BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
As the eyes of the world turn to Vancouver to see who will fly higher, finish with the fastest time, break the most records and win the most medals, the eyes of Salt+Light have turned to the Vancouver Olympics to see how the Church is rising to this unprecedented occasion. It turns out the entire ...read more
The Olympics start tomorrow, and all the media attention will be on Canada and the world’s greatest athletes! Yesterday, I visited with someone who could have made it to the Olympics, someone who could have carried the Olympic torch. She is 91-year-old Sr. Frances Ordway, a Loretto sister living at the Loretto Abbey convent in ...read more
Today we recognize the feast of St.  Scholastica. Scholastica is the younger sister of St.  Benedict, the father of Western Monasticism, and I’d like to share a charming story from St. Gregory about the bond between the two.  Benedict was visiting Scholastica and she had the sense, likely divinely inspired, that this would be the ...read more
Through catechesis and witness talks Nothing More Beautiful is inviting viewers to encounter anew the beauty of Christ. The latest encounter of this Archdiocese of Edmonton initiative focuses on the theme of Jesus Christ: Lamb of God and Bread of Life. Bishop Gary Gordon of the Diocese of Whitehorse, Yukon, provides the catechesis talk.  Prior ...read more
As mentioned by Mary Rose Bacani on tonight’s edition of Perspectives, the sacred sisterhood, (a topic that does not surface much nowadays on the mainstream media circuit) will be profiled on national television. Tomorrow, (Tuesday, February 9th  at 4 pm Eastern Time) the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist will be one of ...read more
I’ve never watched a single Super Bowl game in my entire life, but because of all the controversy surrounding the advertisement produced by Focus on the Family, I just might tune into this Sunday’s game. Nobody has seen this ad yet, but it has already sparked a wild and sometimes outlandish debate. We’re told that ...read more
Ottawa reader Fr. Jonathon Blake responded to my last post about the Holy Land, where I expressed how difficult it was to maintain a pilgrimage mindset amidst work responsibilities. He suggested that this challenge could be similar to a priest’s experience of Christmas, when accumulated graces might only reveal themselves once the “marathon” schedule has ...read more
Be sure to watch the launch of Perspectives: The Weekly Edition tonight at 7 and 11 pm ET (8 pm PT). Joining me are newly-ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto Vincent Nguyen and screenwriter/blogger Sr. Marie-Paul Curley of the Daughters of St. Paul. (Prior to tonight, Bishop Nguyen’s most recently appeared on CBC’s “The Hour” with ...read more
The efforts to provide medical supplies and rebuild Haiti are well underway, but they still need our support as thousands have been left completely homeless. That is why, for those in Toronto, the youth of the Franciscan church of St. Bonaventure Parish are hosting a concert to raise money for the Haitian people. This is ...read more
With Steve Job’s iPad announcement last week, the conception of digital media has once again been put into hyper-drive. Advances like these in modern technology have granted public access to a seemingly endless source of information and media. If religion is to remain relevant to the new “plugged-in” generation, it too must embrace the times ...read more