Image inspired by photographs of Pope St. John Paul II, Author: “Theology of the Body”

By: Sr. Helena Burns, FSP ©

“The Human Person Becomes a Gift in the Freedom of Love”

Is it possible to abuse the gifts of God? Absolutely. Does it make them any less a gift just because they are open to abuse or we abuse them? No. Thomas Aquinas said that just about anything can be abused, even Gregorian Chant!

But what happens when we abuse a gift whose sole purpose is to keep us from abusing God’s gifts?

I’m talking about Theology of the Body, of course. God’s gift of Theology of the Body, given to us through St. Pope John Paul II, was written to restore and deepen the true meaning and dignity of the body, sex, beauty, love, relationships and marriage.

There are truncated presentations of TOB that are an oversimplification of God’s teachings on the body, human interactions, sexual morality, marriage. Instead, Theology of the Body is a comprehensive anthropology:

• What does it mean to be human?

• What does it mean to be the freaks of the universe, uniting matter and spirit, the physical and spiritual like no other creature?

Natural Family Planning (NFP)

By limiting youths’ and adults’ exposure to TOB to a one-hour “chastity talk” once in their lives, or a little Natural Family Planning (NFP) for engaged couples — the message is sent that TOB is not a terribly broad or important tool, and these vital topics do not require much of our attention, let alone a lifelong struggle and learning curve, with accompanying rewards.

The idea can be embedded by faulty TOB training that if I simply abstain from sex till marriage, my married life will be permanently ecstatic. And if I practice Natural Family Planning, I will be in total control of every aspect of my future — childbearing and rearing will be a breeze.

As a long time presenter, I have found there can be a shallow kind of enthusiasm for TOB if it isn’t presented in its proper, much broader context (which isn’t always possible).

Presenting a “hit and run” talk can lead to folks simply trying to find a way to fit TOB into their pleasure-seeking ethos. However, there are also plenty of folks, young and old, who get that Theology of the Body goes deep and wide, who understand that the Cross is everywhere, even in the most delightful aspects of life. And the Cross is our salvation.

I’ve heard even recent graduates from stellar Catholic universities were horrified at how “difficult” marriage is. Others got supremely frustrated when NFP didn’t “work.”

Teaching Natural Family Planning

What we can accomplish with elbow grease - and by the Grace of God!

I think a main problem is the way we raise children to think that life is all about “being happy,” or “whatever makes you happy,” and that negative emotions, being challenged by something difficult, or simply having a bad day is the worst possible thing that could happen to you, means something is terribly wrong and you need to pop some meds.

Believers can even send the message that “God wants you to be happy,” without the full catechism exposition of “knowing, loving, serving God,” and the far superior “happy with Him in the next life.” We set young people up to fail, to be fragile, to trust and follow only their emotions, think only of this life, etc.

And sometimes we can forget that we’re not doing this short life on our own:

• Prayer,

• The sacraments,

• The practice of virtue,

• Nobility of character,

• Self-denial,

• Enriching our knowledge and wisdom,

• Combating our personality defects — with trust in God’s help and strength,

. . . these all go into the mix to make us, over time, fine, affable, nuanced, strong human beings, whether married or not. Life is not stasis.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another. (1 Thessalonians 3:12).

No, we can’t just skip to the good part, but we can get there with elbow grease and the grace of God.

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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Mary Points the Way to Christ

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

Discovering Mary Anew

Years ago, at the start of my diaconate formation, I closed my eyes during a contemplative prayer exercise and found myself gliding across a beautiful lake in a boat. Little did I know that this experience would change the way I understood Mother Mary.

Many people have a strong devotion to our Blessed Mother. Although Christians of various traditions honor Mary, Catholic devotion expresses this honour within a distinctive theological and liturgical framework.

For much of my life as a Catholic, I did not give Mary as much attention as she deserved. All followers of Christ have a deep respect for Mary. However, in my ecumenical ministry with former prisoners, I often found myself in discussions with other Christians who were not Catholic—wonderful people, many of whom had an in-depth knowledge of Scripture, chapter and verse—about the role of Mary.

Following Mary's Invitation

As I mentioned, the way I looked at Mary began to deepen during my first weekend of diaconate formation. Fr. Chris Rupert, S.J., encouraged us to close our eyes and imagine a scene that would bring us closer to God.

For some reason, I saw myself piloting a very nice boat across a lake. I thought to myself, “It would be great to have a boat like this,” and immediately realized that this was not the point of the meditation.

When I reached the dock, there was a small but welcoming cottage. A woman appeared. I could tell that she was my vision of what the mature Virgin Mary might look like, and she said to me, “You have come to see my Son. He is waiting for you in the garden.”

When I looked over, I saw Jesus tending the plants. When he saw me, he waved me over, and we disappeared behind the cottage as we headed down a path into the forest.

Why Mary Points Us to Christ

It was then that I realized—perhaps for the first time in a truly meaningful way—that Mary was there to point me, and all of us, to her Son. She was always there, no matter how lost we were, to show us the way to him.

I used this story to explain to my Protestant friends why Mary has such an important place in our hearts.

They could accept that for the most part, but we often found ourselves discussing what Catholics believe. Many times, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption would be brought into the conversation.

The Assumption of the Virgin — Nicolas Poussin c. 1650.

The Assumption and the Hope of Heaven

The Assumption is, to me, one of the most fascinating feasts because it has such a long history.

First, we believe that Mary was assumed into heaven, body and soul. The Assumption is therefore a glorification of her entire human person. It is closely related to the Immaculate Conception, through which Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception. The Immaculate Conception is a subject for another article, but it is closely connected to the Assumption.

The Church’s belief in Mary’s Assumption is rooted in apostolic Tradition, although the event is not described explicitly in Scripture, as my Protestant friends would point out.

From the earliest centuries of the Church and throughout the centuries that followed, the celebration of Mary’s glorious Assumption grew.

The Church Proclaims a Sign of Hope

The Assumption is one of only two Marian doctrines solemnly defined ex cathedra which means “from the chair” a definitive teaching on faith or morals for the whole Church by a Pope.

The first was the Immaculate Conception, which teaches that Mary was conceived free from original sin, defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. Nearly one hundred years later, Pope Pius XII defined the Assumption as a dogma of the Catholic Church.

Pope Pius XII promulgated the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus—Latin for “The Most Bountiful God”—on 1 November 1950. In it, he declared:

We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

One interesting note is that the Church has not defined whether Mary died.

Pope Benedict XVI observed in a homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption that Mary’s glorification is a sign of sure hope and consolation:

In Mary taken up into Heaven we therefore contemplate the One who, through a unique privilege, was granted to share with her soul and her body in Christ’s definitive victory over death. (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption, 15 August 2009)

A Promise Made and Kept

The reason the Assumption speaks to me so deeply is that it is about a promise made and a promise kept. Jesus Christ has promised all of us eternal life, and that promise is sacramentally signified and begun in our Baptism.

With her Assumption into heaven, Mary once again points the way to Christ. The garden remains, for me, an image of heavenly glory, and Mary directs us toward Jesus, who is waiting for us—not merely in the imagined scene from my meditation, but in the fullness of heavenly glory.

Mother Mary-Pray for us.

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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St. Lawrence Presents the Church's True Treasure.

A small piece of Canadian history begins on August 10, 1535.

On that day, Jacques Cartier sailed into a vast body of water. Because it was the feast of Saint Lawrence the Deacon and Martyr, the Gulf of St. Lawrence—and later the St. Lawrence River—would bear his name.

More important than this Canadian connection is the saint himself. Tradition tells us that when Lawrence was ordered to surrender the “treasures of the Church,” he presented the poor and the sick, declaring, “These are our treasures.” His witness captures the heart of diaconal ministry: recognizing Christ in those most often overlooked.

In the reflection below, Deacon Robert Kinghorn explores that same ministry of presence, rooted in the example of St. Lawrence and lived on the streets of Toronto.

Deacon Mike Walsh

On the Streets of Toronto: “A Ministry of Presence”

The Spirit of St. Lawrence

A Reflection by Deacon Robert Kinghorn

What are you doing in this bad part of the city?

I looked around and saw a young man bent over and out of breath, his roller-blade wheels still spinning in the dark of the evening.

He had seen my clerical collar. The “bad part of the city” he referred to is a Toronto neighbourhood known as “the track,” where prostitution is open and drugs are barely concealed.

I told him I come downtown every week to walk around and chat with people on the street. He wished me a good evening and took off.

The question is haunting. Not in its simplicity, but in its challenge. What am I doing in the bad part of the city? Why are people surprised to see the Church in the “bad part of the city”?

Where else should we be?

My ministry as a Deacon is to be a presence on the streets of downtown Toronto.

Thursday nights I can be found on streets that some consider bad parts of the downtown core. Even there, miracles abound and are just awaiting discovery.

It started in 2004 when I was driving in the downtown area at 1 a.m. to take someone home. The streets were wet and, under a dim light, shadowy figures were negotiating a prostitution deal.

As I surveyed the street, people were scurrying to and fro, some disposing of garbage while others were rummaging through it looking for food and clothes. Still others were clearly on drugs as they purposefully walked and waved their arms as if swatting at imaginary flies.

“The people of the night,” I thought to myself, “this is their existence.”

So where is the Church? I knew the Church was in the drop-in centres such as Good Shepherd Refuge, St. Francis Table and Yonge Street Mission, caring for those who needed food and shelter - but where is the Church on the Street?

It was this simple thought that found me two years later asking permission, first from my wife and then from the Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto, to walk these streets at night as my diaconal ministry of service.

My plan was simple: walk these streets every week at the same time and in the same area, not as a social worker to hand out money, clothing or food, but as a friend who would listen to the cares, dreams and hopes of the “people of the night.”

Perhaps in this simple act of ministry, they would come to believe that God indeed loves them just as they are.

Seeing Christ in Every Person

Meeting Christ on the Streets

In the papal encyclical The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis wrote,

I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.

But many people equate healthy spirituality with a life that is centred on church attendance. They have asked me if I have brought those I meet to Christ, but my response is that He is already there; I simply go to meet Him.

Grace is the only answer we have. Grace brings its own freedom as I walk around each week with no agenda. I realize that the day I have an agenda to get people off the street, or to “bring them to Christ” or to “save” them, is the day that I have lost the script that was written many years ago by the One who washed the feet of His disciples; not only those who were to continue to follow Him, but also the one that He knew was about to betray Him.

I have not heard a call to change the people on the streets, but I have heard a call to be changed by them.

We contemplate the face of Jesus in the Eucharist, but can we contemplate His face in the poor?

The Face of Christ in the Poor

This is my challenge. Can I sit in silence and contemplate the people I have met on the street and see Jesus suffering in their bodies?

This to me is the essence of ministry, to be able to contemplate the people we are with and to see the face of Jesus crucified. The same Jesus who said, “This is my body, this is my blood,” also said, “As long as you do it to one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me.”

We can kneel in adoration in front of the Eucharist and say, “My Lord and my God,” but can we kneel and say, “This is the Lamb of God” in front of the poor on the margins of society? They too have been sacrificed by the abuses of society.

The ministry of presence helps those on the fringes of society to see what we are all called to see—that our brokenness, blindness, un-freedom and sinfulness are what distract us and prevent us from noticing and responding to God’s self-communication.

Those pushed to society’s margins have chosen many distractions to temper the pain of being unwanted and rejected. Like all of us they will forever walk with crutches, but because of their awareness of their pain, they are often more prepared to look for salvation outside themselves than we are.

The diaconate is a call to remind us all that we can contemplate the face of Christ in the poor. It also dares us to believe that hidden there, often behind a deacon’s own prejudices, is the face of Christ crying out to be held, cared for, loved. It is a call to be radically diaconal, unafraid to set all else aside in the service of the family and the poor.

In a world in which position is privilege, a deacon’s call is to renounce position for the privilege of service. This is the charism that a Deacon shares with all who are baptized, and which is sacramentalized in Holy Orders.

Don’t let anyone say the Church is not respected on the streets. The clerical collar is a magnet for people who want to talk of their pain and their experience of God.

Perhaps the fundamental message that we can bring is that their lives, lived in a world shunned by society—the world of drugs, prostitution, violence, homelessness and mental illness—are lives that have been redeemed by Christ. It is the message that we all want to hear in the depths of our confusion and pain: that we are loved and forgiven, no matter what our past has been.

What am I doing in the “bad part of the city”?

• I am there to meet Jesus.

• I go to find Him among the people of the night,

• And to once again find Him in my own heart where His light is too often dimmed.

About this reflection

This article is excerpted from Deacon Robert Kinghorn’s first book, The Church on the Street, and originally published in The Catholic Register on Dec.8, 2019.

Deacon Kinghorn’s second book, Christ on the Street: Ministry of Presence, expands on this ministry of accompaniment and explores the spiritual foundations of being present to those on the margins. It is available here:

For purchase in Canada

For purchase Outside of Canada

(Excerpt reprinted with permission.)

Go in Peace and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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“The Transfiguration of the Lord”, by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834–1890).

By: Fr. Ernesto De Ciccio ©

A Glimpse of Glory

The Transfiguration of Jesus is one of the most unique moments in his life. Most of the time, when we encounter Jesus in the Gospels, he is working, performing miracles, preaching, teaching, healing, and walking among the poor. Much of the time, he is rejected, persecuted, and even hated.

But for one moment, three apostles get to see Jesus as they have never seen him before: shining in glory. His clothes become dazzling white, and he is surrounded by Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Law; Elijah represents the Prophets. Together, they give witness to this carpenter from Nazareth, who is not merely a carpenter, but the Son of God, the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

“. . . It Is Good for Us to Be Here”

You have to love Peter’s reaction. Witnessing this extraordinary sight, he does not want to leave:

Lord, it is good for us to be here. (Matthew 17:4)

In other words: Let’s stay up here. Let’s not go back down the mountain, where we have to be poor again, suffer again, and face persecution again.

Sound familiar?

Anyone who has ever been on vacation knows the feeling. We arrive somewhere beautiful and peaceful, and we think: It is good for us to be here. We do not want to return to daily life, to work, studies, duties, and responsibilities.

From the Mountain to the Mission.

We Cannot Stay on the Mountain

The temptation is to escape. And sometimes escape does us good for a while. It can renew our energy, bring peace, and offer healing.

But we cannot stay on the mountaintop forever. Like the apostles, we are all called back to reality.

Jesus could have given in to that temptation too: Let me stay up here. Forget the road to the Cross.

But Jesus knew who he was, and he knew what he was called to do. So down the mountain he went, and his disciples followed.

Remember the Light

Still, they would never forget what they had seen. God had touched their lives in a special way. Only three of them saw it; the others did not. But those three would carry that vision with them. Even in their darkest hours, they would remember who Jesus was, and whom they had chosen to follow.

And we have had moments like that too.

We have all known moments of transfiguration: moments when we felt God’s presence strongly around us, when life seemed to make sense, when we experienced inner peace, happiness, or even something that felt like a miracle.

Those moments may be few and far between, but we have all been blessed by special graces. Christ has come to us, spoken to us, and made us feel that he is right by our side. Just as those three apostles experienced the Transfiguration, we too have known moments when God’s nearness became real.

Christ Walks with His Disciples Today.

Carrying Grace into the Valley

We need to hold on to those moments and never forget them, because sometimes they are what give us the courage and strength to carry on.

When we have to carry our crosses faithfully behind Jesus, especially in the difficult and painful seasons of life, we remember:

• Christ has come to us.

• Christ has touched us.

• We have felt his presence.

So let us be grateful for our own moments of transfiguration. Not only for the great moment in the life of Jesus, but for the ways each of us has been touched by grace.

Let us hold on to those memories of blessing, and let them carry us through troubled waters and deep valleys. They remind us that one day we will see the transfigured Christ in his glory.

And let us never forget the words of the Father at the Transfiguration:

This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to Him. (Luke 9:35)

Through the good times and the bad, through darkness and light, may we continue to listen to the voice of Jesus as he speaks to us, calls us, and guides our every step.

Homily From Daily TV Mass- August 6,2025.

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“The Assumption”, by Laurent de la Hyre (1653-55)

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Last month I offered a post on Mary Magdalene. She has always been a saint close to my heart, as her story was so human. An outcast because of the demons she suffered, a transformational encounter with Christ, and then a lifetime of glorifying the Lord by the way she lived her life as one of his disciples.

She was also a companion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially through those difficult moments of suffering and grief through the passion and death of Jesus, her son.

Mother Mary is, of course, the greatest of the saints, and this is evident by the feast day we celebrate this month on August 15th – The Assumption of Mary. This is a solemnity, which is the highest order of feast day in the Church, and we will post more on this celebration on that day.

A Celebration of Hope

One of the most interesting facts about this special day in the Church calendar is that it is a relatively recent teaching – if you consider 1950 recent.

Another unique aspect of the day is that the Assumption is a dogma of the Church, formally proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus on November 1st, 1950, with these words:

We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.— Munificentissimus Deus, 44

When we were considering the “Community Prayer” for the Daily TV Masses during August, we decided to ask Mary, as we celebrate her Assumption into heaven, for her intercession with the following prayer:

The Assumption, above all, is a celebration of hope – more than hope, perhaps a celebration that the promise made to us in baptism—eternal life—is real, and in Mary we see one who has been reunited with Christ in heaven.

Join us for the Daily TV Mass in August and renew your trust in that promise made to us that one day we will join Jesus, who has prepared a room for us in his Father’s house.

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“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.” (Matt. 13:24-25)

By: Fr. Peter Jae Choi ©

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

God is unbelievably patient and merciful; it’s beyond our comprehension!

Even when God chastises, He never does it out of anger or with ill intent. When God disciplines us, He does so to correct us and heal us.

For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal. (Job 5:18)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus taught the crowd using the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. The weed Jesus is referring to in the gospel, is Darnel. It is also sometimes called false wheat, because they look so similar they are almost indistinguishable during the early stage of growth. Weeds are, firstly, invasive, because they interfere with the crop yield, by entwining with the root system of wheat.

Jesus warned them about how good and evil will coexist in the world until the end of time. However, lack of immediate judgment does not mean there will not be judgement and punishment at the end of time. It is sure to come!

But in the meantime, God is being patient in order to protect the righteous.

From Sinners to Saints

We all are a mixture of both good and bad, some saintly qualities but sinners.

I once read a story about two boys who were altar servers, a 9 year old boy named Francesco and a 10 year old boy named Annibale who were friends.

One day they were serving at Mass, and a fight broke out between them during Mass. Francesco got so angry he picked up a candle stick made out of brass and hit Annibale over the head. Annibale began to bleed.

Understandably, the priest kicked them kicked out of the Church. Fifty-five years later they remained best friends and they were reminiscing about their fight many years ago and laughed.

So who are these two boys?

Annibale became Pope Leo XII and Francesco succeeded him and became Pope Pius VIII.

I am sure if the people who attended the Mass, or their parish priest, on the day they fought in the church, were told that they would one day become Popes, they would not have believed you. They would have laughed at you.

God is patient and faithful. Unlike in the parable, where the wheat and the weed are two different species that cannot jump from being one to another, even terrible sinners can be transformed into a saint.

God is giving us the gift of time, opportunities to repent and change our way of life. I’ve seen people experiencing conversion and souls being saved in their last moment, while I was administering the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick or hearing their Confessions! Pope Francis re-quoted a wonderful description of what he heard the Church should be:

The Church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners.

The Church is a place of healing and mercy, rather than a place of perfection.

St. Mark Ji Tianxiang

The Story of a Martyr

There is a story told of a man who was certainly not perfect. A drug addict who became a saint. Mark Ji Tianxiang was born in China in 1834. He was a devout Catholic, a loving husband and father, and a dedicated physician who treated the poor for free. When he was about 35 years old, Mark contracted a severe stomach ailment and treated himself with opium—a common medical practice at the time.

This dependency spiraled into a lifelong struggle with addiction. Addiction was not understood as a disease in 19th-century China.

Because his repeated use of the drug was viewed as a grave, unrepentant sin, his parish priest scolded him and forbade him from going to confession or receiving the Eucharist. Barred from the sacraments for 30 years, Mark felt deep shame, but he never stopped attending Mass, praying for deliverance, and relying on God’s mercy.

He did everything within his power to be cured from his addiction but he couldn’t. So when his efforts failed and there was no hope for him, He turned to God’s mercy and prayed that if he could not be cured of his addiction, he would be granted the grace to die a martyr for Christ. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, anti- Christian militants arrested Mark Ji Tianxiang, along with his family and several other Christians.

They were given a choice to renounce their faith or face death. Mark refused to abandon Christ. As his family and companions were executed, he specifically chose to be the last to die so that he could comfort his loved ones as they faced death, singing the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary until it was his turn.

Pope John Paul II canonized Mark Ji Tianxiang as one of the 120 Martyr Saints of China on October 1, 2000.

Even though St. Mark Tianxing struggled with addiction, through God’s grace, He was saved and even became a saint. Even when we find ourselves in hopeless situations, God can make transformation and salvation possible. He is a loving God. He created heaven for you, and he wants you there!

Remember, God sees you.

He knows all the struggles and sins you have difficulty with. He can save you, and He will save you, if you will run to Him!

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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St. Ignatius of Loyola: Writing the Examen

By: Fr. Henk Van Meijel, SJ ©

The Examen: Part 2

The five steps are:

1. Ask God for light. Invite God to be with you and to help you see the day through his eyes.

2. Give thanks. Express gratitude for the gifts and blessings of the day.

3. Review the day. Reflect on your interactions and emotions throughout the day.

4. Face your shortcomings. Acknowledge where you fell short and seek growth.

5. Look toward the day to come. Consider how you will respond to God’s love tomorrow.

We have reviewed the first two steps in Part 1. We continue to Steps 3, 4 and 5.

Review the Day

We review our previous day and look first of all to today with gratitude, at all those people who have touched our heart: maybe a spouse or friends, or family. And we look at all those we interacted with and give God thanks for those people who have touched hearts.

In step three: Review the Day.

And we should also ask:

• Why did this person touch my heart in such a way?

• What was God telling me through that person?

And then we gently move to the more difficult interactions we had in the last 24 hours, and to take one of those interactions and to really sit with it.

• What was said?

• How did you react?

• Were you reacting out of emotions without thinking about your answers?

• What was the body language like of the person you were interacting with?

• What was your body language like?

  • Was it defensive or welcoming?

Because we also speak very much with our bodies, and again, maybe we should examine these thoughts: what was happening?

And we need to take our time to learn from those interactions, to take our time and to say, as we review a difficult encounter: “what did I learn”?

How would I do it next time if I ran into this person? Maybe I’d start with an apology to say: “Hey, I was not listening to you, but how can I make things better?”

And I suggest you look at that encounter — especially in a neutral way — to examine how God would look at it.

The idea is to learn from our interactions.

Face your Shortcomings

And this is very difficult for most people to look at - our shortcomings or character defects, as in the AA movement it would be called. But I prefer to use “shadows”. What are shadows? Something we learn from, early on in our lives. What keeps holding us back to being the best we can be?

In step four: Face your Shortcomings, your Shadows

That’s why it’s so important to learn from our encounters.

So for example, someone who is very detailed, say someone who is a bookkeeper or accountant who has to be very detailed in the job, which also will become a shadow in their life, as they have to have everything perfect order; everything has to be just so - in its place, which can be really disturbing to others.

We should not forget that we have some great God given gifts so we can live better lives, especially in our communities, especially as those gifts merit our families or at work.

Again, it’s so important to write in a journal and to get in touch with what is happening and to take time to listen to our hearts.

It is especially important as Roman Catholics. It is so often ingrained in us that we are bad and we’re probably going to go basically to the place of a big fire, because we are just a bad person. But it is about putting that aside - and remembering that our God is a loving God.

God loves each one of us, as we noted in each of the first few steps.

Our God is one who you cannot disappoint, a God who is there, and He desires that we learn from our own shortcomings, that we learn from our shadows and take responsibility for them - and to learn from those lessons.

So now let us take a few moments to review our shadows - those things that hold us back at being the best person we can be. And maybe we can journal our thoughts and ultimately reflect on our lives.

Look Toward the Day to Come

One of the things, but is also so important as we look to our own self-care.

• Are we getting enough exercise?

• Are we in touch with what’s happening in our emotional state?

• Are we wound up, or is something or somebody getting under my skin?

• Am I taking care of myself in all ways?

So, for example, if I’m really wound up or people are getting under my skin, I have to remove myself and go for a little walk in nature to calm myself down.

Step five: Look toward the day to come.

It is so important. And as we look forward to the next day, we need to take that time to gently look at our lives and to make decisions as we look forward to the day.

1. How will I engage with those I’m struggling with?

2. How will I engage with my own spouse?

3. How will I engage with my children, and those with whom I work?

4. How can I make that environment better?

5. And are we working together to build the Kingdom of God?

And this is not easy work, but it is very important that we’re gentle with ourselves, that we’re not beating ourselves up.

And hopefully this will help you along your own life, in your busy life, to grow closer to God.

The Ignatian Examen in Five Steps

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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St. Ignatius of Loyola, by Peter Paul Rubens

By: Fr. Henk Van Meijel, SJ ©

The Examen: Part 1

The Examen is a spiritual practice developed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola to help us become more aware of God’s presence in our daily lives. It is not just a method, but an attitude, a way of reviewing our day with gratitude, insight and hope.

The five steps are:

1. Ask God for light. Invite God to be with you and to help you see the day through his eyes.

2. Give thanks. Express gratitude for the gifts and blessings of the day.

3. Review the day. Reflect on your interactions and emotions throughout the day.

4. Face your shortcomings. Acknowledge where you fell short and seek growth.

5. Look toward the day to come. Consider how you will respond to God’s love tomorrow.

Ask God for Light

Actually, I don’t like the word spiritual direction at all, because it spiritual guidance might be better.

Spiritual direction indicates that I’m going to tell you what you should do and how you should pray, but spiritual guidance is that the director listens to the “directee” and listens to where the Holy Spirit is moving, and out of that, the spiritual director can ask questions but never suggest what the directee should do.

In step one: Ask God for light.

It is very important to to relax, to place ourselves before God, and to put all worldly thoughts aside and to stay calm - to find maybe a spot in our homes, in a place where we can feel calm and quiet.

We need to shut off the cell phone or a TV or radio, and just be silent, where we can sit in the presence of God. You might want to imagine God sitting right beside you, or God looking at you with loving eyes.

Or, you might imagine that Jesus is sitting beside you or looking at you - He is a God who loves you for who you are, and a God who wants to just love you.

And this is very important: to just take a few moments to sit back and feel the quiet in our hearts, for there to be no distractions, to feel comfortable.

I know of someone who was abused by her father and abused by her mother, and the only comfort she could get, was something pink and fluffy. And that’s quite right with God.

So we have to choose an image of God which is loving, and one we feel comfortable with it - one that speaks to the heart.

Give Thanks

In step two: we give thanks to God

Maybe we have an image we saw before, perhaps one of those images that give us comfort. We also need to just be grateful that:

• We woke up this morning,

• We were able to get dressed,

• We have enough food to eat,

• If we live in a nursing or retirement home and need help, that it has people to assist us and to give thanks for them.

• We have family members or friends, people like you and me, who are doing our best.

And it might be very helpful to do some “journaling”. We could write down possibly three things, only three things. Specifically, what we can give thanks for.

Of course, I invite you to do a whole lot more to maybe even make a list of all the things we are thankful for.

But there’s so much to be thankful for in our lives, and as we live in gratitude and thanksgiving for all we have received, we prepare ourselves for steps, three, four and five!

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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“. . . Jesus entered a village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.” (Luke 10.38-42)

By: Fr. Ron Rolheiser ©

The Resurrection as Revealing God as Redeemer, not as Rescuer

Jesus doesn’t grant special exemptions to his friends, no more than God granted special exemptions to Jesus. We see this everywhere in the Gospels, though most clearly in Jesus’ resurrection. To understand this, it’s helpful to compare Jesus’ resurrection to what Jesus himself does in raising Lazarus from the dead.

The Lazarus story begs a lot of questions.

Here’s the story:

Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, sent word to Jesus that “the man you love is ill” with the implied request that Jesus should come and heal him. But Jesus’ reaction is curious. He doesn’t rush off immediately to try to heal his close friend. Instead he remains where he is for two days longer while his friend dies. Then, after Lazarus has died, he sets off to visit him.

As he approaches the village where Lazarus has died, he is met by Martha and then, later, by Mary. Each, in turn, asks him the question: “Why?” Why, since you loved this man, did you not come to save him from death? Indeed, Mary’s question implies even more: “Why?” Why is it that God invariably seems absent when bad things happen to good people? Why doesn’t God rescue his loved ones and save them from pain and death?

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. (John 11.17-27)

Our God is a God who Redeems Us

Jesus doesn’t offer any theoretical apologia in response. Instead he asks where they have laid the body, lets them take him there, sees the burial site, weeps in sorrow, and then raises his dead friend back to life. So why did he let him die in the first place? The story begs that question: Why? Why didn’t Jesus rush down to save Lazarus since he loved him?

The answer to that question teaches a very important lesson about Jesus, God, and faith, namely, that God is not a God who ordinarily rescues us, but is rather a God who redeems us. God doesn’t ordinarily intervene to save us from humiliation, pain, and death; rather he redeems humiliation, pain, and death after the fact.

Simply put, Jesus treats Lazarus exactly the same way as God, the Father, treats Jesus: Jesus is deeply and intimately loved by his Father and yet his Father doesn’t rescue him from humiliation, pain, and death.

In his lowest hour, when he is humiliated, suffering, and dying on the cross, Jesus is jeered by the crowd with the challenge: “If God is your father, let him rescue you!” But there’s no rescue. Instead Jesus dies inside the humiliation and pain. God raises him up only after his death.

This is one of the key revelations inside the resurrection: We have a redeeming, not a rescuing, God.

There is no Escape from Suffering and Death

Indeed, the story of the raising of Lazarus in John’s Gospel was meant to answer a burning question inside the first generation of Christians: They had known Jesus in the flesh, had been intimate friends with him, had seen him heal people and raise people from the dead, so why was he letting them die? Why wasn’t Jesus rescuing them?

It took the early Christians some time to grasp that Jesus doesn’t ordinarily give special exemptions to his friends, no more than God gave special exemptions to Jesus. So, like us, they struggled with the fact that someone can have a deep, genuine faith, be deeply loved by God, and still have to suffer humiliation, pain, and death like everyone else. God didn’t spare Jesus from suffering and death, and Jesus doesn’t spare us from them.

That is one of the key revelations inside of the resurrection and is the one we perhaps most misunderstand. We are forever predicating our faith on, and preaching, a rescuing God, a God who promises special exemptions to those of genuine faith: Have a genuine faith in Jesus, and you will be spared from life’s humiliations and pains! Have a genuine faith in Jesus, and prosperity will come your way! Believe in the resurrection, and rainbows will surround your life!

Would it were so!

But Jesus never promised us rescue, exemptions, immunity from cancer, or escape from death. He promised rather that, in the end, there will be:

• Redemption

• Vindication

• Immunity from suffering, and

• Eternal life.

But that’s in the end; meantime, in the early and intermediate chapters of our lives, there will be the same kinds of humiliation, pain, and death that everyone else suffers.

The death and resurrection of Jesus reveal a redeeming, not a rescuing, God.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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Grandparents faithfully pass hope through prayer to every generation

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

From the Elderly to Elders

I applaud Pope Francis’ wisdom in establishing this annual celebration. It reminds the whole Church that older men and women continue to play an indispensable role in God’s plan of salvation. If I were Pope for a day, however, I might respectfully suggest one small change.

I would rename it the World Day for Grandparents and the Elders.

Words matter.

Our society often speaks of the “elderly” as though they belong to a stage of life that has passed them by. But an elder is something altogether different. An elder is someone who has grown not only older in years, but deeper in wisdom, richer in faith, and stronger in hope. Elders become the storytellers of our families, the keepers of our traditions, and the quiet intercessors whose prayers continue to sustain children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.

Perhaps this is something we can also learn from many of our Indigenous brothers and sisters. Across Indigenous cultures in Canada, elders have long been honoured as teachers, spiritual guides, and keepers of memory. They are respected not simply because they have lived many years, but because they carry the wisdom of experience and the responsibility of passing it on to the next generation.

Growing older is not about losing our place in the community; it is about embracing a new and vital role within it.

Pope Francis wanted to remind the faithful that growing older is not the end of one’s mission.

It is the beginning of a new one.

A faithful life becomes the inheritance of every generation

Grandparents and elders reveal God’s enduring call to guide the next generation.

There are many blessings that have come with serving as a Deacon over the past twenty years. Some I expected; others surprised me. One of the most meaningful has been serving families at funeral services.

When a family calls a Deacon, it is often because they have chosen to celebrate the Rite of Christian Funerals in a funeral home instead of a parish church. Frequently, the person who has died remained connected to the Catholic faith, but the next generation may not be practicing or may simply feel uncomfortable in a church. At such an emotional time, the standing, sitting, kneeling, and responses of the Mass can feel overwhelming.

Most of the time, I have never met the family before. Yet within hours, they invite me into one of the most sacred moments of their lives.

One thing I always do is spend a few minutes looking at the photographs displayed around the room. Years ago, they were mounted on poster boards. Today, they unfold as digital slide shows. The technology has changed, but the story rarely does.

The first pictures are almost always of childhood, followed by school years, a wedding, young children, family holidays, Christmas mornings, anniversaries, and graduations. Then, almost without noticing it, the children grow up and little children begin appearing once again.

The parents have become grandparents.

Today, I often see not only grandchildren but great-grandchildren gathered together. Four, sometimes even five generations are represented because of the life of one person. During the service, I often look at the grandchildren and ask one of my favourite questions.

“Do you know why grandparents and grandchildren get along so well?” Then I smile. “Because they share a common enemy.”

The room almost always erupts in laughter. For just a moment, grief gives way to joy. But behind the joke lies a deeper truth. Grandparents possess something many of us spend our lives trying to acquire—time, perspective, patience, wisdom, and the quiet ability simply to love.

Our culture often measures people by what they produce. The Gospel measures them by how they love.

Love, after all, is the one inheritance that only grows richer when it is shared.

Perhaps that is why, after every funeral, I leave convinced that the richest inheritance we can leave our children is not found in a will, but in the witness of a life faithfully lived.

A Legacy That Lives On

I have seen Pope Francis’ mission unfold countless times in funeral homes.

When families gather to remember someone they love, they rarely speak about careers, promotions, or possessions. Instead, they remember:

• Bedtime prayers, Christmas traditions, words of encouragement, unconditional love, and a faith quietly lived.

• They remember the grandfather who never missed Sunday Mass.

• The grandmother whose rosary was never far from reach.

• The great-grandparent whose wisdom could calm an anxious heart with just a few gentle words.

That is the vocation of an elder.

The pace of life may slow, but the influence of a life well lived often grows stronger. The Church still needs her elders. Families still need their grandparents.

The world still needs the wisdom that only a lifetime of walking with Christ can provide.

Saints Joachim and Anne: Faith received, faith lived, faith lovingly passed to generations.

The Quiet Legacy of Saints Joachim and Anne

As I prepared for this year’s World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, I was reminded that Pope Francis chose to celebrate it on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne—the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. It is a fitting reminder that the vocation of grandparents has always held a special place in the life of the Church.

The Gospels never tell us their names. Scripture is silent about Mary’s parents.

Yet from the earliest centuries, the Church has lovingly preserved their memory through sacred tradition, recognizing them as faithful members of Israel who helped prepare the way for the coming of Christ.

Earlier this month, we reflected more deeply on Saints Joachim and Anne in our Pray Together community prayer, inviting readers to send us their intercession for grandparents, families, and all who hand on the gift of faith. If you missed it, I encourage you to spend a few moments praying with us. It beautifully complements this reflection and reminds us that the greatest legacy we can leave the next generation is not wealth or accomplishments, but a living faith.

Although we know very little about Joachim and Anne, their witness continues to teach us. They remind us that holiness is often hidden. They are remembered not for extraordinary deeds but for faithfully living their vocation within their family. Their quiet faith helped prepare Mary to say “yes” to God, and through her, the world received its Saviour.

They also remind us that faith is handed on from one generation to the next. Before Jesus learned the prayers of Israel from Mary and Joseph, Mary first learned to pray within the home of Joachim and Anne.

The history of salvation has always been built upon ordinary families passing on an extraordinary faith.

God Never Retires His Disciples

So today, whether you are blessed to have grandparents in your life or whether you have become one yourself, give thanks. Better yet, tell them while you still can.

After all, God never retires his disciples.

Sometimes he simply calls them to become elders—women and men whose greatest inheritance is not what they leave behind, but the faith they leave within the hearts of those who follow them.

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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Jesus, the Divine Gardener, sows seeds of hope.

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

The Divine Gardener

A priest stopped by a farmer’s house and said, “My friend, you and God have done a wonderful job with this farm.” The farmer smiled and answered, “Thank you, Father—but you should have seen it when God had it all to himself!”

Anyone who has ever planted a garden knows that the hardest thing to grow is often what you planted. Tomatoes need watering. Flowers need care. But weeds seem to grow all by themselves. Jesus responds to this question in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds:

Where, then, did these weeds come from? (Matt. 13:27)

Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a field in which good seed and weeds grow together. The servants want to act immediately. They want to pull out everything that does not belong. But the master tells them to wait, because in trying to remove the weeds they may also uproot the wheat.

This parable reveals something important about God. The Book of Wisdom tells us that God is powerful, yet judges with mildness and governs with great patience. God gives people time to repent, time to grow, and time to become what they were created to be. God does not give up on us as quickly as we sometimes give up on ourselves—or on one another.

We are often very quick to decide who is wheat and who is a weed. We see a person’s mistakes, reputation, illness, addiction, anger, or brokenness and assume that we know the whole story.

But the Divine Gardener sees something more. Jesus sees not only who we are today, but who, through grace, we may yet become.

The Harvest of Grace

Jesus, the Divine Gardener gently restores Mary Magdalene

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Her story is one of the most beautiful examples of the patience and transforming love of the Divine Gardener.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus cast seven demons out of her. She had known torment and suffering. Others may have feared her, avoided her, or dismissed her. Yet Jesus did not treat her as someone to be pulled up and thrown away. He restored her dignity. He gave her hope. And he gave her a mission.

The woman whom others may have judged became one of Jesus’ most faithful disciples. She remained near him during his Passion, stood close to the Cross, and returned to the tomb while it was still dark. The person some might once have regarded as hopeless became the first witness to the Resurrection—the Apostle to the Apostles. What an extraordinary harvest the Divine Gardener produced in her life.

A Ministry of Presence

Mary Magdalene and the Blessed Virgin accompany a family with quiet compassion.

Mary’s faithfulness at Calvary reminds me of a friend who recently died after a long illness.

He was larger than life: successful in business, generous with family and friends, and the kind of person everyone noticed when he entered a room. Then everything changed. What began as one health challenge became a series of battles lasting more than five years.

Gradually, many of the things that once seemed to define him fell away. Success could not cure him. Determination could not cure him. Wealth could not cure him.

But something else became visible.

Through every setback, people walked with him. Family and friends stayed close. In a special way, his wife and daughter became his companions on the journey. They attended appointments, listened through difficult conversations, encouraged him, worried, prayed, and cried. They accompanied him through fear, uncertainty, and suffering.

As death drew near, there was less that medicine could do. The focus moved from curing to caring, from treatment to accompaniment, from fighting death to helping someone live faithfully through his final days. They could not remove his suffering, but they could remain present. They stayed. They loved him to the very end.

That is what Mary Magdalene did at the Cross. She could not stop the suffering of Jesus. She could not fix what was happening. She could not take away the grief of his Mother.

But she could remain.

Her ministry at Calvary was a ministry of accompaniment, comfort, and faithful presence. Sometimes the greatest act of love is not finding the right words or solving the problem. Sometimes it is simply refusing to leave.

After Jesus died, she returned to the tomb carrying myrrh and spices, intending to perform one final act of love for the one she believed she had lost. In Jewish burial customs, this was a sacred work of mercy—an act of reverence offered to the dead. It was the last gift she believed she could give her Lord.

For this reason, the Eastern Church honours her with the beautiful title:

Mary Magdalene, the Myrrh-Bearer.

Myrrh accompanies Christ From Bethlehem to the empty tomb.

There is something profoundly beautiful about the title ”Myrrh-Bearer” because the earthly life of Jesus is framed by myrrh.

At Bethlehem, the Wise Men placed before the Christ Child gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold proclaimed a king. Frankincense proclaimed his divinity. Myrrh quietly foreshadowed his suffering, death, and burial.

Years later, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb carrying that same precious gift. She believes she is performing one final act of love for the crucified Christ.

She expects to find death.

Instead, she is about to encounter Life.

Jesus also compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed—the smallest of seeds that grows into something far greater than anyone imagines.

Mary Magdalene’s faith is like that mustard seed.

The death of Jesus wounds her faith, but it does not destroy it. While the Apostles hide behind locked doors, Mary keeps searching. Like the bride in the Song of Songs, she continues to seek:

Him whom my soul loves. (Song of Solomon 3:1-4)

Her faith may seem small, fragile, and overwhelmed by grief, but it is alive. Because she continues seeking Christ, that tiny seed of faith grows into something extraordinary.

She becomes the first witness to the Resurrection.

The “Divine Gardener” Calls Mary by Name

She came to the tomb expecting death and silence.

Instead, the risen Jesus- the Divine Gardner who spoke a single word to her:

Mary.

Everything changed.

The faithful companion of the Passion became the first messenger of Easter. The woman who had come carrying myrrh for the dead was entrusted with proclaiming the living Christ. The mustard seed had become a great tree. The Divine Gardener had brought forth an abundant harvest.

Mary Magdalene reminds us that we are not called to arrive before God already perfect. We are called to remain open to the healing and patient work of Jesus Christ, the Divine Gardener.

He can cultivate goodness where others see only failure. He can bring courage out of fear, compassion out of suffering, and new life from what appears to be a place of death.

Go in Peace

Perhaps we recognize a part of ourselves that feels more like a weed than wheat. Perhaps we are worried about someone we love and wonder whether that person will ever change.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds reminds us not to lose hope. The Divine Gardener is patient. He knows what is growing beneath the surface. He is still at work in us, in our families, and in our world.

Like Mary Magdalene, we are called to remain faithful even when we cannot see the whole picture. We are called to accompany those who suffer, to keep seeking Christ when faith feels fragile, and to trust that the smallest seed of faith can bear extraordinary fruit.

May we allow Christ, the Divine Gardener, to cultivate the good within us, so that, like Mary Magdalene, we may go in peace to glorify the Lord by the witness of our lives.

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Jesus’ Blood: The Fountain of Mercy

By: Sr. Helena Burns, FSP ©

“What Can Make Me Whole Again?”

July is the month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, beginning with July 1, Canada Day, which is also the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. Just to say those words: “Most Precious Blood of Jesus” feels so sacred—and it is! After all, it was His blood that expiated our sins and saved the world. I must admit that I’m partial to the wonderful, rousing Protestant hymns:

There is power, power, wonder-working power in the Precious Blood of the Lamb!” “What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!,

. . . as well as the invoking of the Precious Blood by all manner of Christians in different ways: for covering, for protection, for blessing. Who can forget the thrilling scene at the end of “Ben Hur,” when the blood of Jesus, mixed with rain, pours down Golgotha and touches him?

I remember when a parish in Toronto was introducing Holy Communion under both species. Instructions were given as to how to receive. We were to receive the Body of Christ first, and then, if we wished, to approach the cup.

It was fascinating to see how much more reverence people automatically had for the Precious Blood than the Blessed Sacrament. Some people did multiple bows first. A couple of people prostrated themselves in front of the cup before receiving. And yet, the Body is just as much Jesus as the Blood, so much so, that it is not necessary for the congregation to ever receive the Precious Blood.

When we receive the Host, we receive the complete Jesus: Body, Blood, soul and divinity. The same holds if we were to only receive the Blood. In fact, we have a few Sisters with celiac disease (they can’t have even the tiniest bit of gluten), and so they only receive from the cup.

In Eucharistic miracles, the Host often bleeds, showing us the unity of Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Jesus’ Blood: The Fountain of Mercy

All ancient religions always incorporated sacrifice into their worship, usually the shedding of animal blood. Jesus Himself is the final Sacrifice that ended all other sacrifices, and we are privileged to participate in it at every Holy Mass.

The book of the Bible that mentions the Blood of Jesus the most, is one of my favourite books, the Letter to the Hebrews, which many scholars believe was written, in part, for the priestly class. Blood was seen as the seat of life, so even how the blood of animals was treated had many stipulations. The first Council of the Church (the Council of Jerusalem recorded in Acts of the Apostles) had to deal with this.

There are wonderful devotions honouring the Precious Blood. Right in the Divine Mercy prayers, are several mentions of Jesus’ Blood as a fountain of mercy. The Precious Blood chaplet recalls each time in Jesus’ life He shed His blood for us.

“Jesus, I Trust in You”

The Body and Blood of Jesus in our Midst

If you drive through Quebec, many churches prominently feature a statue in front of their building of a Crucifix and three who were at the foot of the Cross: the Blessed Mother, St. John and Mary Magdalene.

Certainly, drops of Jesus’ blood must have fallen on them, to say nothing of when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took His body down, and His Mother and the other holy women washed and prepared Him for burial. I might be theologically way off base here, but every time I hear the Scripture passage where the crowds, demanding Pilate condemn Jesus to death, cry: “His blood be upon us and upon our children!”, all I can think of is the fact that Jesus’ blood does not seek vengeance. It forgives.

This past liturgical cycle is the first time I realized that the New Testament is very much about martyrdom. What are the readings and feast days right after Christmas and Easter? Martyrs: shedding one’s blood for Christ. Yikes! And of course, we’re all called to “white martyrdom”:

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:4)

When people are searching for God or investigating the Catholic Church, I often help them along the intellectual route (naturally, we Daughters of St. Paul are “media nuns” who teach through media).

But how often do I tell people about the Body and Blood of Jesus in our midst and encourage them to simply sit in front of Jesus in the Tabernacle in a church or chapel and let Him take over?

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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This article first appeared in The Catholic Register.

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Brown Scapular

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

Each year on July 16, the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This Marian feast invites us to rediscover Mary’s tender, motherly care and her constant desire to lead us closer to her Son, Jesus.

An Optional Memorial is a liturgical celebration that may be observed at Mass. While not obligatory in every parish, it offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect on an important aspect of our faith and draw inspiration for daily life.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mount Carmel with the Christ Child

The Meaning of the Brown Scapular

The title Our Lady of Mount Carmel takes us to the Holy Land, to the mountain where the Prophet Elijah encountered the living God. Centuries later, Christian hermits—many of them Crusaders and pilgrims—settled there, seeking lives of prayer, silence, and contemplation. Looking to Mary as their spiritual mother and model of discipleship, they eventually formed what became the Carmelite Order.

One of the most beloved expressions of devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the Brown Scapular. More than a devotional object, the Brown Scapular is a sign of our desire to belong more completely to Christ through Mary’s guidance and to live each day beneath her loving mantle.

It reminds us that the Christian life is one of trust, prayer, faithful discipleship, and confidence in God’s loving care.

In a world filled with anxiety, uncertainty, and constant noise, Our Lady of Mount Carmel gently reminds us that we are never alone. Like a loving mother, she invites us to place our trust in God, to rest beneath her mantle of prayer, and to follow her Son with renewed confidence, peace, and hope.

On this memorial, let us ask Mary to intercede for us and to help us grow ever deeper in faith and love for her Son.

A Prayer to Our Blessed Mother

Blessed Virgin Mary, loving Mother of Jesus and our Mother, wrap me in your mantle of protection.

Guide me closer to your Son, strengthen my faith, and help me trust in God’s plan each day.

Watch over my family and keep us safe in your care.

Amen.

Pray With the Daily TV Mass Community

Join thousands of members of the Daily TV Mass community as we entrust ourselves to Our Blessed Mother through this short video prayer.

Visit the Daily TV Mass YouTube channel to pray with us, and consider sharing this prayer with a family member, friend, or someone who may be seeking Mary’s comfort, protection, and hope today.

May Our Lady of Mount Carmel wrap you and your loved ones in her loving mantle and lead you ever closer to her Son, Jesus.

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St. John’s Vision of the New Jerusalem

St. John’s Portrait of Christ in the Book of Revelation

I invite you to watch this hour-long video: The Christ of the Apocalypse, produced by the National Catholic Broadcasting Council.

These talks are based on my book: The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation. Far beyond images of the “Four Horsemen,” “the Antichrist,” “the Number of the Beast,” and “the Battle of Armageddon,” the Apocalypse is – from start to finish – a Revelation of Jesus Christ, who will return in glory at the end of time to usher in a New Heaven and a New Earth.

As I examine St. John’s complex portrait of Jesus Christ in this video, I offer some reflections on a number of questions:

• How do we interpret the Apocalypse?

• Do we interpret St. John literally?

• Is the Apocalypse about the End of the World?

• Or is it about the beginning of a New Creation?

Finally, I offer some reflections on the relevance of St. John’s message of hope in our postmodern, post-truth and post-human world.

Throughout, St. John calls us to give brave witness to the truth of the Gospel and so to begin even now to become a New Creation in Christ.

For ours is the God who makes “all things new”. (Rev. 21:5)

“Jesus Walks Among the 7 Golden Lampstands” (Rev. 1:12-16)

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“Walking the Road to Emmaus Today: Sam meets Jesus”

By: Deacon Robert Kinghorn ©

Sam’s powerful story of fame, addiction, and redemption shows how Christ meets us in our deepest search for acceptance.

Watch and Reflect: Encountering Christ on the Margins

This reflection was originally presented by Deacon Robert Kinghorn as part of the National Catholic Broadcasting Council’s Lenten series, 40 Days of Lent – From the Cross to Hope.

In this talk, Deacon Rob reflects on the story of “Sam,” a gifted musician whose search for success, acceptance, and belonging led him through addiction, homelessness, and profound personal struggle.

Through Sam’s journey, we are invited to consider how Christ continues to walk beside those on the margins and how authentic healing often begins through accompaniment, compassion, and hope.

Where is Christ inviting us to recognize his presence in those searching for acceptance, meaning, and hope?

Walking the Road to Emmaus Today

Like the two disciples walking away from Jerusalem in sorrow and confusion, Sam was traveling his own painful road — chasing false promises of fame and belonging.

Christ met him through honest conversation, patient companions, and a deeper call to serve others.

His eyes were opened to the truth that real belonging comes from being known and loved by the One who walks with us always.

Go in Peace and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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“Our Lady of Tenderness”, Icon by: Ria Kinghorn

By: Sr. Helena Burns, FSP ©

A Hunger for Sacred Beauty

In April 2019, when Notre Dame Cathedral was afire in Paris, I was on a cross-country drive. I had decided not to listen to the news, but rather to pray and think, so I was oblivious to the conflagration.

As the kilometres sailed by, I became strangely obsessed with the thought that Western Catholics were starving for good religious art.

I suddenly knew I was.

The East never dispensed with or replaced their ageless iconography for something contemporary, time-bound or disposable--but we Westerners did. In fact, I grew up in churches with artwork, statuary and interior design (often a gutted wreck-ovation of a prior elegant design) that reflected fleeting fads.

St. Anne’s Church, Nova Scotia

Or they were new constructions: boxy, devoid of embellishments, featuring the latest abstract symbols, conceptions and conceits of modern art (often amateurish and even childish), some teetering on brutalism.

In a word: ugly.

But I convinced myself I liked these cold offerings, stripped of the ability to evoke either the peaceful or passionate beating heart of a living faith, hope and charity. Why did I approve of these mediocre monstrosities? Because I thought of myself as a thoroughly modern Millie and didn’t want to be some stick-in-the-mud who can’t move with the times and find the profound meaning hidden beneath bleak and barren surfaces.

As I look back, I realize how prejudiced I was, how I was blinding myself and denying what I actually found to be beautiful, even if it came from another time.

Rediscovering the Gift of Catholic Art

12th Century Icon

April 2019 was my breakthrough. I determined in the van that I was going to find an inspiring image of Our Lord and Our Lady--of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus—one that particularly appealed to me, that I would pray with (and bring on all future trips with me).

• Enough with formlessness and intangibility!

• Enough with mortifying my need for visuals!

• I am a tactile human being with five senses!

• I will have good Catholic art surrounding me!

This turning point was informed by several influences:

1. A story about an Orthodox woman in Eastern Europe who poured out her troubles before an icon of the Theotokos in her home at the end of the day. I always felt something terribly right about this.

2. Fr. Henri Nouwen’s book, “Behold the Beauty of the Lord,” which helped introduce Catholics to praying with icons.

3. One of my Sisters, an artist herself, who decorated her bedroom and office spaces like the Vatican Museums. I once thought this was over the top and against the spirit of poverty, but realized that every time I see a statue of a saint, a Crucifix, etc., I immediately begin praying and communicating with Heaven. It’s an impetus, a reminder. And now I think . . . why not?! I have followed suit, and my living and work spaces drip with enough holy paraphernalia to make Satan nauseous.

Two of my favourite Catholic artists are Michael D. O’Brien and William Kurelek.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against modern art. I simply believe that if religious art is not coming directly from the content of the Faith, it will be insipid, and we will feel that. Aristotle said that the purpose of art is to represent the inward significance of things, not their outward appearance. And yet if the objet d’art barely resembles the outward appearance, the connection will be lost, and we will be lost.

John Paul II’s Theology of the Body puts it this way:

The [human] body makes visible the invisible: the spiritual and the Divine,

for,

. . . we are His handiwork (Ephesians 2:10).

Human artists should imitate THE Artist, the Creator, who marries form and function, beauty and purpose, immanence and transcendence. Easier said than done, but it’s the mark of true talent.

“Supper at Emmaus” by Carl Bloch, c. 1878

The Way of the Lord is narrow and requires self-denial, but it’s also the Way of Truth, Goodness and Beauty.

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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This article first appeared in The Catholic Register.

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Home: The First School of Prayer

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

The Daily TV Mass community is unlike any other.

Every day, more than 125,000 people from across Canada and around the world join together in the sacred devotion of the Daily TV Mass. Some have prayed with us faithfully for decades. Others are rediscovering the Catholic faith they once knew. A growing number are searching for the deeper meaning, hope, and peace that only Christ can provide.

Yet despite our different stories, we are united by one thing. . .

Prayer.

When people ask me to describe the Daily TV Mass, I often say that we are much more than a television audience—we are a Community of Prayer.

That community becomes especially visible during one of the oldest and most beautiful parts of the Mass: the Prayer of the Faithful, also known as the Universal Prayer.

After listening to God’s Word proclaimed in Scripture and reflecting on it in the homily, the Church responds by praying for the needs of the world. Saint Paul urged the first Christians to offer “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:1), and the Church has faithfully continued that practice ever since.

At every Mass, we pray not only for ourselves but for the Church, our civic leaders, those who are sick or suffering, the faithful departed, and the needs of our communities. These prayers remind us that no Christian walks alone. Together, we carry one another’s joys and burdens before the Lord.

This is especially true at the Daily TV Mass.

Every day we receive prayer intentions from across Canada and around the world. While it would be impossible to read every intention aloud, each request is lovingly placed in our Daily TV Mass Prayer Intentions Book and remembered during the Prayer of the Faithful.

No one who asks for our prayers is forgotten.

Daily TV Mass Community Prayer

Several years ago, we introduced another tradition that has become a cherished part of our ministry—our Community Prayer.

Each month, everyone who joins us in the sacred devotion of the Daily TV Mass is invited to pray for a shared intention. It is a simple but powerful reminder that, although we may be separated by geography, we remain united in Christ.

This year our Community Prayers have focused on members of the Holy Family. Throughout the year, we have sought their intercession for the needs of our Daily TV Mass family. In March, for example, we turned to Saint Joseph, asking his prayers as the faithful guardian of Jesus and Mary.

Saints Joachim and Anne

Faith Passed from Generation to Generation

During July, we honour two often-overlooked members of the Holy Family: Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus.

Although little is known about them from Sacred Scripture, Christian tradition honours their quiet but profound influence. Through their love, faith, and example, they helped prepare Mary to embrace God’s call and become the Mother of our Lord.

Their witness is especially fitting as the Church celebrates the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on the fourth Sunday of July. Their lives remind us that faith is most often handed on from one generation to the next—not through extraordinary events, but through ordinary acts of love, prayer, sacrifice, and faithful example.

How many of us first learned to pray from a grandmother? How many were encouraged in the faith by a grandfather whose quiet witness spoke louder than words?

The Church has always recognized that grandparents and elders are among her greatest treasures. Their lives remind us that faith is not simply taught—it is lived, shared, and lovingly passed from generation to generation.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

During the month of July, at each Daily Mass we will offer the following:

As a community of prayer, let us give thanks for grandparents and elders who, like Saints Joachim and Anne, nurture faith and family across generations with quiet strength.

We pray to the Lord.

As you pray this month’s Community Prayer, remember that you are joining thousands of others across Canada and around the world who are praying these same words. Together we give thanks for grandparents and elders, ask God’s blessing upon them, and entrust them to the loving care of Saints Joachim and Anne.

If you have a prayer intention you would like the Daily TV Mass community to remember, we invite you to submit it through our website.

Leave a Prayer Intention

Go in Peace—and let us continue to pray for one another.

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“And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God. . . “ (Rev. 21:2)

By: Msgr. A. Robert Nusca ©

Is the Apocalypse really about the “End of the World”?

It’s fair to say that when most people think of the Book of Revelation, they tend to associate it with such images as “the Four Horsemen,” “the Number of the Beast” and “the End of the World.”

But a closer look at the Book shows us that there is much more going on.

1. As one world comes to an end, St. John’s visions lead us to reflect upon the arrival of “a New Heaven and a New Earth.”

Yes, one world will come to an end, but ours is a God who is in the process of making:

. . . All things New. (Rev. 21:5)

And so, as this world comes to an end and the Everlasting City – the New Jerusalem – looms ever larger upon the horizon, John calls us to make every effort to become “A New Creation” in Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:17).

By the life of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can discover that new beginning which is already taking shape amid the sorrows and disorders of this passing world, as the lives of the Saints show us.

2. St. John’s message is one of Hope, more specifically, “Hope in a time of danger”.

Scholars point out that while the hope expressed in the writings of the Old Testament prophets tends to be a “hope in the future”, the hope expressed in the Book of Revelation and other apocalyptic writings is “hope in a time of danger”, hope in a time of crisis, hope in an era of failed conditions.

St. John’s Message of “Hope in a Dangerous Time.”

3. St. John’s visions reveal a world, but they also create a world.

For as one world falls apart and a new creation dawns, John the Prophet of Patmos, invites us to step into God’s world and to be transformed in the process. Ultimately, these visions offer us a place to stand amid the shifting sands of post-modern thought.

4. The Book of Revelation teaches us about Worship.

John calls us to Worship God and God alone, adoring God and the Lamb, and to do so alongside the angels in Heaven. For ultimately, we will be transformed according to what it is that we worship, as the commentators observe.

5. Spiritual Struggle in the Book of Revelation.

Beyond visions of the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil, we are led to reflect upon the spiritual struggle at work in the human heart.

The processes at work at a “macro-cosmic level” are also at work at the “micro-cosmic” level. Our entry into the Kingdom is already in the process of being won — or lost — in the here and now, in the ongoing struggles within our hearts.

I offer some reflection on this struggle between the forces of good and evil in my book “The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation.”

“Put on the whole Armor of God . . .” (Ephesians 6:11)

6. St. John is – even now – issuing a call to brave, heroic witness to the values of the Kingdom of Heaven against the values of the earthly empire.

God calls each of us to give courageous witness to our faith without compromise. St. John warns us that we must not risk our eternal salvation in Heaven, for the sake of our own safety, comfort and well-being here on earth.

7. From Grace to Glory: John’s Vision of Human Transformation in Christ

Finally, the Book articulates an inspired and exalted vision of the human person transformed by God’s Grace. John’s visions offer a deeply spiritual and powerful corrective in a post-modern era that would build a world without God.

Ours is a time when there is more and more talk of the “post-human” and the “transhuman,” and some would go so far as to speak of the human person as a “hackable animal.”

In sharp contrast, John articulates an inspiring and compelling vision of the human person transformed, “angelified,” or “divinized” through the power of the Holy Spirit and a life of courageous witness to the values of the Gospel, as we see particularly in the “Promises to the Victors” in Revelation, Chapters 2-3.

We are Transformed through the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Archimedes once said:

Give me a place to stand and I shall move the world.

John’s visions offer us spiritual “place to stand” above the sorrows and the illusions of this passing world.

St. John invites us - through the power of the Holy Spirit - to gaze with him through an open door to Heaven (Rev. 4:1). His visions lead us to contemplate God’s world as we gain clarity upon our place in this world, and are transformed in the process.

In my next post, I invite you to watch the full hour-long video: The Christ of the Apocalypse, produced by the National Catholic Broadcasting Council, where I offer some reflections on the following questions:

• How do we interpret the Apocalypse?

• Do we interpret St. John literally?

• Is the Apocalypse about the End of the World?

• Or is it about the beginning of a New Creation?

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Welcome to the USA!

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

A Lifetime of Crossing the Border

I have always loved the United States.

For most of my professional career, I worked for two large American technology companies. My first job out of university was with Sperry-Univac, one of the pioneers of the mainframe era. In those days, a 100 MB hard drive came in a cabinet the size of a washing machine and cost tens of thousands of dollars.

I later worked for a young Silicon Valley company called Sun Microsystems.

Based just outside San Francisco, Sun gave me the opportunity to travel frequently to one of the most beautiful parts of the world. On several occasions, my family was able to join me, creating memories that have lasted a lifetime.

Buffalo, Bills, and Family Traditions

As a young family, there was nothing better than loading up the car and spending a weekend in Buffalo. A comfortable hotel with a pool, great restaurants, and shopping that seemed endless. From the Walden Galleria Mall to the ever-expanding outlet centers, there was always something new to discover.

That tradition continues to this day.

For the past fifteen years or so, my now-grown son and I have headed down the highway each season to join the Buffalo Bills fans for one of the most remarkable tailgate experiences in professional sports.

Since 2018, when Josh Allen became the Bills’ starting quarterback, we have also had the added pleasure of watching the Bills actually win more than a few games. The football is great, but what keeps us coming back is the sense of community and hospitality that surrounds it.

Today, my family still looks forward to heading to Florida each winter for a much-needed break from our Canadian winters. I’m not entirely sure our winters are getting colder—it just seems that way.

While in Florida, we attend several Catholic parishes.

At one parish we frequent, there is a moving moment near the end of Mass when ministers who will bring Holy Communion to the sick and home-bound are called forward and formally commissioned before the congregation.

As they are sent out, I am reminded of the early Church, when the dismissal was more than the end of a liturgy—it was a mission. The Eucharist was carried beyond the gathered community to those unable to be present.

In a very real sense, the Church's ancient call to "Go in Peace" continues today as Christ is brought to those waiting to receive him.

FIFA and Buc-ee’s: A Different Story Emerging

What got me thinking recently has been the growing number of social media videos posted by visitors attending FIFA Club World Cup events in the United States.

One of the most entertaining has been Freddy, a young German soccer fan whose videos documenting his travels across America have attracted millions of views. Unfortunately for Freddy, the dream of World Cup glory came to an end when Germany suffered an unexpected first-round elimination.

One of those experiences Freddy documented was discovering Buc-ee’s. To Canadians, it might sound like a gas station. In reality, it is something much more.

Three years ago, our own family made its first pilgrimage to Buc-ee’s while travelling through the southern United States. Like Freddy, we quickly realized that calling Buc-ee’s a gas station is like calling Niagara Falls a water fountain. The place was enormous, the food was surprisingly good, and the selection seemed endless.

It was also the first time we heard the famous announcement, “Brisket on the Board!” Suddenly, those words echoed throughout the store, signaling that a fresh batch of brisket sandwiches and biscuits had arrived. People moved toward the food counters with purpose.

Only in America could a gas station announcement become a tourist attraction.

In one widely shared video, Freddy and his friends were facing a long walk through the rain to avoid the cost of an Uber ride. A hotel receptionist took pity on them and personally drove them to the stadium. It was a simple act of kindness, but one that clearly left an impression.

Freddy’s videos are filled with similar moments of surprise and delight. He marvels at the size of things, the friendliness of strangers, and experiences that seem uniquely American.

They marveled at the sheer scale of America. Distances are greater. Cars are bigger. Everything appears supersized.

But what struck many visitors most was not the size of things. . .

The Americans we Encounter

. . . It was the people.

Again and again, travelers posted videos expressing surprise at how friendly, welcoming, and helpful ordinary Americans had been. Strangers offered directions. Servers took time to chat.

People went out of their way to make visitors feel at home.

When we travel to Florida each year by car, I am always struck by how often, after picking up a meal at a drive-through or checking out at a grocery store, someone smiles and says, "Have a blessed day."

It is a small gesture, but one that speaks volumes about the warmth and friendliness we so often encounter.

A Friendship Worth Celebrating

As Canada and the United States continue their occasionally complicated relationship, perhaps there is a lesson here. We often form opinions about entire nations through politics, headlines, and social media.

Yet countries are ultimately made up of people, and most people are far kinder than the caricatures we create about them.

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, it is worth recognizing not only its achievements, innovations, and influence on the world, but also the millions of ordinary citizens whose generosity and neighborliness continue to shape the country’s character.

So from one Canadian:

Thank you for your friendship, your generosity, your optimism, and for reminding us that the best way to understand a people is through an encounter.

And may God Bless America.

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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Happy Canada Day!

By: Deacon Mike Walsh ©

“O Canada”

On July 1st, Canada celebrates the 159th anniversary of Confederation, and we have much to be thankful for.

When Canadians sing our national anthem, one of the most familiar lines is: “The True North strong and free.” Those words have become part of our national identity. They speak not only of geography, but of character, history, and gratitude.

I am old enough to remember when our anthem was “God Save the Queen”.

It turns out that O Canada was first performed in 1880 and became our official national anthem in 1980. Over time, its words have helped express something many Canadians feel deeply: that this country is a gift, and that living here is a blessing we should never take for granted.

The True North

Canada: From Sea to Sea to Sea

Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward to the Arctic Ocean. We often describe this as a country that reaches from sea to sea to sea.

Across that vast landscape, each region contributes something beautiful to the Canadian story:

• Atlantic Canada offers rugged coastlines, fishing villages, East Coast music, and a gift of hospitality that makes visitors feel like family.

• Quebec reminds us of our French foundations, with its rich language, faith, culture, architecture, and history.

• Ontario, where I have spent most of my life, is where we find industry, education, and commerce, but also a place of extraordinary beauty—from Niagara Falls to the colours of autumn.

• The Prairie Provinces have long been one of Canada’s great engines of prosperity. Saskatchewan and Manitoba help feed the country and much of the world through their rich agricultural lands.

• Alberta was where I lived for about six years with my new wife in Calgary. Two twenty-somethings welcoming our son into the world—a true native Albertan—and it was simply a great place to live. Alberta is known as the energy hub of Canada and has helped power homes, businesses, and industries across the nation for generations.

• Further west, British Columbia brings us to the Pacific Ocean, where mountains, forests, and coastline meet in breathtaking beauty.

• And then there is the North: vast, demanding, beautiful, and unlike anywhere else. Life there requires resilience, respect for nature, and a deep awareness of the elements. The North reminds us that Canada is not only a country of cities and highways, but of silence, wilderness, and wonder.

Canada is defined by these differences. Like any family, we sometimes disagree.

Yet somehow, across regions, languages, cultures, and histories, we continue to belong to one another.

Canada: Strong and Free

Royal Canadian Navy Bangor-class minesweeper on D-Day, June 1944

When I think of Canada as a strong country, I think of my parents’ generation and, in a special way, my dad.

When World War II broke out he was too young to join the Navy, but he did anyway. As a young man, he found himself serving on a small Canadian minesweeper on D-Day, helping clear the way for Canadians and other Allied forces to land on the beaches of Normandy.

Canada was a much smaller country then, especially in population, but when the moment came, Canadians answered the call.

That has been true throughout our history. Canadians have served in war, peacekeeping, public service, hospitals, schools, churches, farms, factories, and neighbourhoods. The strength of Canada has never been only in its institutions or resources. It has been in the quiet courage of ordinary people willing to serve something larger than themselves.

Strength is not always loud. Sometimes it looks like sacrifice. Sometimes it looks like duty. Sometimes it looks like showing up when others need you.

Family, Faith, and Community remain Canada's greatest gifts.

But of these words—True North, strong, and free—the one we may take most for granted may be free.

Because of people like my father, and countless others who served, supported them, and sacrificed, we are privileged to live in a country where we can worship God, pursue our dreams, raise our families, speak our minds, and live without fear.

Most of history tells us that freedom is not the normal condition of human life. Even today, many people around the world do not enjoy the freedoms we often assume will always be there.

That is why freedom may be the gift for which we should be most grateful—and the one we must be most careful to protect.

Freedom is not simply the ability to do whatever we want.

True freedom carries responsibility: to care for our neighbours, to respect the dignity of others, to defend the vulnerable, and to build a country worthy of the gifts we have received.

Happy Birthday Canada!

So as we celebrate Canada’s birthday, may we give thanks for this beautiful country: for its land, its people, its history, and its promise.

May we never forget the blessing of living in the True North, strong and free.

Go in Peace —and Glorify the Lord by your Life.

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