In Tel Aviv we came across places of worship all within the vicinity of each other – the Mosque on a corner, a Synagogue dating back to the mid-1700s tucked in the Artist’s Quarter, and St. Peter’s Catholic Church along the water front.  It was a contrast of what I had expected – somehow I ...read more

In Canada we have the Esso Tiger. Here they have Delek Dragon.  Same idea, different species.  Or is that genus? I was never good with my classification systems.  Regardless, if one imagines Israel as some kind of country stuck in ancient times – think again.  There is plenty of growth in the cities – old ...read more

After arriving from the airport we spent the next few hours touring around Tel Aviv.  It’s the economic hub of Israel, and nearly two of Israel’s seven million inhabitants call it home.  From what I understand ‘Tel’ means ‘city of ruins’ or ruins and ‘Aviv’ means spring.  It’s a city built on ruins – sprung ...read more

Balloons seem to be big in Israel – or at least for people greeting their friends and relatives at the airport. After an uneventful 11hour flight – which I found to go fairly fast – we landed safely at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.  As we exited into the arrivals area I was surprised ...read more

I was scanning the in-flight magazine trying to find the music station listings when I stumbled upon the above prayer.  There it was on the first page just below the table of contents.  I thought it was a fitting way to begin my one week visit to the Holy Land.  A simple prayer.  A simple ...read more

As you may know, six of us went to Los Angeles, California, to receive on behalf of Salt + Light the Gabriel Award for Television Network of the Year on Saturday, October 25th. We decided not to fly back to Toronto until the afternoon of Monday, October 27th, because we were invited to visit the ...read more

Seldom has a movie both moved me emotionally and challenged me intellectually. In fact, I can count the times this has happened with one hand. Recently it happened while reading the book “The Kite Runner” and it happened again while watching the new film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (PG-13), coming out November 7th. ...read more

This week on The World I Know we look at Faith. If there’s anything we all find challenging in this world, it is holding up the faith. Can we all explain WHAT we believe, and WHY we believe? I could be at Children’s Liturgy at a Sunday Mass in my parish and be asked by ...read more

As a former history major I have always been fascinated by the epic naval battle of Lepanto, considered by many historians to be one of the pivotal battles in western civilization. That is why a recent statement by Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City, Missouri caught my eye. With the US Presidential elections upon ...read more

Before I return to Toronto, I would like to highlight one final result of the Synod of Bishops that may result in a national event on the Word of God. Back on October 8th, Bishop Luc Bouchard asked the synod to consider launching an international congress on Scripture, similar to the International Eucharistic Congresses. The ...read more