The history of the Catholic Church is filled with extraordinary personalities who were raised to the altar for their heroic virtues. One of the most fascinating personalities in recent church history is, without a doubt, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. This year marks the 40th anniversary of his death and it is a good time to ...read more

Who likes being organized? Sticking to a schedule? Maintaining a well-outlined plan? Well, this week’s episode of Mothering, Full of Grace has a plan… a Family Plan. Big families, small families, in-between families, host Rhea Johner gets us talking about God’s input in our family planning. We’ll also meet Bridget and Carlo Santaguida, parents of ...read more

“Have you any spare change?” If you’re a person who does much walking around a city these days you may recognize these words as the appeal of a street person. The “times” seem to be multiplying the number of people experiencing “hard times” – individuals who are depending on public charity for a livelihood. Thus, ...read more

The Christian family constitutes a specific revelation and realization of ecclesial communion, and for this reason too it can and should be called “the domestic Church.” (21)- John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio Today in Ontario we celebrate “Family Day.” It’s a new civic holiday that was part of the Ontario Liberals’ election campaign. Political jockeying ...read more

… It’s Valentine’s Day, the day for romance, and what have I got to offer you for Catholic Focus tonight??? A lot of SILENCE…. But wait, silence not too far off from the theme of love. Because lovers who love don’t always need so many words to say to each other. Being in each other’s ...read more

Love is in the air. Or perhaps it’s the endless flurries that seem to be circulating around us here in Toronto. Regardless, today is Valentine’s Day, and card companies everywhere are excited to count their profits come February 15th. Maybe I’m being cynical, but isn’t Valentine’s day just a day of over priced roses with ...read more

Imagine a job that requires you be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pay is minimal and demands are high. Guaranteed to be moments of high stress. And duties include everything from chauffeuring, preparing meals, keeping staff in line, and cleaning up after everyone. Probably… there won’t be a long line-up ...read more

As you may have heard on Tuesday’s edition of Zoom, Salt + Light’s own Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre is going to be on-loan to the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City. He’ll be temporarily moving with his family to “La Belle Province” to join the Congress’ communications team as they gear up for the June 15th-22nd event. ...read more

These are the words that we hear on Ash Wednesday as ashes are imposed on our forehead in the shape of a cross: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” (or with the alternate formula: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return”).This invitation on the lips of the ...read more

Mmmm… home… makes me think of sunny kitchens and fresh-baked cookies. In fact, it makes me want to go home right now, wrap my arms around my mom, and steal five of those cookies (to start). Moms and homes… what a great combination that is sure to stir-up stories, whether they are about our own ...read more