A few weeks ago Pope Frances canonized two pontifical predecessors, Paul XXIII and John-Paul II. The whole process of making saints is a fascinating subject that many Christians have long had a strong aversion, almost an allergic reaction, to any notion of saints. That response is rooted in the real allergens of saint abuses. The… Continue reading Saints? Maybe (part 1)
Mercy is a core Christian impulse; it’s part of the heartbeat of the gospel. I wondered last week how mercy might play out in Toronto’s mayoral misadventures. And while mercy may feel like folly, it is not at all incompatible with wisdom. That got me thinking about another angle into this Toronto train wreck, now… Continue reading Mercy for the city
Toronto mayor Rob Ford promised to end the gravy train at city hall but no one imagined a train wreck like this. It’s been a scandal like nothing seen before in Toronto the good. This past week there’s been a snickering snort in our noses and a condescending smirk on our faces as we… Continue reading Mercy for the mayor?
When many little people in many little places do many little things, then the whole world changes, but sometimes not fast enough for me. Michael Franti We can do small things with great love. Mother Theresa I have a gift for you, one I hope you’ll gratefully receive. I want to give you a sleepless… Continue reading I dare you to do something little
While Toronto has an assortment of very fine galleries and a bevy of smaller galleries, I'm convinced the whole city is a gallery. And I don't simply mean the architecture, the built form of the city or the design of the urban landscape (which is a beautiful thing on its own). I mean, quite literally,… Continue reading Friday photos – the city is a gallery
Lord Almighty, we say we want to serve you, we say we want to help others less fortunate than ourselves, we say we want justice. But the truth is, we want power and status because we so desperately need to be loved. Free us from our self-fascination and the anxious activity it breeds, so that… Continue reading Free us from self-fascination
Getting ready for our move to a much smaller home in Toronto, our family is purging a whole mess of excess baggage we've been carting around for too long. Some of its easy to unload (really, did I need those forgettable grad caps and tassels?) but other treasures are hard to part with. For instance,… Continue reading My first (grade) gallery exhibition
This image of my mother and me has become an icon of sorts for the divine love, a lens through which I can better understand something of God. I'm aware that God has revealed himself most clearly through the image of a father in the pages of scripture (although God does employ some maternal images). … Continue reading An icon for my existence
If you were to build a perfect society, how would you build it? What you would include in it would be telling. But perhaps more revealing would be what you might exclude from your perfect world. McGill ethicist Margaret Somerville wrote this week in a Globe and Mail column about a move in Denmark to… Continue reading The mysterious mirror of disability
Happy Canada Day there eh! A great day to celebrate a really good nation. So fine a country is Canada that if you're not a citizen of the Great White North or never lived here, you should want to be Canadian. Let me give you just a few things to love about Canada: Maple syrup… Continue reading You should want to be a Canadian!
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