ASCENSION OF THE LORD
The Church has a number of what I would call quasi-liturgical feast days. The World Day of Peace on January 1, takes advantage of the Solemnity of Mary and the beginning of the civil year to pray for peace. In…
OUR LADY OF FATIMA
Every age has its own moments of meaning. Imagine a rural village, Cova da Iria, in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. The world was changing rapidly. Portugal was becoming increasingly more secular. The world was at war. Three shepherd children, Lucia do Santos and her cousins Francisco…
CANADA HEALTH DAY: A PRAYER FOR HEALERS
“Well, at least you still have your health,” was the constant comfort given by the elders when I grew up. If you lost your job, someone would say, “well, at least you still have your health.” If your children were being…
MOTHERHOOD: A LEAP OF FAITH
Even at the best of times, motherhood is a leap of faith. Women know what awaits them: sleepless nights, worry, emotional and physical demands, financial pressures, exhaustion and much more. They can’t be sure their child will be healthy or…
ST. JOSEPH, THE WORKER
“Working persons, whatever their job may be, are cooperating with God himself, and in some way become creators of the world around us. The crisis of our time, which is economic, social, cultural and spiritual, can serve as a summons…
ST. MARIE OF THE INCARNATION
We sometimes think that the saints had it easy – that they just stepped onto that path of holiness and sailed down it. Marie Guyart’s (1599–1672) path to sainthood had many twists and turns. Although she felt called to devote…
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA: A SAINT FOR OUR TROUBLED TIME
If there was a saint for our current moment in history, St. Catherine of Siena should be the one. Consider the context she lived in. It was late medieval Europe, during the years of the bubonic plague. Close to a…
VOCATION: WHERE GREAT JOY MEETS GREAT NEED
Sr. Mary Hennessey was the co-ordinator of Field Placements at Harvard Divinity School when my husband and I were studying there. She was well known for saying, “A hobby is something you love to do but the world does not…
EARTH DAY AS HOLY DAY
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…
ST. KATERI TEKAKWITHA
“If I only knew then what I know now.” This is what I said to Emund Matatawabin, former Cree Chief at Fort Albany, author and winner of the Order of Canada. He responded that he thought this would make a…