Canada, celebrating its 140th birthday as a nation, is no longer the rosy-cheeked debutante at the international ball, shyly stepping on to the international stage with a fetching impertinence founded on idealism and naiveté. No, in the family of nations we are now the middle-aged aunt, whinging about our bigger siblings and issuing stern lectures on matters over which we have no influence, all the while ignoring our own advice.

Having taken the current set of Grade 8 students from my parish through Confirmation some insights on the process came to light. I suppose this could be considered a good news/bad news account.

It seems increasingly odd that we should have difficulty getting informed news reports and commentary on religion in the mainstream media. After all, as virtually everyone concedes, religion is news, although largely bad news it would seem.

We are often urged to read the “signs of the times” to discern what God is calling us to do in our lives and in our church. How we read those signs will determine not only our outlook on the future, but also influence our sense of energy and purpose.

Daniel Libeskind’s $135-million addition to the Royal Ontario Museum , which opened earlier this month at the corner of University Avenue and Bloor Street West, is the most controversial architectural project ever to go up in Toronto. It has set critic against critic, sharply divided the architectural community and provoked some praise and a great deal of condemnation from citizens.

{mosimage}What qualities constitute a real man in the early 21st century? What model could a modern dad look to for inspiration and guidance to get him through challenging times? These are meaningful questions in Canada 2007, amid the ongoing attacks on the traditional family, and we need to look no further for our model than St. Joseph, foster father to Our Lord.

It’s customary for some segments of society to view Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, not to mention Valentine’s Day, as marketing occasions for greeting cards, florists and golf retailers. Cynicism should be set aside, however, as these special days mark important aspects of human relationships that deserve special recognition in this Age of the Individual.

{mosimage}“One is closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth” goes the old saying. I have always known this. But I hadn’t particularly thought of the divine in connection with compost until I read God of Surprises.

{mosimage}Current events in a country bridging Europe and Asia are offering an important object lesson about the Muslim world: it is not monolithic and there are significant forces for religious pluralism and democracy within it.

The Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats are in agreement on maintaining Ontario’s public funding for two education systems: public and Catholic.  One key question I still have today: why should Catholics get full funding and no other religious groups get any public support?