Leon Bloy once wrote, “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.” The vocation to become a saint is the vocation of each baptized person, therefore it is a vocation for all of us who have been baptized. This Sunday we celebrate the…
World Mission Sunday is celebrated on Sunday October 18 this year. Because of our baptism into the life and love of Jesus, each of us shares in the mission of the Church. Jesus described that mission of the Church as He ascended into heaven: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the…
On October 7 the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Rosary. Known for several centuries by the alternate title of “Our Lady of Victory,” the feast day takes place in honor of a 16th century naval victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of…
The dedication of a church is meant to set apart a building for the divine worship of the Church. Almost everything we use in the worship of the Church is blessed and consecrated and taken out of the common and secular use to be used only for the worship of the Church: the sacraments, but…
Jesus does not abandon us. Before His Ascension Christ told His Apostles to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28, 19 – 20)….
The Eucharist is the most important of the seven sacraments, because it is in this and in no other sacrament that we receive the very body and blood, soul and divinity of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. There are many graces that flow from the faithful reception of this most sublime of sacraments. Communion then is…
On May 1st the Archbishop re-consecrated the Archdiocese of Vancouver to Mary, Mother of the Church. This was an initiative coordinated by the U.S. and Canadian Bishops during this time of pandemic. In his homily the Archbishop said: “Looking down from the Cross, Jesus recognized the first fruits of the family which he had come…
Holy Week is the week which precedes the great feast of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Holiness means desiring with God’s help to be filled with God’s love and doing the will of the Heavenly Father. Jesus leads us in our growing in holiness especially as we join him in the last days…
On the Church calendar, February 11 is the World Day of the Sick. This day highlights the healing ministry of the Church. It reminds us that service to people who are sick and suffering cannot be neglected. The Canadian Bishops write that this day of prayer for the sick “recognizes the great efforts of doctors,…
According to the Church’s liturgical calendar, the feast held on Feb. 2 each year is in honor of the Presentation of the Lord. Some Catholics recall this day as the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary because such was the feast day named until the 1969 changes in the Church’s calendar. The…