Culture à la Carte

Leaving the Church is abandoning your Mother

Sr. Helena Burns · August 20, 2024

Have you ever been tempted to leave the Catholic Church? Don’t. Ever. For any reason. Why not? Because: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus, “There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church”.

Figure of Speech

Olympic spirit outshone moments of disgrace

Gerry Turcotte · August 20, 2024

As a young man of 16, and a competitive high school gymnast, I was thrilled to get a job at the Montreal Olympics. Organizers were desperate for staff, so I was put in the bar stand at the basketball arena, an under-aged kid blissfully selling beer to thirsty patrons.

Barefoot and Preaching

Tender moments of tending our gardens

Leah Perrault · August 20, 2024

The etymology of tending is from the Latin “tendere” to stretch, in a certain direction. What a fabulous way to think about the way we care!

The Mustard Seed

Marriage is communion not mere contract

Glen Argan · August 20, 2024

Perhaps nowhere in society is the loss of the sacred more evident than in marriage and in the wedding ceremonies which solemnify a marriage.

Make reconciliation with someone in your life

Lea Karen Kivi · August 15, 2024

Readings for week 11: Sunday, Aug. 18 to Saturday, Aug. 24

Barefoot and Preaching

Seeing ourselves in ever-changing stories

Leah Perrault · August 8, 2024

This spring, I got an itch for change, and I cut my hair. Sixteen inches of curls lay on the floor. I instantly felt so much lighter. And as I went about my life, it was a big enough change that I didn’t recognize my own reflection.

Figure of Speech

Paring apart the pairings of saints

Gerry Turcotte · August 8, 2024

I have often been fascinated by iconic pairings — how one person or one thing can be inextricably linked to another. Batman and Robin roll off the tongue, a pairing as natural as brie and crackers. Pisa and the leaning tower, Rome and the Vatican, are equally symbiotic.

Doc quenches thirst for Jesus

'We pray it will light a fire in people’s hearts for Christ'

Luke Mandato · August 8, 2024

When I first heard rumblings about a documentary titled Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist I had mixed feelings. While other recent programming such as this year’s Mother Cabrini film and the ongoing series The Chosen had drawn me in along with sizeable audiences sharing a hunger for Catholic representation in media, I found a sense of skepticism about a documentary tackling something as important to the faith as the Eucharist.

Forty years of building strong foundations

Harry McAvoy · August 8, 2024

The Bride and I are quickly approaching a milestone anniversary. On September 1, we will have been married 40 years. I sometimes wonder, how did that happen, and am I really that old?

Visitors to the sick need comfort too

Fr. Yaw Acheampong · August 8, 2024

When was the last time you held someone’s hand? On one beautiful morning, as I was setting up for the celebration of the noon Mass in the hospital chapel, three visitors came in and sat down quietly. I noticed that they were holding hands.