BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
The Church certainly does her share of proclaiming saints. If you think about it, it’s an amazing act of faith–the Church, by Her relationship to the Holy Spirit is able to confidently announce that a soul is in Heaven. If we recall  St. Luke’s account of the good thief on the cross adjacent to Jesus; ...read more
As we mentioned on Monday, Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins has been in Rome as part of the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. While he was there, Catholic News Service caught up with him to ask about his new book Pathway to our Hearts: A Simple Approach to Lectio Divina with the ...read more
As Christians in Pakistan mourn the killing of their boldest representative, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canada’s bishops are keeping his message alive. Shahbaz Bhatti was Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet minister before his assassination on Wednesday. He visited Ottawa in February, where he told Canadian Catholic News that he was “ready to die and sacrifice ...read more
February might become the new month of Mary. Within the past month, she has been making regular appearances in my life. No, not those kind of appearances. Instead, as is her habit, her appearances are often quiet suggestions of beauty, gentleness and humility. Such is her way. This  “re-awakening” to the beauty of Mary within ...read more
For Said Musa, being publicly exposed as a Christian condemned him to death row. Yet his testimony of faith, spread throughout the world, may have also helped secure his liberation. As we reported on the S+L Blog and Perspectives, Musa worked for the Red Cross in Afghanistan when, due to a local television report, he ...read more
Who killed Jesus? From the Gospels, we know that he was crucified directly by Roman soldiers. But those who want to attribute blame for his death have drawn in a wider pool of suspects: Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish people, and all of humanity. The question of Jewish culpability in “deicide” is particularly charged, ...read more
Religious persecution, hope and charity are among the themes touched upon in the new film Of Gods and Men. The award-winning movie looks at the lives of a community of monks living in Algeria. The film portrays the daily rhythm of monastic life, the monks’ dialogue with their Muslim neighbors, as well as their struggle ...read more
Newspapers over the last few month have all too often had stories about the persecution of Christians. From Iraq, to Egypt, to many parts of the Middle East it is unfortunately becoming common to read about assaults on the faithful. Here in the Archdiocese of Toronto, Archbishop Collins have been very encouraging for parishes to ...read more
There’s been lots of changes in the last week on the Episcopal scene in Canada. Last Tuesday Pope Benedict XVI made two appointments involving Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Quebec. The first involved Bishop Gérald Cyprien Lacroix.  He has been named the new Archbishop of Quebec City, succeeding Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who was appointed ...read more
Salt + Light Radio will broadcast its 100th episode on Saturday, February 26. The program, which first aired in January 2009, is part of the media ministry of Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and is available on the Catholic Channel, Sirius Satellite Radio 159 and XM Radio 117. With host Pedro Guevara Mann, Salt ...read more