What’s the difference between saying, ‘We come to pray together’ and ‘We come together to pray’? What is the difference between proselytizing, evangelizing and dialogue? Do these actions mutually exclude each other? These are some of the questions most people have when it comes to interfaith dialogue. It quickly becomes about fine distinctions and nuanced ...read more

Toronto continues to mourn the loss of Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic. The city’s Archbishop Emeritus—one of three Canadian Cardinals—died at 81 after a long illness. He retired as Archbishop of Toronto in 2006. Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolence to his family and the Church in Toronto. In his message, he recalled with gratitude ...read more

It’s time to strap on your work boots and head out to the woods for a bit of spiritual work. Conveniently you can make the trek sitting in the comfort of your home — just tune into this month’s edition of Lectio Divina. Trees and forests pop up in the Scripture passage the Archbishop meditates ...read more

Politics and religion may be walking a tight line together come Easter weekend this year. Elections Canada announced last week that advanced polling will take place on the Friday, Saturday and Monday of Easter weekend, which means a possible influx of parishioners and partisans at a parish hall near you. As is customary in elections, ...read more

As we mentioned on Monday, Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins has been in Rome as part of the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. While he was there, Catholic News Service caught up with him to ask about his new book Pathway to our Hearts: A Simple Approach to Lectio Divina with the ...read more

There’s been lots of changes in the last week on the Episcopal scene in Canada. Last Tuesday Pope Benedict XVI made two appointments involving Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Quebec. The first involved Bishop Gérald Cyprien Lacroix.  He has been named the new Archbishop of Quebec City, succeeding Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who was appointed ...read more

There’s nothing really around that can turn lead into gold, but by God’s grace we can turn trials into love. That line is one of many gems from Archbishop Thomas Collins in February’s Lectio Divina. This month Toronto’s chief shepherd begins a series of reflection on the Letter of St. James.  In this particular episode ...read more

There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with him. Those words are from Pope Benedict XVI’s homily at the Mass inaugurating his Pontificate It’s also the inspiration for ...read more

Literature and movies make farm life appear so quaint. But in those Victorian snapshots of rural living, the dung pile is usually not featured. There are many unpleasant jobs to be done on a farm and sometimes, finding someone to do them is like pulling teeth. This was the case on the Cronin Farm. After ...read more

Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins released a pastoral message regarding the issue of sexual abuse and the Church. The message was read as the homily at every Mass in all 225 Toronto parishes this weekend. The message was also recorded by Toronto’s prelate: In addition to the video, the Archdiocese of Toronto website includes a written ...read more