Our Lady’s Birthday

A blessed and joyful birthday to Mary - even if it be muted this year, falling as it does on a Sunday. This feast...

Teresa of Calcutta’s Mission to the Poorest of the Poor

As universities gear up to receive students, we should leave the travails of this world for a moment and ponder the other-worldliness of Mother...

Dina Belanger’s Unrelenting Quest for Perfection

Blessed Dina Belanger is a home-grown Canadian saint - see our words on the martyr Andre Grasset from September 2nd - whom we commemorate...

Gregory the Great, a Pope for All Seasons

One of the great joys of history is reminiscing about the past, giving hope for the present; for history is ‘eschatological’, moving towards a...

Andre Grasset, Canada’s First Beatus, Martyr in the September Massacres

Blessed André Grassett was the first Canadian to be beatified - not quite the first 'saint', which requires canonization, and that honour belongs to...

The Not so Hidden Life of Blessed John Juvenal Ancina

Saint Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorians and the ‘second Apostle’ of Rome, recommended reading books beginning with ‘S’, that is, lives of...

The Baptist and Losing One’s Head

The celebration of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist - it was an expeditious entrance into heaven - is sort of a bookend...

Pope Benedict and Augustine

BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Paul VI Audience Hall Wednesday, 9 January 2008 Saint Augustine of Hippo (1) Dear Brothers and Sisters, After the great Christmas festivities, I would like to...

Augustine’s Pilgrimage to Truth

A blessed feast of the great Saint Augustine (354-430), bishop and doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest theologians in her history,...

The Persevering Prayer of Monica

Monica is the patron saint of mothers - not least, those who pray for the conversion of their children, an integral part of the...