I remember once, a Cuban friend who grew up in Cuba with no Christmas, telling me that she had never seen or heard of a Christmas tree before she left Cuba. But had Christ never been born, the implications would be much worse than not having Christmas trees. Just think of the music we’d be ...read more

But it's hard to escape the baggage of Christmas. It’s usually about this time that I start thinking about all the people who get lonely at Christmas. It’s true. This holiday reminds us of family, of our childhood and many people don’t have that, or have issues to reconcile or a past that they would rather not remember. Secular Christmas brings all that to the forefront. ...read more

Earlier this week I found myself listening to R.E.M.’s It’s the End of the World (although I much prefer the cover by Great Big Sea). It’s a good song and, while I’m not exactly sure what it’s about, I always think about it around this time of the year when all the Mass readings have ...read more

I have many friends who do not participate in Halloween activities. They refuse to do so because they believe that Halloween is a pagan holiday. Some even go as far as saying that it is a Satanic feast. I’ve always felt that there’s nothing wrong with participating in Halloween activities. After all, I don’t believe ...read more

If you’re in the Church, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore our missionary call. This something Pope Francis has continually talked about since his first year of papacy: go out to the peripheries; get out of the sacristies; go and make disciples of all nations. In a way, the ground was prepared by Pope ...read more

As we await further details of Pope Francis' promised visit to Canada, Deacon Pedro takes a look back at two earlier papal visits. ...read more

As many things start returning to a pre-COVID "normal", Deacon Pedro reflects on 5 pandemic adjustments he hopes we keep. ...read more

As we embark on the season of Lent this week, Deacon Pedro looks at the practice of fasting and abstinence. What is it? And why do we do it? ...read more

Deacon Pedro continues exploring canonization by looking more closely at the process by which holy people are declared saints in the Catholic Church. ...read more

How does the Catholic Church go about "making saints"? Deacon Pedro gives us a brief history of canonization. ...read more