If ever there was a time to rediscover the beautiful ministry and wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi, it is now. While we face the crisis of climate change, our devastating history of residential schools and even our anxiety in the…
Since Pope Francis offered the world his reflections in the encyclical Laudato Si’, my consciousness of caring for Creation has been notched up. I have always thought that by not littering, recycling, reusing, reducing, composting, not wasting food, etc, I…
Have you seen My Octopus Teacher? Last month it won an Academy Award for best documentary of 2020. Simple, heart-felt, straight-forward, it charts the year-long friendship that develops between the film-maker and a small octopus off the coast of South…
Earth Day, April 22, is not found on the Catholic liturgical calendar. Other ecological dates have turned up: on September 1 the Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which also marks the beginning of…
By the time Martha looked upstream the dove was just a mote in the sky and the words “my beloved” were trickling off beyond perception like a rose petal on the face of the River Jordan. What it was exactly,…
To make today’s World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation truly inspiring, I’d like to suggest that we pray Pope Francis’ wonderful prayer below. But before we do that, let us start with a contemplation of what he means…
May 24 marks the fifth year since arrival of Laudato sí, Pope Francis’ encyclical On Care for Our Common Home. This is Francis’ greatest gift to us so far. I truly believe this. Laudato sí is a frank (pun intended), and science-based account of…
Have you noticed that bread making is on the rise lately? Apart from toilet paper, flour and yeast appear to be the items most likely out-of-stock in stores. Is this surprising? What if anything does bread-making require? Time. And time…
What is the Reupholstered Psalms about? This book contains reworked versions of the first 50 psalms in the Hebrew Bible. I call them “reupholstered” because the technique used in writing them is akin to the wise and, unfortunately, underutilized art…
In the 1200s, Francis of Assisi made people feel uncomfortable about their lavish lifestyles and disregard for the poor. He got into much trouble for his prophetic lifestyle. Eventually, he was lauded for his beautiful model of voluntary poverty and…