Last Sunday, Pope Francis visited the parish of Santa Maria Josefa del Cuore di Gesù in Ponte di Nona, in the eastern outskirts of Rome, an area of ??town that suffers problems such as poverty and unemployment. It was his thirteenth visit to a parish in his diocese. John Paul II had also visited that ...read more

Catholics who remember the paradigm shift that took place at Vatican II often point to the transformation of the liturgy as its most concrete expression. That’s understandable. As Catholics, the Mass is the most frequented celebration in the life of the community.  Even if you didn’t follow the theological developments at the Council, you couldn’t escape the ...read more

“He imposes peace in His heights. Can His troops be numbered? On whom does His light not shine?[…] even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in His sight.” Book of Job, Chapter 25 Few books of the Bible are as telling as The Book of Job. Some books of the ...read more

Last week I mentioned that I enjoy praying with the Psalms. In fact I enjoy praying with Scripture. Scripture is good because, not only does it always give us the words that we may need, but it always is the Voice of God speaking to us. Since prayer is not just a one-way conversation (what ...read more

In countries where the majority of the population is of Christian background, the question of dialogue with Muslims may not be such a pressing one. Although this very question is in the minds of many, especially now with the influx of refugees from the Middle East. It is also a question that is important for ...read more

Last Saturday the Pope appointed Henryk Hoser, Archbishop of Warsaw, as the special envoy to Medjugorje. In the official statement by the Holy See, it reads that: The mission has the aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation there, and above all, of the needs of the faithful who go there on pilgrimage, ...read more

It can be difficult to get through winter in the city, especially when it seems all color has been sucked out of the landscape. Grey skies, iced-over trees, wet and muddy sidewalks, black coats, black boots, black, black, black, grey, grey, grey… these are not what dreams are made of. And, on the rare occasion when ...read more

It is indeed that time of year again. For those of you who partied-hard over the past two days, (Pancake Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi-Gras etc…) to prepare for the next 40 days, and are now just wondering what to give up for lent, you’ve come to the right place. Here is a great article that’ll help you think about ...read more

Last week we defined prayer as relationship. If our relationship with God is a love relationship (and it should be), then prayer is how we relate with our loved one. When I was a little kid, my mother taught us that prayer was just talking. That’s why I’m not so much into the standard prayers; ...read more

(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