BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
I wrote the blog Encores for Brother André, mentioning the rebroadcast of the Canonization Mass and the airdates for my Catholic Focus: Remembering Brother André episode this coming weekend. But there’s much more Br. André to catch this weekend than that! So, check this out: 1. Rebroadcast of the Coverage of the Canonization Mass: Saturday, ...read more
MONTREAL — Effie Cordeiro is still in a state of sublime joy nearly two weeks after receiving the Eucharist from the Pope October 17, during the canonization Mass for Brother André. “It was awesome, amazing. I’m still trying to absorb it,” said the mother of three young adult children, whose births she and her husband, ...read more
Do you find yourself ranting about the perils of facebook? Do you overhear busride tales depicting blogosphere character assassination? Do you think you’ve fulfilled your duty when you post a birthday message on a friend’s wall? Social networking takes up a large portion of our lives; not only do we do it, but we talk ...read more
MONTREAL — The beauty of icons is in their ability to allow people to encounter the sacred and to apprehend what is essential to their lives. Following a long-standing Church tradition to write icons of the saints, two official icons of Canada’s newest saint were written. The new icons of Brother André, written by Quebec ...read more
There were so many wonderful people I met and so many wonderful stories I heard during the filming for the documentary God’s Doorkeeper:  St. André of Montreal. Unfortunately, I couldn’t include them all in the documentary! So we’ve decided to feature a special episode of Catholic Focus entitled “Remembering Brother André”. This episode will give ...read more
By Sabrina Di Matteo, editor of Haute Fidélité MONTREAL – Nearly 1,000 pilgrims formed the official Montreal and St. Joseph’s Oratory delegation at Brother André’s canonization Mass, last October 17. A little over a week later, these 915 wizened travelers are back, hands and hearts full of pictures and treasured moments. Two people from the ...read more
There has been a tremendous outpouring of love for Saint André of Montreal over the last few weeks. That shouldn’t be  too much of a surprise — at least in light of a recently released document on Popular Piety in Canada. The document was released on the first day of the Canadian Conference of Catholic ...read more
On Sunday Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the closing Mass of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. During his homily he announced the theme of the next Synod of Bishops, in 2012. That Synod will be focused on new Evangelization. The Holy Father said: I have decided to dedicate the next Ordinary General Assembly, ...read more
After two weeks of speeches, discussion, study and prayer, the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East came to a close. The last order of business was to had over to the Holy Father a list of recommendations regarding the current situation of the Churches in the Middle East. It’s a long list of propositions. ...read more
Of making many books there is no end. – Ecclesiastes 12:12 I found this Scripture verse, funnily enough, during my reading research for the second season of Salt + Light’s book show, Word for Word. Of making many books there is no end, and I felt like I was wading through them all, trying to ...read more