Canada’s Jesuits are standing by, waiting for your call. A new “Talk to a Friend” service hopes to break through the social isolation of people dutifully staying at home to stop the spread of COVID-19.

When I was a young journalist, I joined the Volunteers, a group associated with the Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (OMMI), a secular institute, and began to take part in their regular discussion groups. Early on, we discussed the five elements of the OMMI spirituality. 

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 16 (Year A) Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37

Freedom is a two-edged sword, for with freedom comes responsibility. 

I remember my first experience of Adoration very vividly. 

Changing the current toxic cultural narrative around and about the Church consumes enormous Christian energy through a range of means and methods.

Stopping for lunch en route to a big city, my companion remarked:  “My grandmother grew up in this town. In those days, it was beautiful, a thriving and energetic community.”  

I grew up far away from my current home in Vancouver. My parents, Mauro and Gertrude Dsouza, made their home in Bangalore, India, and my childhood was filled with storybooks, swimming pools, piano classes and ballet lessons. Not to forget about school! 

It started out in 2011 as a Lenten practice. 

WINDSOR, Ont. – Throw out a lot of your preconceptions when it comes to the aging process and coping with death and dying, a conference on healthy aging and spirituality was told.

My first love was literature, novels and poetry. As a child, I loved story books, mysteries and adventures. In grade school, I was made to memorize poetry and loved the exercise. High School introduced me to more serious literature: Shakespeare, Kipling, Keats, Wordsworth, Browning. On the side, I still read story books, cowboy tales from the old West taken from my dad’s bookshelf.

Scott Derickson’s new film, Doctor Strange, has received rave reviews for its special-effects, its compelling story-telling, and the quality of its actors, but I would like to focus on the spirituality implicit in it. Doctor Strange is far from a satisfying presentation of the spiritual order, but it represents a significant step in the right direction, which proves especially helpful for our time.

WASHINGTON – As the Oct. 3 feast of St. Francis of Assisi approached this year followers gathered at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land spoke of a revival taking place in the Franciscan order.

The spirituality writer Tom Stella tells a story about three monks at prayer in their monastery chapel. The first monk imagines himself being carried up to Heaven by the angels. The second monk imagines himself already in Heaven, chanting God’s praises with the angels and saints. The third monk cannot focus on any holy thoughts but can only think about the great hamburger he had eaten just before coming to chapel. That night, when the devil was filing his report for the day, he wrote: “Today I tried to tempt three monks, but I only succeeded with two of them.”

TORONTO - Coming to terms with aging through spiritual discernment is critical to sound decision making in the second half of life, said Sr. Mary Rose Marrin.

TORONTO - Franck Waille still has the posture of a dancer. When he stands, his back is straight, his shoulders are squared and his feet are pointed out — a more relaxed version of ballet’s first position.