REMEMBRANCE DAY
Remembrance Day started out as a means to remember all those who died in World War I. It was to be the war to end all wars. Why did it not work? There are 32 armed conflicts going on at…
Category Events
ADSUMUS SANCTE SPIRITUS: A REFLECTION ON SYNOD 2021-2024 IN ROME
Adsumus Sancte Spiritus. We stand before You, Holy Spirit! October has been an unprecedented month for the Catholic church. Delegates from around the world have been called together by the Holy Father in synod – from the Greek syn (together)…
NEVER-ENDING LOVE: WORLD PREGNANCY AND INFANT LOSS REMEMBRANCE DAY
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…
NEVER-ENDING LOVE: WORLD PREGNANCY AND INFANT LOSS REMEMBRANCE DAY
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…
BLESSED THANKSGIVING
In Mary Jo Leddy’s book Radical Gratitude, she introduces the following phrase for reflection: “It would be enough if….” This is a wonderful way to fall into a spirit of gratitude. It would be enough if I owned a house…
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION
In 2015, Pope Francis announced that the Roman Catholic Church would join with the Orthodox Churches in recognizing September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Since that time, there has been broad ecumenical observance…
TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD
This moment in Jesus’ life is described in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17: 1-8; Mark 9: 2-8; and Luke 9:28-36) and in 2 Peter 1:16-18. Three of Jesus’ disciples accompany him up a mountain to experience an extraordinary event. Jesus…
CELEBRATING GRAND-PEOPLE
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…
THE PALLIUM MASS
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…
PENTECOST
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…