Saint Maximilian Kolbe
It is a profoundly humbling task to gaze at the life of Maximilian Kolbe and not be utterly blindsided by this radiant saint! Writer Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in this…
St. Lawrence and the Ministry of Deacons
Although many of us are accustomed to deacons serving in our communities, a permanent diaconate is a very new experience for those of us in the Western Church. Despite references to deacons in the Christian scriptures, and the profound witness…
Novalis’ Adventures Across Canada
The Novalis offices have been rather quiet the past few days. This is not to suggest, however, that little is being done. Instead, all of us on staff are hard at work preparing for the fall season and several are…
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” The famous poetic assertion of Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins aptly summarizes the heart of Ignatian spirituality, an approach to God, prayer and life built upon the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius…
Parents Nurturing Children’s Faith
When my children were small, we used to visit my late in-laws every Sunday afternoon. My husband’s family originally came from France in the mid-seventeenth century, so my in-laws were Catholics of the old school. They embraced many traditions including…
El Camino
At the heart of our Christian spirituality is the belief that we are a pilgrim people. From birth to death our lives are marked by rites of passage leading us to the day when we hope to enter into the…
Q & A with the Tataryns
Myroslaw and Maria Tataryn are the authors of our Spring title Discovering Trinity in Disability: A Theology for Embracing Difference. As parents of three daughters, two of whom are labeled disabled, the authors explore the Scriptures and writings of early…
Dispelling the Myths of Mary Magdalene
The New Testament accords Mary Magdalene a place of honour, not only locating her by name at the foot of the cross but also identifying her as one of the first witnesses to the resurrection. Saint Augustine called her the…
St. Joseph and the Eucharistic Prayer
Adding Saint Joseph to the other three main Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Rite is part of a new development in devotion to the husband of the Blessed Virgin. I have been wondering what this seemingly random act of the…
Praying the Psalms
People often complain to me that the Bible holds little that is relevant to their lives today. The Old Testament in particular, they argue, contains archaic language and images of a violent and vengeful God. How can THAT help them…