Actions, as the old saying goes, speak louder than words. While that isn't to say that what we as Catholics say doesn't matter, it does help us to understand that our actions have consequences, positive and negative...
The second reading for the Fifth Sunday of Easter is one of my favorites. We hear from John that there is a new heaven and a new earth because the former ones have passed away. God, we hear, dwells with...
Jesus, and the first audiences for the Gospels knew their animals. The Gospels are full of references to animals, and it seems that many times it is sheep.
I'm from the suburbs, the amount of things I know about...
Before this year's candidates for priesthood walk down the aisle of St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica, they will have been supported by parishioners and friends in prayer the night before.
Once again, the Office of Vocations, together with the...
This week marks Catholic Education Week across the province of Ontario. To acknowledge this occasion, Cardinal Thomas Collins, the Archbishop of Toronto, is celebrating and recognizing publicly-funded Catholic Education with a special message.
While reflecting on...
In the Archdiocese of Toronto this year the Third Sunday of Easter is also the archdiocesan Neophyte Mass. The final period of the Christian Initiation of Adults is known as the Period of Postbaptismal Catechesis or Mystagogy. It is...
"….the Church must consider it one of her principal duties-at every stage of history and especially in our modern age-to proclaim and to introduce into life the mystery of mercy, supremely revealed in Jesus Christ." (Dives in...
The following homily was provided to us by Fr. Michael McGourty, Pastor of St. Peter's Parish in Toronto.
The celebration of Easter is for all Christians the highpoint of our year of faith. At Easter we celebrate the fact...
The Easter Vigil is the final liturgy of the Triduum. It is the night that we "keep the memorial of the Lord's paschal solemnity…listening to his words and celebrating his mysteries…" (from the Greeting of the...
Good Friday and Holy Saturday are the only two times when the Eucharist is not celebrated. It is a time where the Church sits in the reality that Christ is in the tomb. We sit in the reality of what...
"On the day before he was to suffer for our salvation and the salvation of all, that is today, he took bread in his holy and venerable hands and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty...
I have a friend that whenever he asks for prayers he always starts with "In your charity please pray for X." The idea that as Christians we are bound to each other out of a deep love in Christ...
Sometimes, for me at least, during Lent, it is easy to focus on a particular kind of image of Christ. You can probably picture him: Christ beaten and bruised, hanging on the cross. It always seems like a good Lent...
The first Sunday of Lent is the day that is set aside in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for the Rite of Election. It marks an important milestone in the life of the catechumen (the person...
Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent. It is the start of that great period that leads up the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil). It is marked by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
I don't...
In January 2018, I attended a presentation on the then-upcoming 2019 World Youth Day and I decided I was not going to go. After all, it was going to be held during late January and I had a full...
As I return to my normal routine after a restful and fruitful Christmas break, I find myself at an interesting place in my seminary formation: exactly halfway.
I entered St. Augustine's Seminary and began my formation for the diocesan...
Over the years, I have had many people ask me a very simple question when we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. That question is: "Why was Jesus baptized? If Jesus is sinless and the...
While the start of the liturgical New Year is actually Advent, the Church does give us a wonderful gift at the start of a new secular year, the celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.
Commemorated...
The following text is taken from Fr. Michael McGourty's homily, as delivered on the Feast of the Holy Family.
Every year, on the first Sunday following Christmas, the Church celebrates the beautiful feast of the Holy Family...