BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
This Sunday, Salt + Light will premiere a film on the life of one of the most significant spiritual influences of the late 20th century – Henri Nouwen. Journey of the Heart, narrated by Susan Sarandon, is a thought-provoking look at the life of this unassuming, charismatic scholar considered by many of his contemporaries as ...read more
A timeless memorial to the millions… During our Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, we made a visit to a place the name of which I never knew, but which now I will never forget. It was a place of silence, a time to listen to the silenced, to the echoing cries of suffering, and to ...read more
St. Augustine told us, “He who sings, pray twice.” I love music. I believe that music is sound reaching out to truth and prayer in song is music reaching out to love. “For the Beauty of the Earth” is one of the hymns I really like. The lyrics are written by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint and ...read more
On Friday, April 29th, a mass will be celebrated for vocations to the ordained life in the Diocese of Montreal. It will be presided by Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal, at the Major’s Seminary Chapel. Various movements, communities, priests, religious and seminarians will be present at this Eucharistic celebration with a special contribution of the Challenge Choir. ...read more
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, and the Secretary for Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns, Susan Timoney, STD, sit down to discuss Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” (On Love in the Family). See the video below: — (CNS photo/Paul Haring) ...read more
We know very little about the woman who is described as the apostle of the apostles, so this village helps fill in some background. ...read more
On Sunday, April 24, 2016, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of Young People. Read below for the full text of his Homily: St. Peter’s Square – Sunday April 24, 2016 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”  Dear young friends, what an enormous ...read more
In exploring the issues of end of life and medically assisted dying, we’ve looked at what the law says and at palliative care. But we can’t ignore the question of freedom and human rights since one of the basic arguments for euthanasia and assisted suicide is that of autonomy: “it’s my body; my choice.” In ...read more
Here’s a look at what we’ve been reading across the country this week: One of Canada’s two member of the Pontifical Academy for Life has suggestions on how Canadians should handle the newly proposed bill on euthanasia. In Winnipeg, Catholic health care providers weighed in on the new proposed bill and offered their own suggestions. ...read more
While Pope Francis has been personally helping Syrian refugees relocate to Europe, a joint Catholic – Russian Orthodox delegation visited Lebanon and Syria. The delegation identified ways the two churches can work together to help Syrians. Officials from the Catholic aid agency Aid to the Church in Need and officials from the Moscow patriarchate of ...read more