Pakistani Christian boys decorate a Christmas tree on the roof of their house in Islamabad, Pakistan. I love images, and as the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.  My hope is that over the next couple of weeks our mini-blog series called,  This is Christmas will speak volumes about God’s presence in our ...read more

In the lead up to COP21—the landmark international climate change summit in Paris—a massive climate mobilization has started happening around the world. On Sunday, November 29 at Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto, an event called “Light the Way to Climate Action” saw thousands of people come together of all faiths and backgrounds to stand in ...read more

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s Mercy”. With these words Pope Francis invited everyone to take part in a special Jubilee Year of Mercy. It will begin on this year’s Solemnity of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2015 and end on next year’s Solemnity of Christ the ...read more

SETTLE FOR LESS Turns out living simply and settling for ‘good enough’ is a sure fire way to be happy. Barry Schwartz in his popular TED talk on the paradox of choice suggests that we’ve been ingrained with the idea that the way to be happy is to maximize our freedom. And the way that ...read more

While we celebrate Pope Francis’ historic visit to Uganda today, I thought I’d share with you this classic image of Pope John Paul II during his apostolic visit to Uganda in 1993. Wonderful, isn’t it? During the 26 and a half years of his pontificate, John Paul II was a pilgrim to 129 different countries ...read more

During his trip to Africa, Pope Francis will land in Entebbe, Uganda on Friday, November 27. It will be the second country he visits during the voyage. As is custom, he will pay a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic and meet with civic authorities and the diplomatic corps. That same evening he ...read more

On Thursday, September 26, 2015, Pope Francis met with the clergy and religious men and women of Nairobi at a sports field at St. Mary’s School. The Holy Father set aside his prepared remarks and spoke from his heart in his mother tongue. Below you will find the full video footage of the delivery with ...read more

Today on Perspectives Pope Francis arrives in Kenya and Archbishop Prendergast of Ottawa issued a Pastoral letter for the Jubilee of Mercy ...read more

As I begin writing this, one week has passed since the series of terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13. I currently live about 6 km from the scene of the worst of the bloodshed of November 13: the Bataclan concert hall where 89 of the 129 deaths occurred. At about 10:15 that evening, I ...read more

Nov 13, 2015 — terror attacks in Paris. Nov 12, 2015 — terror attacks in Lebanon. In 2015 — kidnapping, massacres, bombings, suicide attacks, car bombs, mass shootings, hostages taken…… in Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, China, Philippines, France…around the world. By 13 November, 2015, there have been 289 ...read more