The news has been full of stories of people who started decorating their homes for Christmas the week after Halloween. Suddenly, on balmy autumn days, we were seeing Christmas lights strewn over the neighbours’ shrubbery and inflated Rudolphs and Santas…
We pray that each one of us will hear and take to heart the cry of the Earth and of the victims of natural disasters and climactic change, and that all will undertake to personally care for the world in…
We’ve been hearing a lot about synodality over the last couple of years, since Pope Francis announced the Synod on Synodality, a three-year worldwide process of discernment by lay people and ordained alike on how to move forward together as…
The Our Father is one of the world’s best-known prayers, recited daily by millions of Christians around the world. For Catholics, it holds a special place in our Eucharistic liturgy, spoken by the entire congregation with reverence. But how many…
Last week, the city of Ottawa was ravaged by another ice storm. The huge pine tree in my backyard lost many heavy limbs and the yard was full of the pine needles, twigs and branches. We are lucky that the…
Dear Adults, Kids love me because I love them first. Ever since I was a kid myself, I’ve done what I could for the vulnerable – all those folks who can’t stand tall enough to reach the table and help…
Once again, the media brought out the plight of migrants this week in the coverage of their shipment to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. They were loaded onto planes and buses and sent somewhere under false pretences. Many expressed feeling embarrassed at…
This Canada Day, events such as the discovery of the children’s burial sites at the Kamloops Indian Residential School bring us to a more sombre reflection on the spiritual landscape of our country. My recent book, Northern Light: A Canadian…
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457), the patron saint of abused wives. We need her help. Whether labelled the “perfect storm,” a “pandemic within a pandemic,” a “shadow pandemic,” “intimate partner violence,” or just “domestic…
Consider fresh water. We use it for cooking, cleaning, bathing, agriculture and for just about all our economic activities. Yet, of all the water on Earth, only 2.5% of that is fresh water; and most of that lies in icecaps…