I love statistics! I know what you’re thinking…I’m a nerd. Possibly. But, the truth is there are more nerds than you realize when it comes to statistics. It isn’t that I know nothing of sports; I just haven’t kept up much. Even though I haven’t been that guy as a sports fan, Donna and I Read more
It is the spring sumo season in Japan, one of the six two-week periods of the year when the national sport is played out before huge crowds. But not this year. The media are showing the wrestling tournament taking place in an empty venue. Spectators are banned from the arena. In various parts of the Read more
Mary, you always shine on our path as a sign of salvation and of hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm. You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need, and we are sure you will provide so Read more
More than 40 years of research on the psychology of surviving disasters has found that religion can be a valuable resource in fostering resilience. While religion is generally connected to positive outcomes, studies of people’s reactions to the Ebola outbreak and the Syrian refugee crisis show that some forms of religiosity may be less healthy Read more
Quite some years ago, I was working as director of Christian formation at a Catholic high school, I remember that on Ash Wednesday while assisting in signing students with blessed ashes. Instead of saying “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel,” to one of the students I heard myself starting to say, Read more
The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little are upset that Members of Parliament should see graphic pictures of defenceless and weak unborn children who have been violently killed in abortions. Right to Life asks that if the images exposing the bodies of the brutally murdered victims of abortion are so Read more
In mid-February, NCR ran two stories that seemed tangentially related, but are actually profoundly connected. The first piece told the story of Alana Chen, a 24 year-old woman who died by suicide in early December 2019 in the Colorado wilderness. Just four months earlier, Alana, a deeply devout Catholic, had told The Denver Post about Read more
In one of my earliest memories, my father is warning me about a famous man, “Remember, he still puts his pants on one leg at a time.” I remembered this warning when I heard about the fall of another famous icon, Brother Jean Vanier, the revered founder of L’Arche, an ecumenical community where disabled and Read more
Ernesto Cardenal, the renowned poet and Roman Catholic cleric who became a symbol of revolutionary verse in Nicaragua and around Latin America, and whose suspension from the priesthood by St. John Paul II lasted over three decades, died Mar. 1. He was 95. Known for his trademark black beret and loose white peasant shirts, the Read more
From eggplant lasagna to lentil sloppy joes, the Sisters of Mercy have cooked up some of their favourite vegetarian recipes as a way to invite Catholics to join them in eating less meat this Lent — and not just on Fridays. This year, the religious congregation is extending the Lenten tradition of abstaining from meat Read more