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Making Sense of the Chrism Mass
The annual Chrism Mass never used to make sense to me. It seemed rather disjointed. There is the renewal of priestly promises and then, the reason Chrism Mass is called Chrism Mass, the blessing of the oils and consecration of...
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A Story Worth Hearing - Palm Sunday
People who study these sorts of things tell me that story telling is becoming a lost art. We just don't have the attention span to sit, to listen, to be with a story. It makes us uncomfortable because it...
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The Story of St. Joseph - 5th Sunday of Lent
March 19 is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph. His day is one of the two Solemnities in Lent (the other being the Annunciation, which this year will actually fall after Easter). The only thought I use to give this fact...
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Is It Pink or Rose?
"Priests don't wear pink, we wear rose". So starts almost every introduction to the Mass or homily I've heard on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. That is because the color of the day can be rose, even if...
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Belief Brief - Confessions
Why do I have to confess my sins? Can I not tell my sins directly to God, rather than a priest?
With confession in mind, this week's Belief Brief looks directly at the Sacrament of Confession.
In this week...
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Journeying in Faith This Lent
If you spend time with and around the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, you might know that the third Sunday of Lent is the time appointed for the First Scrutiny. The scrutinies, which take place on the third, fourth...
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Reflecting on the Resurrection
The end of the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent finds Jesus telling Peter, James and John not to tell anyone about what they witnessed, about Jesus' transfiguration, "until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead...
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Belief Brief - What is Prayer?
What action is at the heart of a faithful person? Prayer.
With prayer in mind, there's no better topic to look at when beginning a new catechetical series here in Our Faith Alive.
As a result of a months...
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Find a Healthy Measure of Hope in Lent
Hope is one of the theological virtues (along with faith and charity). It isn’t some pie-in-the-sky sort of wish for something that may or may not be likely: “I hope it doesn’t...
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Putting the "Lent" in Valentine's Day
It's starting to seem like the Church's calendar and the secular calendar have gotten together and decided that 2017/2018 will be the year of inconvenient dating. First, Christmas and Mary, the Mother of God were both on...
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Reaching God Through Pen and Paper
Earlier this week, I noted that the online world had marked January 15 as "Blue Monday," believed to be the most depressing day of the year.
As we get into the rhythm of a New Year, you might still be...
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Discerning Our Gifts
The following post is contributed by Mary Kay Boase, the Director of New Evangelization at Holy Family Parish in Whitby.
Our parishioners are on a journey, rediscovering what faith means in our lives – and who we are as a...
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The Good News of Christmas
It is finally here! It is finally Christmas. All the waiting and preparing has paid off, Christ is born! Now we can sit back and rest in the peace of Christ….right? Well, maybe not.
The first reading for...
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The Angelus - Advent Week #4
"Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to...
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Make the Path Ready - Advent Week #3
"Among you stands one whom you do not know…" That is how John the Baptist refers to Jesus when he is speaking to those who had been sent to him by the Pharisees. Imagine that, Jesus Christ is in...
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The Good News - Advent Week #2
The Good News (Gospel) in the Gospel of Mark starts with a call to preparation found in the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist. I know I normally think of John as calling for preparation in the...
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The Second Coming - Advent Week #1
My mother had a bumper sticker that said "Jesus is coming, look busy!" This is a busy time of the year, Christmas is right around the corner and we're doing everything we can to get ready for it. The...
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Telling the Story via Technology
With thanks to the ongoing support of the Family of Faith Campaign throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto, one parish in the Eastern Pastoral Region is finding new ways to evangelize with technology. The following is the story of their experience...
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Mothers Ministry Growing in Parishes
The Archdiocese of Toronto has joined forces with DWAO (Dynamic Women Association of Ontario) to start mothers groups in local parishes. Dorothy Pilarski, founder of DWAO, along with a dedicated team of volunteers, has been working with the archdiocese since...
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A Love Louder Than Noise
Marlena Loughheed served as the Communications Coordinator in the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Public Relations and Communications for the past five years. She departed the archdiocese in late July to pursue a vocation to religious life with...