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

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

A little over a week ago, I arrived back from my pilgrimage to Israel and Egypt. I was tanned from the Egyptian sun, sleep-deprived and jet-lagged, but happy to be home.  The first week of the pilgrimage, my fellow pilgrims and I visited many sites and places including Capernaum, the House of Peter, Magdala, Tabgha, ...read more

As I stood in Maskwacis, Alberta, witnessing Pope Francis arrive to deliver his much-awaited apology to the Indigenous peoples of Canada on their lands, I was cut to the heart. Two things struck me simultaneously. First, the suffering, pain, and intergenerational trauma that has wreaked havoc on Indigenous communities and families. Second, the humility, courage, ...read more

Each of us is called to join Pope Francis in the pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation between the Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the Catholic Church. ...read more

School’s out and summer is here! It's a good time to ask: What are God’s plans for this summer? How does He want you to grow and flourish? ...read more

God is a good parent who feeds his children in many ways. Most mysteriously of all, He gives us Himself to eat in the Eucharist. ...read more

With the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus starkly illuminates for us the kind of Church He wants us to be. ...read more