Having the hope to approach our longing

I have been sitting in my living room in the dark evenings lit up by the Christmas tree. I am fumbling with a fiddle, coaxing my fingers to play the notes of folk tunes and Christmas carols. This fall, the world seems particularly weary, beauty weighted with a complicated mix of war and worries. And I sing quietly along in my head one of my favourite lines: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”

Unpacking baggage of social justice

Learn to do good; seek justice.

Isaiah: 1: 17

I am not a social justice scholar. Nor am I an expert in the field of health care. I was invited recently, however, to be part of a forum on Catholic health care to define the concept of social justice, especially as it emerges within the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholic social teaching. This tradition, not surprisingly, heavily informs the values and practices that we see manifested in the health care system.

Presence of indifference reveals failure to love

Recently, I have been thinking about indifference, which seems to me to be the defining attitude of our times. At least, I thought of indifference as an attitude. Then I was asked to reflect on a statement by St. Teresa of Kolkata which included these words: “The greatest evil in the world is the lack of love, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbour.”

Turning Vatican II into Modernist heresy

You might be a Modernist and not even know it. I was. Well, a quasi-Modernist at least. I’m talking here about the official heresy of Modernism, not the cultural and artistic movement. There is also the “Modern Era” (lasting roughly from 1500 to 1945). We are in the Postmodern or Post-Postmodern Era now, philosophically speaking.

Violence feeds longing for the Prince of Peace

Advent is the time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Jesus. This Avent I await the Prince of Peace. I roll the words over my tongue and in my mind daily — the Prince of Peace. How we long for you in these days! 

Pride goes before all our follies

Is our freedom absolute? If God is perfectly free, and we bear His image and likeness, are we not then perfectly free?

Finding broken hearts can change the world

It all started with a call from a friend. “Would you be able to meet with a relative of mine who is sleeping rough on the streets and into drugs?” I said that if he was willing, I would meet with him. We arranged to meet at “Ripples of Kindness,” the outreach program run out of Sacre Coeur Parish in downtown Toronto. Little did I know that the meeting would lead me deep into the Rock ’n’ Roll scene of the ’80s and ’90s.

Christ will bridge the loneliness gap

It’s a condition that increases the risk of heart disease by 29 per cent, strokes by 32 per cent and premature death by 26 per cent. It has the same effect on the body as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. People with this condition are more likely to catch viruses, contract respiratory illnesses and develop dementia, among many other ills.

Adventures while awaiting God’s call home

I suppose I am one of the young, old. In January I will turn 65, and officially become a senior citizen.  Not long ago I spent a weekend with an old friend. During an evening of wonderful conversation he said, “you know Harry, we are in the prime of the rest of our lives.”  I thought his comment was noteworthy, so I wrote it down.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire

There he stood. Alone. Vulnerable. Attired as a Prince of the Church wielding spiritual power, he was unprotected from the risks of downtown Toronto street life.

Regaining belief as relationship with God

‘I believe’

As the darkest days of the year arrive in the northern hemisphere, my heart is aching with the knowledge of just how conflicted the world is. So many people not only fail to find comfort in faith, but struggle with the concept of belief itself. There is a crisis of engagement — in service clubs and churches and political issues, just to name a few. And it begs the question, what does it mean to believe in something.