BLOG: Saints and Blesseds
Say the name Junípero Serra in American church circles and you are likely to get a mixed set of reactions. Some will tell you he is the saintly Franciscan who evangelized what is today the U.S. Others will tell you this is the man who forced the natives to convert by confining them to the ...read more
Memorial: August 20 Considered the last of the Fathers of the Church, St. Bernard of Clairvaux has been celebrated for centuries as a man of great intellect and greater holiness. As is evident in his prolific writings, Bernard was one for whom the Word of God impregnated every aspect of the human experience. He knew ...read more
Today is the bicentenary of the priestly ordination of the Curé of Ars. God always supplies the Church with saints in each century, but a few of these shine so brightly that everyone can recognize them even during their lifetime. St. John Vianney is such a saint, who easily became my favourite after I had ...read more
  As part of my research into the life of Venerable Henriette Delille, founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, I recently attended aa unique Mass at St. Augustine’s Church – the place where Henriette Delille and Juliette Gaudin pledged to live in community; thus founding the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy ...read more
Carlos Ferreira reflects on a visit to the site of St. Ignatius of Loyola's conversion and how God uses us with all our imperfections for His great works. ...read more
A household name for many, the Knights of Columbus have grown into the world’s largest lay Catholic organization. But, surprisingly, there’s still a lot of mystery that surrounds these noble men. In light of the upcoming Supreme Convention, we thought you might want to find out why the Knights remain the ‘Strong Arm of the Church’. ...read more
What lessons can we learn from the life of Mary Magdalene? A reflection in honour of her feast day. ...read more
This month there will be hundreds of Masses heard around the globe in honour of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, whose feast day is on June 26th. But, in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 20th, about six hundred faithful gathered at St. Mary’s Ukraine Catholic Church to kick off the celebration a little ...read more
On the evening of June 3, 1963, as Mass was being celebrated in the plaza below his window, Pope John XXIII quietly passed away. He had been suffering from stomach cancer for some time, although his illness had only been revealed to the public in March of that same year. Still, he faced that final ...read more
The problem with holiness is that we don’t think it’s for us. We believe that we are made for Heaven. We believe that God wants us to go to Heaven, but how many of us would say that we belong in Heaven? How many of us would say that we are going to Heaven? Sure, ...read more