Charles Lewis: Catholic books that top my Christmas list
I love making lists. It is how I fall asleep at night. Sometimes I try to name every baseball club and at least one player from each team, or think of 10 music albums I would bring with me should I ever be sent to an offshore penal colony or to the opera.
The Church on the Street: The Spirit intercedes with prayer for peace
I have become used to the cacophony which inhabits the downtown of the city and usually treat it as background noise as I walk around.
Robert Brehl: Friend’s passing puts things in perspective
The other day, I went to pay my respects to the widow and two children of a friend and neighbor whom I played pick-up hockey with for several years. He was only 55.
- By Robert Brehl
Francis Campbell: Halifax-Yarmouth diocese going back to its missionary roots
It’s difficult to equate dynamic evangelization with the reality of shrinking numbers of parishes, priests, parishioners and active churches. But evangelization is exactly what the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth hopes to achieve through a strategy called New Parishes: Stronger Together.
Figure of speech: Ghost images remind us of the great cycle of life
As a photographer, I always assumed my interests were odd. My preferred subjects were dilapidated buildings, rusted metals and abandoned spaces. I love detailed closeups of ghost phrases — slogans and ads painted on crumbling surfaces that are still just visible to the eye, decades after the products were available. Driving through the countryside I will often pull over to photograph a collapsed shed, a rusted sign or a crumbling wall.
Readers Speak Out: December 2, 2018
A peacemaker
Re: Reflections of a nation in a time of grief (Nov. 18):
Fr. J.A. McDonagh’s account of the events following John F. Kennedy’s assassination was remarkable. Reflecting on the tragedy, he wrote: “Nothing will be the same again until merciful time has weighed all the evidence produced.”
Editorial: Canada must step up
Canadians generally prefer that people wait their turn, but compassion sometimes demands that we unite and jog someone to the front of the line. That time has come in the case of Asia Bibi. We should take her hand and hurry her to save haven in Canada.
Peter Stockland: Montreal parish reflects Canadian story of faith
When Montreal’s English Speaking Catholic Council hosted a talk on faith and immigration the quintessential church hall basement of St. Kevin’s Parish on Côte-Des-Neiges Road was an obvious choice.
Glen Argan: Moments of stillness resonate in the soul
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of Your presence during my time of silence. You have given me the human ability to still myself and listen. You have blessed me with freedom from physical or emotional maladies which could hinder my ability to be silent and still. Yet, despite that gift, a million excuses keep me from coming to You.
- By Glen Argan
Barefoot and Preaching: Learning how to spend and save energy
Energy is one of the great miracles of life. As the trees lose their leaves and preserve energy for the spring, I have been thinking about how I spend my energy, and what human dormancy looks like.
Readers Speak Out: November 25, 2018
Measurable standards
Re: Great Expectations (Nov. 11):
Director of education Ab Falconi from York Catholic District School Board is proud that Ontario Catholic schools graduate a higher percentage of students than public schools. On the surface this sounds really good, but what does it actually mean? Do we know that it’s not a case of removing the net so that every student can play tennis?