FATHER’S DAY
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…
Category Family
LIFE BEGETS LIFE BEGETS LIFE… (NATIONAL FAMILY AND LIFE WEEK: MAY 13-19)
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…
LISTEN WITH THE EARS OF YOUR HEART!
This day is filled with opportunities for celebration. It might seem tempting to focus on only one. If we quietly allow ourselves to ponder, we might gain a wider perspective that allows us to include all three: Mother’s Day, the…
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
“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…
ST. JOSEPH: IN HONOUR OF REAL DADS
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…
THE GREAT ADVENTURE OF PARENTHOOD
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…
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…
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…
TO THE CHURCH ON MOTHER’S DAY
Dear Church, On this Mother’s Day, I am writing this letter on behalf of all mothers, explaining what we need from our Christian community. The first thing I would like to say is that motherhood is a complex reality. In…