Sickness can turn our lives upside down, whether we are the ones who are ill or whether we are offering support and solace to a suffering loved one. Serious illness is not only frustrating but also frightening, because it is…
The work of Carvaggio, the master Renaissance artist, proves a picture really is worth a thousand words. His powerful painting, Conversion on the Way to Damascus, has forever cemented in popular culture that notion that St. Paul was riding a…
On the feast of St. Agnes there is an interesting blessing celebrated at the church of the saint on Piazza Navona in Rome. Two lambs are blessed, and when they have grown, the wool from these lambs is woven and…
“That they may all be one.” To Christians around the world, this prayer of Jesus (John 17.21) is something of a mantra at this time of year. From Saturday, Jan. 18, to Sunday, Jan. 26, our churches will echo with…
Comet Hale-Bopp hung brightly in the clear night sky – seemingly in suspended animation! I had just come out of church at the conclusion of the 8:00 p.m. Mass. I’d been waiting seemingly endlessly to finally see for myself this…
The Christmas season is all about joy. This is not what we might think: true joy is not synonymous with laughter or merry-making, though these might be expressions of it. True joy is something much deeper — and much rarer.…
Asked to name some of the hallmarks of the Advent season, most of us would have no problem mentioning the Advent wreath, or the use of rose and violet vestments. Perhaps less well-known—but equally beautiful—are the O Antiphons, the evening…
The liturgical colour in some churches will change to rose from violet this weekend. It is Gaudete Sunday—Rejoice Sunday. Knowing what is going on with these colours can help us to understand what is going on in Advent. Before we…
Mary, Mother of God, is honoured with an endless list of titles. Some, like Our Lady of Lourdes, link Mary to a place. Others, like Our Lady of Perpetual Help, reference the reasons we turn to Mary in prayer. Still…
December 8th is a special day for us at Novalis. Aside from being the traditional feast day of the Immaculate Conception, it is the very day that our founder, Fr. André Guay, began what would become Novalis. His dedication to…