Last time, I was imagining a world without Christmas. That would mean no Christmas music and no Christmas movies.  But a world without Jesus would mean much more to our popular culture. After watching the screen adaptation of Les Miserables two years ago,  I couldn’t help but thinking that this novel would be very different had Jesus not ...read more

In his Angelus address on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God – which is also observed as World Day of Peace – Pope Francis called on us “to fix our gaze of faith and of love on the Mother of Jesus.” Below, please find the complete text of Pope Francis’ address at the ...read more

On January 1, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Pope Francis celebrated Solemn Mass in the Basilica of Saint Peter. Below, please find the complete text of the Pope’s homily for the Mass: Today we are reminded of the words of blessing which Elizabeth spoke to the Virgin Mary: “Blessed are you among ...read more

With New Year’s around the corner and another year ahead of us it’s about that time when we begin to mull over our New Year’s resolutions. Each year we set out to reform our lives in the hopes that next year will be happier than the last. …And each year we struggle with trying to ...read more

While I dislike having to listen to Christmas music as early as November 25th, I do like that once a year radio stations all over don’t seem to have a problem playing music that mentions the name of Jesus or that glorifies God. This year, listening to Christmas music early in December I found myself ...read more

So far we’ve looked at the Vocation to the Single Life, the Vocation to the Religious Life and the Vocation to the Ordained Life part 1, part 2 and part 3. Let’s look at the other Vocation that is also a Sacrament: Marriage. The majority of people are called to married life. Remember that for Catholics, ...read more

The Director of Jesuit Refugee Services in Syria, Fr. Nawras Sammour, SJ visited Toronto last week to speak about the ongoing civil war and refugee crisis plaguing his home country. The event, which was co-hosted by Canadian Jesuits International and Development and Peace, was held at the Jesuit parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in ...read more

In 2007 I was a fresh-faced reporter at a diocesan newspaper. My editor assigned me to write a piece on the history of the nativity scene. I tracked down a priest and professor of church history and set off interview him about the history of the nativity scene. I did not do a Google search ...read more

Pope Francis’ ‘Urbi et Orbi’ Address on Christmas Day 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas! Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling the ancient prophecies. The Virgin’s name is Mary, the wife of Joseph. Humble people, full of hope in ...read more

In the Jubilee Year of 2000, John Paul II made a very insightful statement.  He said: “Our Christian witness would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated the face of the Lord.”  The same might be said of our fully entering into the Christmas season. Christmas is a time in which we ...read more