Laudato Si is so complete and so radical that it will take years for us to unpack it fully. There is a lot there, but one of the themes that has most moved me (and this was not surprising) is encapsulated by this statement from the introduction: “The violence present in our hearts, wounded by ...read more

Very few of us would argue that we have to care for the environment, in fact Pope Francis has said that it is our moral duty to care for Creation (Morning Homily from Feb 9, 2015). How does this notion square with the idea that Scripture tells us to dominate and subdue the earth? I ...read more

A few events the last couple weeks have led me to today’s reflection. Primarily, the fact that the Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will be releasing his second Encyclical later this month and that the topic of this papal document is the ecology. Add to that, the incredible response the news has garnered from ...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

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, is calling on Catholics to live their Christian identity in public as well as in their own spiritual lives. The cardinal on Sunday issued a pastoral letter, Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge. The cardinal notes that a key part of the pastoral letter reflects on “our freedom to ...read more

As a single Canadian man transplanted into Los Angeles, I’m morbidly interested in the dysfunctional dating culture here.  We have perhaps the highest density of young adults anywhere, yet the most bemoaning and anguish of those unable to find love. Countless stories of bad dating manners and gender role dysfunction abound. Not surprising then to ...read more

Last time ,we looked at what Scriptures tell us about Heaven. Perhaps we do know more about Heaven than we think. Well, I guess, at least we know with certainty that we are going to die. So what happens when we die? We believe that we will be judged for our actions during this life. But ...read more

I was at the March for Life last Thursday, on the day that most places around the world celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. Here in Canada we celebrate it today, the Sunday after the 6th Sunday in Easter. After the March, as I was reflecting about it, I started thinking about how the life ...read more

A few weeks ago I wrote about Waste Management and shared an important piece of information: In nature, there is no waste. We must remember this as we go about making choices that impact the waste we produce. When we think of waste, we think of garbage, that is, what goes to landfill and what goes ...read more

When I was a kid, growing up in Panama, quite often, our parents would take us to the Convent of the Visitation to visit with (no pun intended) the sisters. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal in France in 1610 ...read more