As the days get shorter and cooler, and as our regular routines take shape, we may have more time for diving into a book. Reading is much more than a leisure activity – it’s a way to make sense of…
You didn’t have to embrace the politics of Joe Biden to feel his anguish over the very public trial of his son Hunter on charges he failed to disclose his own addictions when he applied for federal approval to buy…
For those who do not know, I am the proud father of my adopted children. Years ago, each of their birth mothers faced a harrowing choice. They were surrounded by messages and pressures that provided a path to terminating their…
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Do you remember being asked this question as a child? Unlike many of my peers, my response was “I want to be a Sister.” I also wanted to be a teacher from the…
Adapted from There Must be a Pony in Here Somewhere: Everyday Stories of God’s Goodness by Michael and Christine Way Skinner (Novalis, 2020) I am proud that I was made a Dad through adoption. One night, when my son Patrick…
It’s strange that our over-regulated society does next to nothing to prepare young people for parenthood. We license driving an automobile, and insist on passing stringent exams for any number of professions, such as law, medicine and engineering. Yet there…
I hope your Christmas was complete with some of the good things this beautiful season has to offer. In whatever way Christmas came to you this year, I hope you were reminded of the best we are, the best we…
October 15 was World Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. In honour of lives lost, as well as to offer hope and encouragement to those whose lives were touched by such losses, our Novalis Managing Editor Anne Louise Mahoney offered…
Most of us have been touched by miscarriage or infant loss – either personally or through someone we know. This all-too-common loss (around 1 in 5 pregnancies ends in miscarriage) is often unseen and unmourned by the Catholic community. Perhaps…
The start of a school year is filled with a variety of emotions and tasks. When I was teaching, I had feelings of hope and apprehension. What will be the character of my classrooms? What exactly will I be teaching?…