“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…
To the dismay of his pacifist and non-violent parents our son Patrick has always had a fascination with toy guns, swords and anything that has to do with such. Patrick is named after a dear friend of mine who died…
Many years ago, when I was sitting in the room in Ottawa to officially become a Canadian citizen, I was struck by the diversity of people in the room. There were probably 40 or 50 people there, many of those…
When French lawyer and university professor Frédéric Ozanam organized a group of young men into an organization to help the poor of Paris, he decided to put it under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660). He couldn’t have…
September 23 is the feast day of Italian Capuchin Franciscan St. Pius of Pietrelcina (1887-1968). Canonized by St. John Paul II on June 16, 2002, he is popularly known as Padre Pio. St. Padre Pio is reported to have had…
September 14 is a day to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. Growing up millennial and Canadian, I was part of the first generation to participate in fundraiser run and walk each September. I can recall…