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April 11, 2014
After Mother Teresa died, her diaries revealed something that shocked many people. During the last 60 years of her life she struggled to imagine that God existed and had no affective experience of either the person or the existence of God. Yet, during all those years, everything in her life incarnated and radiated an exceptional, one-in-a-hundred-million selflessness, altruism and faith commitment.
Resurrection of the Lord (Year A) April 20 (Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Psalm 118; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-18) Christians do not often sound joyful and excited when describing the wonderful deeds of Jesus. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that many would be hard pressed to describe the activity of Jesus in today’s world or in their own lives.
Like most Canadians, the thought of travelling to the Caribbean during the dead cold of winter has always had magical appeal. That appeal has been reinforced by two teenagers who have done a pretty good job over the years of reminding me that almost “everyone we know” had taken one of those all-inclusive trips to the sun.
It’s sad to think of a church in ruins. Land and Sea, the entertaining CBC television documentary show that chronicles the joys and struggles of Atlantic Canadians, recently had an interesting feature on churches in the region that have fallen into disrepair.
Trust an atheist cell biologist turned journalist turned activist turned best-selling author to pinpoint the damage of pushing faith from public life.
When in Rome for the 2013 conclave, one heard frequently enough the quip that Latin America had had its best week in history. On March 5, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s thuggish dictator, died, having reduced his petro-rich country to a barter economy suffering from acute toilet paper shortages.
The front cover of this week’s paper was originally going to feature three priests who were ordained within minutes of each other 40 years ago and now serve in neighbouring Belleville, Ont., parishes. They were intended to represent the thousands of men and women, ordained and laity, who faithfully serve the Church and whom we celebrate each year in our popular Call to Service feature section.
BELLEVILLE, ONT. - The pastors at Belleville’s three Catholic churches come in three different flavours — traditional, spiritual and goofy. All three flavours come courtesy of St. Augustine’s Seminary, class of 1974.
April 12, 2014
TORONTO - Shortly after immigrating to Canada, a then 25-year-old Tom Mirtrovski discovered his kidneys were failing.
A significant Catholic scholar of the post-Vatican II era is struggling to be heard on a deeply Catholic subject — human rights.
Recently I met with a former student of mine who is looking forward to his ordination. We discussed other students, memories and events, things that happened during his years at our school. As I was about to leave he said, “You know, school was where my vocation started. It was where the first seed was planted. Catholic schools that I attended helped shape my faith.”
Prayer can be carried by the simplest of words. For American author Anne Lamott, those words are help, thanks and wow.
TORONTO - Sr. Mary Rose Marrin is attempting to fill a ministry gap in the Archdiocese of Toronto for a demographic that is continuing to grow: those reaching their golden years.
Toronto - Jesuit Volunteers Canada is going to town. The rural-based, one-year service program is recruiting volunteers for an urban expansion into Toronto.
TORONTO - For the past two years, Jennifer Ellis has been spending Saturday afternoons in good company.
EDMONTON - After almost 60 years as a Lutheran, Fr. Joseph Jacobson entered the Catholic Church. Following his conversion, he prepared and privately published a 68-page volume titled A Gift of Love, The Joys and Treasures of a New Catholic. Its purpose is to give a serious account of why he became Catholic, and what he learned and experienced afterwards.
Toronto - The same year Deacon Gerard Almeida returned to his ministry at Toronto’s Nativity of Our Lord parish, he set eyes on the Marian icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This April, he will realize his dream of installing a sister replica of the icon as a permanent fixture of his home church.
April 13, 2014
VATICAN CITY - Offering Passover greetings to Rome's Jewish community, Pope Francis also asked for prayers for his upcoming trip to the Holy Land.
A year and a half after unveiling a slip of papyrus that she dubbed “The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” Harvard Bible scholar Karen King released the results of long-delayed testing on the controversial fragment that appear to show it is not a modern forgery.
JUBA, South Sudan - When South Sudan's fledgling democracy suddenly unraveled in December, what started as political infighting within the country's ruling party quickly ripped along ethnic fault lines, often pitting neighbours against each other according to the tribal markings on their faces.