BLOG: Dialogue,Faith Education,Lent and Easter
(S+L Photo: Ahmet Tarmici, National Director of the Intercultural Dialogue Institute (far left) moderates a discussion as Dalia Hashim (far right), Kevin Lo (middle right), and Naomi Shore (middle left) answer questions related to religion and culture in Canada today.) How do we stay true to ourselves in a multicultural context? That was the question ...read more
Read Pope Francis’ message for Lent 2017 below: The Word is a gift. Other persons are a gift. Dear Brothers and Sisters, Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God “with ...read more
Today, we had the great pleasure of welcoming the Niagara Catholic Chaplaincy leaders to our office and studios for a professional development and workshop day. We started the day with morning prayer and a short history of Salt + Light by Fr. Thomas Rosica. We then headed into our morning sessions led by Deacon Pedro ...read more
(S+L Photo: Fr. Damian MacPherson, SA of the Archdiocese of Toronto (right) and Pastor Christian Ceconi of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (middle) discuss potential ground-breaking initiatives of Christian unity in 2017 with host Sebastian Gomes) Traditionally the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated between two feasts: the Confession of Saint Peter (January 18) ...read more
The quest for the unity of all Christians depends above all on God’s grace. Peace, reconciliation, mutual understanding and forgiveness, communion in faith and love–are all gifts from the Father in the Son through the Holy Spirit. There is also the question of overcoming the theological controversies that divided the Churches in the first place. ...read more
2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Peace is long overdue, but it won’t happen without a commitment to real dialogue that builds bridges instead of walls. After a 2016 visit to the Holy Land, S+L Producer Sebastian Gomes reflects on his unsettling encounter with reality on the ground. “Go sit ...read more
“For God so loved the world, he gave us his only son.” ( John 3:16) The faith is really down to earth. It is not just let us to learn and experience the mercy from Jesus, but also to narrow down the distance between God and us by his dialogue. On October 28, 2015, Pope ...read more
A few weeks ago, I went to a mass of celebration for Sr. Corazon Beboso, FMA's 40th Anniversary of Religious Profession (Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco). Sr. Cora is one of my super learning models. Her youthful and energetic heart is always a booster drink for my soul. “Yes Lord, Yes Lord. Yes Yes Lord… Amen, Amen” is her favorite song. I would guess she has sang this song at every single event I have attended. And, we celebrated her “YES” to the Lord for 40 years. ...read more
“I echo the desire of many in expressing my hope that the objectives outlined by the Paris Agreement do not remain simply as good words, but rather that they are transformed into courageous decisions!“ Pope Francis, Message for World Food Day, Oct. 14, 2016 Small family farmers are at the heart of ecological justice.  That’s the message Development ...read more
CNS photo/Art Babych Euthanasia comes to Canada  “There are two ways, the way to life and the way to death, and there is a great difference between them.” These wise words from an ancient Christian writer come to mind as we mark Parliament’s enactment of the law implementing the Supreme Court’s decision on euthanasia and assisted suicide, which ...read more