Belfast, Northern Ireland -- In the mid-19th century, St. Malachy’s Church on Alfred Street added to its existing structure the largest bell in a city full of Catholic churches and Protestant houses of worship.

Detailed knowledge of our liturgical rites is sometimes derided as arcane or obscure. It’s true that sometimes liturgical matters are arcane and obscure. But in the liturgy lie lessons which teach us about important matters which are neither obscure nor arcane. Thus it is good to know the ins and outs of such matters.

Being here is so much harder than it seems. 

It’s a frustrating paradox. The Canadian government’s carbon tax is a bold, brave move that models to the rest of the world how to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, cabinet has approved the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project that flies in the face of the carbon tax and other measures to combat climate change.

There can be no denying Canadians are heading into summer 2019 after one of the darkest years for religious freedom in the country’s history. 

Here’s a novel way to pray the rosary: In the middle of a field, with rosary beads so large an adult can kneel inside them, in the company of a gaggle of geese — mom and dad with five goslings in tow.

Since the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, Quebec governments have been bent on driving religion out of their culture. Ironically, this campaign has co-existed with the broader campaign to preserve Quebec’s uniqueness in an English-speaking North America. 

Invited to the Ideacity conference in June, I was listening to an eclectic string of interesting speakers, from a British historian describing what Jesus really looked like to the rise of anti-Semitism in Canada and around the world.

Recently I experienced a rather serious injury. The official version is that I fell off a 15-foot ladder while rescuing a child from a burning building. 

Curiosity is not my first response. The little voice is so imploring: “Is there just one more packet of seeds in this drawer, Mommy? I just need to plant one more packet of seeds.” I am making dinner, on a timeline, and the combination of little hands in the junk drawer and the garden boxes raises my blood pressure. I just want to finish cooking. Who has time for curiosity?