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January 2021

January 3

God's Word on Sunday: The Lord’s word is always at work

January 3, 2021

Baptism of the Lord (Year B) Jan. 10 (Isaiah 55:1-11; 1 John 5:1-9; Mark 1:7-11) Without food and water, all life withers and dies. What a fitting biblical metaphor for God! We are invited to come to the waters and to receive wine and milk — all for free. No preconditions or charges and all are included. The prophet exults in God’s generosity. The food is not only abundant, but also the best. At the same time, he is puzzled: why, in the face of such generosity, are so many people uninterested? Why do they fling away their money and their energy on things that are worthless and do not satisfy?

January 4

Resignation of Belarusian archbishop accepted immediately by Pope Francis

January 4, 2021

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk, Belarus, who had been blocked from entering his homeland for four months until negotiations between the Vatican and the Belarusian authorities allowed him back in time for Christmas.

Vatican set to launch COVID-19 vaccinations for workers, residents

January 4, 2021

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-January, giving priority to its health care workers, security personnel, employees who deal with the public and older residents, employees and retirees.

Pope Francis: Christ's human condition a sign of God's love

January 4, 2021

By taking on the frail human condition, God showed his love for humanity and his desire to share in people's joys and sufferings, Pope Francis said.

January 5

French archbishop protests proposal to rein in religious extremism

January 5, 2021

PARIS -- The head of French bishops' conference testified to a special commission of the National Assembly that while he understands the need to strengthen national security, a proposed law designed to rein in extremist militancy would place religions and religious believers under particular surveillance.

Pope Francis will not baptize infants on feast day this year

January 5, 2021

VATICAN CITY -- The choral cries of newborn babies will not fill the Sistine Chapel in 2021 because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Pope Francis to cancel his annual celebration of infant baptisms on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Alberta man charged with hate crime for disrupting Mass

January 5, 2021

EDMONTON, Alberta -- A 25-year-old Edmonton man was charged with a hate crime after he allegedly disrupted Mass at a church and briefly posted an obscenity-laden video online.

In British lockdown, English churches open, Scottish churches closed

January 5, 2021

MANCHESTER, England -- An English cardinal spoke of his relief that churches in England will not close during a third national lockdown.

January 6

Like the Magi, look to the heavens for hope, Pope Francis says on Epiphany

January 6, 2021

In times of doubt and suffering, Christians must not focus on their problems, but instead lift up their eyes to God, who leads them toward the hopeful promise of great things to come, Pope Francis said on the feast of the Epiphany.

Drive-in Mass a hit at Ottawa-area parish

January 6, 2021

OTTAWA -- In a small parish on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, the new year is starting like 2020 ended — with a close eye on the weather forecast.

Speaking Out: In 2021, feed the culture of life

January 6, 2021

The new year has arrived, a time many seize as an opportunity to reset, make resolutions and start fresh. This year, I’m sure the question resonates with many around the world — could 2021 please be better than 2020?

Ingenuity shines through for Catholic music class

January 6, 2021

In a year when everything was virtually, uhhhh, virtual, Michael Paglia and his music students at All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whity, Ont., were honoured for their contribution to this virtual reality.

Sr. Helena Burns: There is always a home waiting for us

January 6, 2021

The first haiku I ever wrote was about home. I was in sixth grade French class staring out the window as usual (zut alors!), and it came to me wholly formed, in a flash of insight.

Restorer breathes life back into statues

January 6, 2021

QUEBEC CITY -- A self-taught hobby to save and restore religious statues has led Lyn Robichaud to reflect on French Canadians’ relationship with these objects of piety that often end up in the garbage.

Mass is back on the banks of Jordan

January 6, 2021

QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank -- For the first time in 54 years, a Mass will be celebrated Jan. 10, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at St. John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River.

January 7

Rights league defends church rights to manage own affairs

January 7, 2021

A little legal ecumenism played out on Zoom before the Supreme Court of Canada as the Catholic Civil Rights League, along with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, came to the defence of Canada’s Ethiopian Orthodox Archbishop Abune Dimetros.

Editorial: Focus on family

January 7, 2021

In his own way, Pope Francis is developing a different kind of vaccine to battle the effects of COVID-19. This is not a vaccine developed in a scientific lab, but it may well be a much-needed antidote to some of the unseen but crippling injuries that have accompanied the pandemic.

Assault on U.S. Capitol shocks the world

January 7, 2021

ROME -- The breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 sent shock waves around the world.

Readers Speak Out: January 10, 2021

January 7, 2021

Follow science While most churches, synagogues and temples have followed the COVID-19 guidelines of Dr. Bonnie Henry there have been several faith communities in B.C. (and the U.S, including Trump with his rallies) who have repudiated these directives, maintaining their God-given and constitutional right to meet face to face.

Contemplative approach recalls early Christian unity

January 7, 2021

For anyone who has ever thought they might have been happier as a monk or a nun, living the contemplative life, this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is your chance to try it out.