Advent has a way of sneaking up on us. Just when we’re feeling like the fall routines are in place and we’re adjusting to the time change and the cooler weather, the liturgical calendar shifts into a new season. We’re…
Every year on November 11, we pause in silence. The world remembers the men and women who gave their lives in wars past and present. Their sacrifice is not an abstract idea; it is the reason we are free to…
Last weekend, I happened to be driving in the country at sunrise. It was the first frost of the year and the fields were stunning. I had to stop the car and just gaze for a few moments. The green…
What does it mean to be a saint? An appropriate question, don’t you think, for the solemnity of All Saints, celebrated by the Catholic Church this year on Nov. 1. If asked, most people would refer to the official saints,…
This fall, Novalis published Fifty Irish Lives in Canada, 1661 to 2017, edited by Eamonn McKee and Mark G. McGowan. This rich and inspiring collection by a range of highly respected authors offers a wonderful panorama of the story of…
“Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). With similar words, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each offer this same invitation. This sacred task is placed before us. No borders, no boundaries,…
Today, on October 16, the United Nations invites the world to pause to mark World Food Day, calling us to unite against hunger. This notion deeply resonates with the heart of the Christian faith. World Food Day reminds us that…
“There is always, always, always something to be grateful for.” That is the phrase that I use for my annual Thanksgiving Facebook post. I believe in its truth profoundly. Indeed, I think that a sense of constant and radical gratitude may…
October 4 is the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi, who I believe to be, the best-known saint in our secularized society. He was born sometime in 1181 or 1182, died 1226, and then was canonized quickly in 1228…
September 30 is a painful day in so many ways as we remember and honour the Indigenous children who didn’t return home from residential schools, the survivors, their families and their communities. We also acknowledge the ongoing trauma Indigenous people…