On the first night of the 2012 Canadian Catholic Youth Ministry Network Conference, a multitude of youth ministers, lay pastoral associates, archdiocesan youth directors, and university chaplains gathered in St. Patrick’s Basilica in downtown Ottawa.  This conference, that happens every two years, was held at the Ottawa Marriott hotel. Nearly 300 people gathered together to ...read more

We are about halfway through lent already, the point at which many people begin to think “why did give up chocolate?” or “why did I decide to get up earlier to pray before I start my day?” It’s also the point when many people feel the need for more spiritual nourishment in order to get ...read more

“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a despot whose shooting and shelling of his own people cannot be defended,” wrote the Catholic Register in a recent editorial, “yet he may be the last line of defence for Syria’s Catholics.” The editorial captures the paradox of a country where, despite a UN-estimated death toll of 7500 civilians, ...read more

March 8th is International Women’s day. In Canada not many people know what this day is, or remember to say “happy women’s day” to the women in their lives. When I lived in Italy and Spain this day usually arrived accompanied by Mimosas or other flowers. The Vatican news portal news.va published this reflection on ...read more

When we look at a conflict we always think of the innocent people who are suffering without any blame — the people who every day are fighting to survive, people who are persecuted just for being Christians. It is very difficult to watch TV and see my brothers in faith suffering just because they believe ...read more

The following post was contributed by Fr. James Mallon, founder and director of the John Paul II Media Institute. Fr. James hosts the new series “Dogmatic Theology“, which airs on S+L on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT. The program repeats Thursdays at 1:00 pm ET and Fridays at 9:00 am ET. ...read more

If you could celebrate Easter anywhere in the world, where would you go? For many Christians like myself, the answer is obvious: the Holy Land, where Jesus experienced his passion, death, and resurrection. Israel’s Ministry of Tourism is making this possible for two fortunate people. Holyland-pilgrimage.org is inviting would-be pilgrims to create a one-minute Youtube ...read more

Recently, we met with several priests from the Archdiocese of Toronto and asked them what they loved about being priests. The answers were varied and inspiring. For me, the most moving was Fr. Peter Marr who said, “I love that I can bring more love, more healing into the world, which is so broken, and ...read more

Our friends at Catholic News Service recently released this video about the theologian of the papal household. The footage was courtesy of Kindly Light, the media production division of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. ...read more

Lent! Ahhh yes… the sweet smell of suffering! If you are fully embracing our great Catholic tradition of penance, I have a suggestion for a different kind of “fast” this year, one very appropriate for our age – A fast from media! “But Mark, we don’t want to put you (or S+L) out of a ...read more