BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
We watched many movies as a family over Christmas break, but none of them made the artistic and emotional impact on me that the 2008 production Slumdog Millionaire did. I will say that Slumdog Millionaire is one of the best movies I’ve seen. Briefly, Slumdog Millionaire is the critically-acclaimed and award winning film by director ...read more
“Over two thousand years, men and women have responded to God’s invitation to grace, all as part of the Body of Christ; Yet, despite the distance of time, culture, and ethnic origins, each call is connected in common struggles and themes, chief of which is, to “pick up his cross and follow me” to empty ...read more
This past October, while in Los Angeles to accept the Gabriel Award for Television station of the Year, I was joined by several members of the Salt + Light staff as we visited the offices and studio of Family Theatre Productions in Hollywood. We were blown away by the quality of the staff, their productions ...read more
I’m very excited to inform you of two things: One, I’ll be going to Nashville with Fr. Thomas Rosica this coming Friday, January 9th, to see the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia (the Nashville Dominicans) once again. It will be my second visit to Nashville and this time I won’t be filming! I will simply ...read more
After a Christmas hiatus, we resume The World I Know: Virtues in Action series. This week we look at Respect. In the first segment of this show, Akheem Isaac introduces us to basketball, dance and all the other ways students can show respect in school. I remember when I was trying to find the perfect ...read more
This past Christmas I watched the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life for the umpteenth time. It’s a film I have never grown tired of just like I never grow tired of Christmas turkey, presents under the tree and Panettone. I have always been inspired by Jimmy Stewart’s gripping portrayal of George Bailey, the down ...read more
It’s a fair question: why would 600 students spend five days of their Christmas break at an religious conference? And just what attracted three archbishops, along with many priests? What could be newsworthy here to merit the attention of our Salt + Light cameras? As tipsy revelers filled Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, a different kind ...read more
“A light will shine on us this day, the Lord is born for us: he shall be called Wonderful God, Prince of Peace, Father of the world to come; and his kingdom will never end.” (Isaiah 9:2, 6) Happy new year! 2009 is just minutes old — at least in Toronto — and though celebrations ...read more
There’s a saying in Italian, “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi.” It means: “Christmas with your family, Easter with who ever you want”…which is why I am in Vancouver. Being home after a year away – probably more like four years away, if I count all my experiences abroad, is a surreal experience. ...read more
If you caught our Catholic Focus Christmas episode you may recall Fr. Rosica referring to the wood of the manger and the wood of the cross.  I’ve found myself thinking of that point this past weekend after visiting the local Church’s Nativity scene.  The Christmas mystery, mingling with the Passion and the Easter mystery. Curiously, ...read more