Last week, we reflected a bit about Mary and especially on what it means that she is “Full of Grace”. Perhaps the best reflection on this is from Munificentissimus Deus, the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII that I mentioned last week, on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This excerpt is taken from ...read more

Sit down with Deacon Pedro, as he learns about and reflects on Mary in his three-part series "Deacon-structing: Mary." ...read more

I have been humbled in the last couple of days to learn that for many, one of the highlights of Krakow 2016 took place on the Wednesday night at the Mercy Centre during an event which I was honoured to help organize. It was called Night of Mercy. The night was described as “featuring XLT ...read more

At the end of the Angelus Address, last Sunday, at Campus Misericordiae in Krakow, Pope Francis announced that the next World Youth Day will take place in 2019 in Panama City, Panama. As we begin preparations for this exciting next WYD, Salt + Light’s Charles LeBourgeois had the chance to speak with Archbishop José Domingo ...read more

This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Last week we looked at the importance of pilgrimage of Catechesis and Mary during World Youth Days. In 1993 WYD came to North America: Denver, ...read more

This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Last week we learned that World Youth Days are a meeting of the hierarchical Church with the Lay Church and it happens under the Cross. ...read more

This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Last week I shared a bit of my WYD experience and how this event can (and does) change so many people’s lives. But many are ...read more

This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Often, when I speak to young people, I’ll start by asking where they are from: Is there anyone here from Ottawa or Quebec? How about ...read more

Deacon Pedro is ordained by Bishop Vincent Nguyen on May 26, 2012. Last week we looked, very briefly, at the basics of the Sacrament of Ordination. One of the common challenges to the idea of Sacraments as “a visible sign of an invisible Grace, instituted by Christ” is the “instituted by Christ” part. With Ordination, ...read more

In light of the fact that last week everyone became aware that the early Church had women in the role of deacons or deaconesses (or both, we’re not sure what exactly these roles were), I have begun to deaconstructing the diaconate. But before, let’s take a little detour and look at Ordination. It seems appropriate that as ...read more