“The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated around the world on January 18-25, which are also dates recommended by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. However, there has also been a long-standing practice by a number of communities…
In this season of Advent, when we wait in joyful hope, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She shines here as she does throughout history bringing mercy and hope to all. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe…
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…
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)…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…