Guess who was gunning back to Saskatoon?

Where can you find fervent, engaged Catholic youth these days? Why, in Saskatoon, of course! 

Benedict’s legacy: hope in eternal love

Few, if any, people in the 20th century thought as deeply about the nature of hope and eternal life as Pope Benedict XVI. Before being named Archbishop of Munich in 1978, Joseph Ratzinger published a theological tome on death, immortality, resurrection, the last judgment and the human destinies of Heaven, purgatory and hell. As Pope Benedict, he wrote an encyclical Spe Salvi (On Christian Hope) based on the belief that Christians know their lives are not empty, that they have an eternal destiny.

Only God knows what Benedict sacrificed

The passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Dec. 31, 2022 marks a sad close to a tumultuous year, and the end to his life-long commitment to the Catholic Church.

We wait and the Gift is given

Receiving the gift is the last stage of Advent becoming Christmas. Jesus arrives and we receive the One we have awaited. The seasons and feast days of church calendars exist not only to change the colours and routines of faith life, but also change the way we live our whole lives. We learn to practice waiting — in joyful hope — for Jesus to arrive. And this practice waiting and receiving is meant to help us get better at waiting and receiving in the rest of our lives too.

Hope springs meeting the Lord on the street

The weather had suddenly turned cold. What had promised to be a pleasant walk on the street had slowly but consistently chilled throughout the day until several layers of clothing were required to repel the harsh winter wind. It was certainly no evening for a man to be shuffling along George Street agonizingly slowly. 

Euthanasia has warped Canada’s collective morality

What happens to a society in which killing replaces care? What happens when ending a life is considered compassionate and the preserving of life cruel?

Let’s get radical and profess our faith

Advent has always had a special importance to me, a type of monumental weight signalling what is unquestionably the most consequential moment for humanity: the arrival of Jesus. It is a time of waiting and preparation, marked by the gradual lighting of the candles on the Advent wreath.

Making the stable a centre of stability

A simple stable is where God chooses to be born into the world, a helpless infant child. Many Christian households display creches with baby Jesus figurines as part of Advent preparations for Christmas.  There is another kind of “stable” though where Jesus wants to be present as this particular Christmas approaches, the stabilization centres of Somalia. 

God! He just beats the devil

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, SSP (1925-2016) was the chief exorcist of the Vatican and a member of the Society of St. Paul (one of the congregations founded by Blessed Fr. James Alberione). I had the privilege of interviewing Fr. Amorth in 2011, while filming a documentary on Fr. Alberione (MediaApostle.com). 

Post-pandemic we must be pro-solidarity

As the COVID pandemic began three years ago, many asked what the new normal might be once it subsided. In that question, there was an optimism, even hope, that a massive amount of suffering and death would smarten us up, spur us to become more concerned for the needs of others. 

Protecting people and our planet in 2023

With the ending of another year, we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the beginning of a life that leads to life for us all. As we ring in 2023, we need the new life of Christ to combat the culture of death.