Despite plenty of reasons to believe otherwise, Christianity remains the greatest force in the global push for human equality, human rights and the dignity of the human person.

For fans of the Edmonton Oilers, like myself, the Stanley Cup playoffs are a time of mourning. Our team has only made it to the playoffs once in the last 13 years. Well, we can cheer for another Canadian team, but this season all three which made the playoffs — Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs — lost their first-round series.

Belief in the bodily resurrection from the dead of the crucified Christ is the core of Christian faith. St. Paul stated the point succinctly: “If Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Indeed, the importance of the Resurrection goes further than that. The empty tomb reveals that the Resurrection is not a testimony to the immortality of the soul or to a “spiritual” rising in which Christ’s spirit lives in His followers while His body decays in the ground. As well, the rational grounds for belief in the Resurrection are evidence that faith is not blind or irrational.

Last week, I put on my detective’s hat to help a friend from out of town. Her father had lost contact with a close friend of his who lived in St. Albert, a suburb of Edmonton. Could I help my friend’s dad find his friend?

Thomas Merton, the most influential Catholic spiritual writer of the 20th century, spent the last period of his life trying to find points of common ground between Catholic mysticism and the mysticism of the East. Some might argue that Merton’s efforts were folly, but one cannot deny his influence.

Edmonton – The headline told the story: “Catholic sex-ed proposal puts church, NDP on collision course.” Columnist Paula Simons’ front-page offering in the Oct. 24 Edmonton Journal was correct on at least one point: The Catholic Church in Alberta and the NDP government are deeply at odds. The differences involve revision of the provincial sex education curriculum, as well as new legislation on gay-straight alliances (GSAs). As well, there is Premier Rachel Notley’s insulting characterization of a Catholic sex education proposal as giving moral legitimacy to rape.

The mountain ash tree in our front yard is at the peak of its autumn brilliance. I sit on the couch in our living room awed by the array of gold, green, yellow and red.