BLOG: Current Affairs,Faith Education,United States
When my wife and I got married we received many gifts. A group of my mom’s friends gave us what we thought was a pious, if not most unusual gift: a crucifix. With it was a card that read, “every time you gaze on this cross, remember that this is how you must love each ...read more
Dr. Carolyn Woo, the CEO and President of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), was one of five presenters invited by the Vatican to speak at the June 18, 2015 press conference launching Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment. Drawing on her 14 years as dean of the Mendoza School of Business at the University ...read more
To my Venerable Brothers Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Cardinal Kurt Koch,  President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity Sharing the concern of my beloved brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, for the future of creation (cf. Laudato Si’, 7-9), and at the suggestion ...read more
Last week’s Gospel was from John 6:63-68 (the end of the Bread of Life Discourse, which is why we looked at what marriage has to do with the Eucharist) and the second reading was from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. This passage from Ephesians 5:22-32 is always a cause for discontent. That is because no one ...read more
Rosemary Azu is hard to miss in a crowd. She has a natural presence that draws people to her. The fact that she is usually dressed in brightly coloured traditional Nigerian dresses also makes her stand out. That natural confidence in her own identity has helped her build her own successful mortgage and real estate ...read more
When one thinks of Prince Edward Island one tends to think of glowing sunsets over green fields, farms where animals roam free, small towns where everyone knows everyone else, and quaint green-gabled homes. One would not immediately think of the province as a place where 37 percent of people use the services of food banks ...read more
In Abu Dabi in 1993, there was one Catholic Church. The work week in the Arab Emirate was Sunday to Thursday. For Jacqueline Nogier and her husband – both Catholic teachers who were working in Abu Dabi- that meant going to church after work on Sundays. This was Nogier’s life for two years. It taught ...read more
What happens when you gather together some of the most committed, passionate, dedicated Catholic women from across the country in one church? Vancouver’s St. Francis Xavier church in Vancouver learned the answer: the congregation outsings the choir and the decibel level threatens to take the roof off the building. The Catholic Women’s League opened their ...read more
Husbands and wives are called to love each other as God loves us. Last week I asked if this is even possible. We spoke about the story of the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12) and the story of Tobias and Sarah from the Book of Tobit, both popular Wedding readings. Both these stories teach us a ...read more
Last week, we saw that because God loves us freely, faithfully, fruitfully and totally, Married Love, has to be free, faithful, fruitful and total. This is why we can say that in Marriage we come closest to loving another person the way God loves us. But can we do that? Can I love my wife the ...read more