Last May, my wife, daughters and I stayed at a resort on a First Nations reserve on Vancouver Island to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. The last night we were there, my mother-in-law moved into town, and my wife and I slept in the yurt where she had stayed.

The disciplines of Lent — prayer, fasting and almsgiving — are an exercise in conscience formation. Lent is much more than conscience formation, but it is that.

Canadian Catholics should perhaps be upset with governments that trample on our basic rights. Whether our silence reveals resilience or indifference may be determined by the test of time.

Time magazine’s choice of “the silence breakers” as its 2017 Person of the Year acknowledges the importance of a movement that is changing our culture for the better.

Living a Christian life, too often seen as adherence to a list of “do’s” and “don’ts,” is better understood as creative participation in the artistry of the Holy Spirit. Each of us is given a mission in God’s eternal plan, a mission we are called to carry out with love, creativity and joy.

Edmonton – The headline told the story: “Catholic sex-ed proposal puts church, NDP on collision course.” Columnist Paula Simons’ front-page offering in the Oct. 24 Edmonton Journal was correct on at least one point: The Catholic Church in Alberta and the NDP government are deeply at odds. The differences involve revision of the provincial sex education curriculum, as well as new legislation on gay-straight alliances (GSAs). As well, there is Premier Rachel Notley’s insulting characterization of a Catholic sex education proposal as giving moral legitimacy to rape.

Serving on a Catholic school board was never in my plans. I was a Catholic journalist, not a school trustee. So, I never considered running for a school board until about 16 months ago. At that time, the Catholic board in Edmonton was in total disarray with a high degree of animosity among the trustees.

The mountain ash tree in our front yard is at the peak of its autumn brilliance. I sit on the couch in our living room awed by the array of gold, green, yellow and red.

ANCORAIMES, BOLIVIA – Bolivia’s Rio Desaguerdo stretches 320 km south from scenic Lake Titicaca to the parched salt flat of Lake Poopo.