Most Canadians marked Christmas on Dec. 25, as did some Ukrainians. Others, like me, whether over there or here, still celebrate traditionally according to the Julian calendar, on Jan. 7. This year I will do so by candlelight, in solidarity with the many Ukrainians whose loved ones were murdered, whose cities are shattered, who do not have the taken-for-granted comforts of electricity, water and heating in the dead of winter, their very lives threatened daily by the recurring plague of Russian missile salvoes. 

Christmas is a time when loss is felt more acutely. But what of losses that we pretend are not? Of all the ideas our culture accepts as normal, divorce may not be the most pernicious. Pretending it is not a loss, pretending that divorce is empowering, just might be. 

In the midst of the thoughtful days of Advent and with the glory of Christmas just ahead, Christians may not yet be looking toward their new year in the Church and in the world. But when January arrives many of us will consider “New Year’s resolutions” involving losing a little weight, getting to the gym more often, doing projects around the house and perhaps considering volunteer work.

For much of the past 50 years the received wisdom has been that religious observance and belief is relentlessly declining in Canada. The secularization theory is that as a society progresses by becoming more educated and affluent, the ties to traditional religious belief inevitably decline. 

“I cannot believe I ever complained about being tired in the company of friends with young kids. Please forgive me!!” So tweeted new mother and journalist Bari Weiss, complete with double exclamation marks.

I intended to write this article about an experience I recently had while in Cincinnati. As is my custom, I went to a local parish, that has an Adoration Chapel, to spend a bit of quiet time with Jesus.

The world is noticing our head-first descent into a land of easy euthanasia. Will we ever notice?

This is an article about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and how she recently burst into my world bringing hope on a sad day. But in order to bring you to the light, I have to start in the darkness. It was Oct. 7, 2022 when the bureaucratic voice of a Canadian doctor testifying before a federal committee about medical aid in dying called for its expansion to include infanticide. Dr. Louis Roy of the Quebec College of Physicians proposed extending assisted suicide to babies before age one. 

Since the beginning of Creation, contemplation has been revealed as essential. We read in Genesis the resounding refrain that God, in creating the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in them, “saw that it was good.” In blessing the seventh day on which He rested from the act of creating, God contemplated all that He had fashioned through His Word (Gen. 2:1-3). 

B&E Theatre is presenting John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable, one of my favourite plays, at the Church of the Holy Trinity behind Toronto’s Eaton Centre. A clever idea to immerse the play in a Church, but not a Catholic Church.