and different schools. Some of them are new Canadians. We often talk of how discouraged…
Today is World Communications Day, which we mark every May, on the feast of the Ascension. This is appropriate: in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus sends out the eleven disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations” –…
Dear Church, On this Mother’s Day, I am writing this letter on behalf of all mothers, explaining what we need from our Christian community. The first thing I would like to say is that motherhood is a complex reality. In…
We adopted our first child when she was 11 days old. We were told by the social worker that her birth mother loved her dearly but could not offer the life she hoped for the child. Hearing this, we…