Throughout this past week in the daily gospel readings for mass, we have been working our way through Chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel, a passage known as Jesus’ great priestly prayer. Quite providentially, these readings bring us up to the feast days of three important “priestly” saints: St. Bede the Venerable, Pope St. GregoryVII, ...read more

This article was first published in L’Osservatore Romano, no. 21, on Wednesday, May 23, pg. 9. It is written by Salt + Light’s very own Sebastian Gomes. Click here to see all his blog posts. When our most distant ancestors awoke on the first Easter morning, they could not have imagined what took place during ...read more

Thousands of pro-life supporters from across Canada gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa yesterday for the 2012 National March for Life. Khoi Vu and I had the great privilege in taking part in this year’s events. Cloudy skies and a constant threat of rain did not deter the young, old, man and woman from coming ...read more

On the day the church celebrated vocations, the church beatified Giuseppe Toniolo. He is proof that not just those in religious orders are call to be saints. Toniolo was an economist from the Italian city of Treviso father of seven children. Born in Treviso in 1845 the now-blessed Giuseppe Toniolo became known for his work ...read more

Stories are powerful. They inspire us, imbue us with values, and foster a sense of continuity with the past. In fact, I always marvel at how Jesus used parables to reveal realities that could hardly be fathomed by those who heard them. I’ve heard it said that we become the stories we tell ourselves. I’ll ...read more

There was more to celebrate this past weekend than just the Resurrection of our Lord! As reported on Perspectives yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval for Fr. Felix Varela to be given the status of “venerable,” following a unanimous recommendation from the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes. This means that Varela is now ...read more

Today marks the 7th anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s death. This video, “Thank You John Paul II”, is a Salt + Light Television production that pays tribute to a man who touched the hearts of millions of people. We know that Blessed John Paul II will forever be remembered for his courageous bridge-building efforts ...read more

Published below is a message from Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate for all of Ireland. In the Universal Church today, we celebrate the feast day of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. With great joy, on this, the Feast day of St Patrick, our National Apostle, I wish Irish people everywhere a ...read more

Recently, we met with several priests from the Archdiocese of Toronto and asked them what they loved about being priests. The answers were varied and inspiring. For me, the most moving was Fr. Peter Marr who said, “I love that I can bring more love, more healing into the world, which is so broken, and ...read more

I have many fond memories of the years I spent studying with the Benedictines in Collegeville, Minnesota. That Abbey-University combination is quite unique, and it fosters a really vibrant academic (and especially theological) atmosphere. Such a place tends to draw influential people to it, and so on more than one occasion – and often to ...read more