Last week I was imagining a world without Christmas. That would mean no Christmas music and no Christmas movies. But a world without Jesus would mean much more to our popular culture. One of my favourite Broadway musicals is Les Miz. I never read the novel, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and wasn’t crazy about ...read more

I remember once, a Cuban friend who grew up in Cuba with no Christmas, telling me that she had never seen or heard of a Christmas tree before she left Cuba. But had Christ never been born, the implications would be much worse than not having Christmas trees. Just think of the music we’d be ...read more

But it's hard to escape the baggage of Christmas. It’s usually about this time that I start thinking about all the people who get lonely at Christmas. It’s true. This holiday reminds us of family, of our childhood and many people don’t have that, or have issues to reconcile or a past that they would rather not remember. Secular Christmas brings all that to the forefront. ...read more

Earlier this week I found myself listening to R.E.M.’s It’s the End of the World (although I much prefer the cover by Great Big Sea). It’s a good song and, while I’m not exactly sure what it’s about, I always think about it around this time of the year when all the Mass readings have ...read more

Over the past few years, many of us have lost loved ones due to the pandemic. My grandfather passed away last year. He was a social person and would have wanted a big funeral with many people in attendance like the funeral my grandmother had. Instead, he had a private viewing with a few family ...read more

I have many friends who do not participate in Halloween activities. They refuse to do so because they believe that Halloween is a pagan holiday. Some even go as far as saying that it is a Satanic feast. I’ve always felt that there’s nothing wrong with participating in Halloween activities. After all, I don’t believe ...read more

If you’re in the Church, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore our missionary call. This something Pope Francis has continually talked about since his first year of papacy: go out to the peripheries; get out of the sacristies; go and make disciples of all nations. In a way, the ground was prepared by Pope ...read more

Whenever I see a rosary hanging on someone’s rear-view mirror, I automatically feel a kinship with the Catholic driver. However, a rosary is not a decoration. It is a powerful spiritual tool, and popes have been encouraging Catholics to pray the Rosary for years. Since October is the month of the Rosary, here are three ...read more

As we await further details of Pope Francis' promised visit to Canada, Deacon Pedro takes a look back at two earlier papal visits. ...read more

As many things start returning to a pre-COVID "normal", Deacon Pedro reflects on 5 pandemic adjustments he hopes we keep. ...read more