BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
On 27 April 2005, at his first General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI told the assembled crowds why he had chosen that name for his ministry as Bishop of Rome. Among other reasons, this was an homage to Saint Benedict, whose feast we celebrate today, who has played such a role in the spiritual and cultural ...read more
On July 4 – 6, 2014, Toronto and I got our first Steubenville Youth Conference experience. The main topic was “God is…”. Of course everyone knows that young people like to dance, play games and sing together.  But have you ever seen today’s youth  enjoy celebrating mass, going to confession and kneeling down before the Eucharist ...read more
Last week, the Archbishop of Krakow Cardinal Stanislaus Dziwisz released the official logo and prayer of World Youth Day 2016, to take place in Krakow, Poland from July 26-31. The logo, designed by Monika Rybczynska, a 28 year old designer and video editor from Ostrzeszow, Poland, personifies the theme of World Youth Day, taken from ...read more
It was not too long ago that we heard about the Syrian civil war every night on the news.  As the original struggle of the Syrian people for greater liberty morphed into a violent tit-for-tat with Bashar al-Assad’s government, the eyes of the international community were fixed on the country, appalled daily by the skyrocketing ...read more
We’ve spent the last month looking at what it means to have euthanasia and/or assisted suicide legal in our country (see part 4, part 3, part 2 and part 1). Let me conclude by giving you some definitions to help you have this conversation with your family and friends. Passive Euthanasia: Some will claim that ...read more
Once again the eyes of the world were on the Vatican this week. Pope Francis met with six people who were abused by priests at some point in their lives. The three men and three women attended a special private Mass at the Santa Marta Residence, had breakfast with the pope, and then met with ...read more
Steubenville Toronto Day 3   The final day of #SteubieTO began with a men’s/women’s session titled God is Writing Your Story. Jackie Francois led the women’s session in the arena… while Mike Gormley to the men far away to the Coca Cola Court for their talk.   And the men’s session led by the amazing ...read more
  Stueubenville Toronto Day 2 S+L team ready for day 2! #SteubieTO @steubieTO @archtoronto pic.twitter.com/LjMkR6KWVP — Salt + Light (@saltandlighttv) July 5, 2014 SteubieTO Day 2 began with a lively morning worship session led by the amazingly talented Ike Ndolo, his band and Jakie Francois!    Teens, chaperones and volunteers alike were all excited for ...read more
 I had been explaining some red-flags that I found in the book Final Exit by Derek Humphry (see Part 3, and also Part 2), and ended up talking about relativism: You may not want euthanasia for yourself, but don’t impose your beliefs on someone else, which is the number one flaw with this book, and ...read more
Steubenville Toronto kicked off early yesterday evening with over 2300 teens and 200 plus volunteers. It’s electric in here. #SteubieTO pic.twitter.com/o6Rcwgjk8E — Steubenville Toronto (@steubieTO) July 4, 2014 As conference organizers ran around with earpieces looking like the newest member of the Secret Service, teens shuffled into the Mattamy Athletic Centre, ecstatic and excited to ...read more