Canada’s bishops typically are cautious when passing comment on public policy. So they grabbed our attention when, in the first paragraph of a recent press release, the bishops predicted Canada’s new marijuana law will have “disastrous effects” on society.

I love words. They flow constantly from my head to my heart, spill out of my mouth with laughter, make sense of my world.  And sometimes, words fail. They take the air from my lungs or hit me in the face. Sometimes, there isn’t sense to be made. 

Several years ago, a friend who had immigrated from the former Soviet Union told me, “Canada is the greatest place on Earth. It is a paradise.” While I felt flattered on behalf of my country to hear those words, I also wondered what in our country made him so effusive.

The summer of 1968, with France undergoing a social revolution and America burning, was not a congenial time for a reaffirmation of traditional morality in face of the sexual revolution. But the courageous Blessed Paul VI did just that in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, published 50 years ago this month.

Love your enemies, Jesus tells us. Apart from the direct command of God, it’s not obvious that loving enemies is a necessary or even desirable thing to do. They can and do hurt us, and hating them can motivate us in protecting ourselves.  

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 1 (Year B) Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Psalm 30; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43

The original Jurassic Park film from 25 years ago rather inventively explored a theme that has been prominent in Western culture from the time of the Romantic reaction to the Enlightenment — namely, the dangers of an aggressive and arrogant rationalism.

Nativity of John the Baptist (Year B) June 24 (Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80)

On June 1, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada held a national event that many of today’s young people would find highly challenging: spending one hour away from their smartphones.

Anyone looking for hope from the June 15 Supreme Court of Canada decision on Trinity Western University can find it shining in the pages of the judgment itself.