BLOG: Mary Rose Bacani Valenti
I’ve never watched a single Super Bowl game in my entire life, but because of all the controversy surrounding the advertisement produced by Focus on the Family, I just might tune into this Sunday’s game. Nobody has seen this ad yet, but it has already sparked a wild and sometimes outlandish debate. We’re told that ...read more
A friend once mentioned how it’s great that there are courses to prepare you for marriage, and that, when you have serious marriage problems, you can go to Retrouvaille. But what about the in-between? Is the couple basically on their own once they’re married? I had a great conversation with Blake Sittler, director of the ...read more
Superman, Batman, Nightcrawler, Punisher, Jake Sully (Avatar) – believe it or not, these names come up in conversation on this Thursday’s Catholic Focus. Yes, that’s because this episode is titled, “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane… Oh, it’s God: The Exploration of Humanity’s Search for a Saviour through the Superhero Mythology”. Just kidding, that’s not ...read more
This past Sunday, January 17th marked a new stage for Fountain of Love and Life, the Chinese programming ministry of Salt + Light Television. Fr. Thomas Rosica, CEO of Salt + Light Television, and Fr. Daniel Chui, the ministry’s spiritual advisor, blessed their new office in Richmond Hill, Ontario, which is their first space dedicated ...read more
Mary Rose Bacani and Pedro Guevara Mann were present at the Liturgy of the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop William McGrattan Tuesday. They represented Salt + Light Television in bringing up the mitre during the Liturgy at St. Peter’s Cathedral Basilica in London, Ontario. Here is Mary Rose’s account of the emotions of the evening. There ...read more
Christian communities that follow the Julian calendar observe Christmas on January 7th, 13 days after the Gregorian-calendar Christmas. So, to our Christian brothers and sisters who celebrate today – including Ukrainians, Russians, Serbians, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Belarusians and others – we wish you a very Merry Christmas! I had a chance to chat with Fr. ...read more
You last heard about my “meeting” with the Pope during my honeymoon in Rome with my blog Holy Honeymoon. But you never heard about my meetings with a possible Pope-to-be in Rome that same week! Fr. Stefano Cascio is an old face for a lot of you who’ve seen him a few times on Zoom ...read more
Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of El Salvador who was assassinated in 1980 and was an incredible witness to human rights, had a heart that was always drawn to the poor and neglected. On December 24th, 1978, three years before he was killed, he writes: This is the Christian’s joy: I know that I am a ...read more
I’m probably one of the few people who’ve never heard of Il Divo. When I watched “Il Divo: Live at the Coliseum,” I really could not believe my ears (and my eyes!). Here are four men from four different parts of the world singing with such powerful operatic voices. Not only are they spectacular singers, ...read more
At least one year ago, I participated in one of the most meaningful liturgies I’ve ever been to in my life, at St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church in Brampton, Ontario. I remember going with excitement, because the architecture and iconography in these Eastern Churches are just incredible. “Heaven on earth” as a description of Eastern ...read more