Had you asked me when I was a little boy, what Mary, the Mother of God, looked like, I would’ve said that she’s dark skinned, pregnant, wears a rose coloured dress with blue-green cape and has the sun’s rays shining out of her (or from behind her). On her cloak there are the constellations, she ...read more

Death. Judgment. Heaven. Hell — the Four Last Things. A pretty heavy subject – especially this time of year when in most places the eggnog is freely flowing and Christmas carols are ringing in our ears. On the other hand, perhaps it is an appropriate program this time of year. Advent is a time to ...read more

On Thursday, December 6th, from 11:30 am to 3 pm ET, a Salt and Light colleague (Kris Dmytrenko) and I had the great honour of attending a day of celebration with the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Themed Faith and Character Development: A Celebration, the event took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It ...read more

“The real problem in Quebec is not the presence of religious signs or the emergence of new invasive religious symbols in public spaces. The real problem in Quebec is the spiritual vacuum created by a religious and cultural rupture, a substantial loss of memory, leading to a crisis of the family and education, leaving citizens ...read more

On Catholic Focus this Saturday we address our cultural identity crisis. If you’re not aware we had one, you’re likely not from Quebec, where the Bouchard-Taylor commission is wrestling with the conflicting claims of nationalism, secularism and freedom of religion. Though these tensions are drawing the most attention in Quebec, they underlie issues in English ...read more

[This review of The Golden Compass comes from one of our behind the scenes Salt + Light staff, David LeRoss] “This is a vision of a parallel world. A world with no Magisterium, no authority…” “That is heresy.” “That is the truth.” – The Golden Compass, movie The film The Golden Compass arrives in theatres ...read more

December 6th is the feast day of St. Nicholas. However, you are probably more familiar with his other name…Santa Claus. Santa Claus has become firmly entrenched in our culture and collective memory as the jolly, rotund, bearded and gift bearing fellow from North Pole. We take our kids to the mall to request gifts from ...read more

[This blog comes from Fr. Gordon Kennedy, C.S.B., who helps us out here at Salt + Light. You can catch Fr. Gordon on the Advent round table Focus episode which airs Thursday December 6th and Sunday, December 9th at 7pm and 11pm ET] Of all the Seasons on the Church’s Calendar, I think that the ...read more

Following a series of raps on the cathedral door, Most Rev. Anthony Mancini claimed his new seat as Archbishop of Halifax (and Apostolic Administrator of Yarmouth). Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Luigi Ventura, Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte and former Halifax Archbishop Terrence Prendergast were among the hundreds gathered in St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica on Thursday afternoon. A former ...read more

“One of the two who heard John [the Baptist] speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (Jn 1:40-41) Whenever I hear this passage about Andrew I think of the excitement of a child — a wide eyed innocence, ...read more