Focus

  • Vatican sending bishops’ conferences documents for 2015 synod

    Nov 27, 2014

    Just over a month since the conclusion of October's keenly watched meeting of Catholic bishops on issues of family life, the Vatican has announced it's already gearing up for the next meeting in 2015.

  • Vatican lifts ban on married priests for Eastern Catholics in diaspora

    Nov 27, 2014

    The Vatican has lifted its ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories, including in the United States, Canada and Australia.

  • Sacred Art and The Way of Beauty

    Nov 27, 2014

    The title may seem confusing as this column is meant to be about Sacred Music.

  • Fewer people are going to Church — whom to blame?

    Nov 27, 2014

    It’s no secret that today, there’s been a massive drop-off in church attendance. Moreover, that drop-off in church-going is not paralleled by the same widespread growth in atheism and agnosticism.

  • Food for thought

    Nov 27, 2014

    Basilian Father Thomas Rosica wrote in 2009 about John the Baptist, how he is the “paradox of Advent.”

  • Rocking out to John the Baptist during Advent

    Nov 27, 2014

    I still remember most of the lyrics from the 1970s rock musical Godspell. I knew all the words and would belt them out along with the cast.

  • Preparing our hearts and minds for Christ during Advent

    Nov 27, 2014

    Prophets played unique and essential roles in the history of the Jewish people. Like angels, they served as God’s messengers, bringing words of wisdom, wonder and especially, warning, at auspicious times.

  • Food for thought

    Nov 20, 2014

    We closely link Advent to Christmas, to presents, to shopping and the material things where, we think, we’ll find happiness. We anticipate —and sometimes dread — the upcoming activities of the season, signalling the year’s end.

  • Preparing the right gifts

    Nov 20, 2014

    Have you ever had one of those days when you wish God would show up, snap his fingers and work miracles? The people of Israel had years like that, groaning under the oppression of one tyrant after another.

  • Reflecting during Advent on life’s big surprises

    Nov 20, 2014

    Common wisdom holds that it always is in our best interests to be watchful, to remain on alert when going about daily life. Otherwise, we might be ambushed by unforeseen developments, surprises that disrupt our best laid plans or shake our hopes.