Father Michael Lapsley is one of my heroes. I met him in Toronto years ago, when my AfricaFiles friends invited him to share his experiences. I was deeply moved by this man's ability to forgive, while he faces reminders of the assassination attempt on his life constantly. The letter bomb that was intended to kill him took both his hands and one eye.
Father Lapsley has adapted very well physically...
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Today is Yom HaShoah, the annual day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. This morning in Israel, two minutes of silence were observed throughout the country. Via video, I saw the streets and boardwalks that I traversed four months ago become strangely still. Listening to the sound of the siren, I imagined its wail, and our prayers, rising like the souls of the six million victims to...
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It's Maundy Thursday, the day Christians celebrate Jesus' last supper with his disciples. This is the meal during which Jesus took an ordinary loaf of bread, blessed it, and proclaimed it his broken body, given for them. They didn't know at the time that he was foretelling his death 12 hours later.
This morning, looking forward to Easter, I put on Christian music and logged into work. I should do...
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It is a tragic day for Canada. Today, Corporal Nathan Cirillo was killed while standing guard at the Canadian War Memorial in Ottawa. The gunman, Canadian Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was later killed in a firefight in the Canadian parliament. He has been identified as a radicalised Muslim convert.
On Monday, two Canadian soldiers were struck by a car in Quebec; one of them later died from his injuries...
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I’m so excited! I just rented a venue for an event that I’ve been dreaming about for years. It is a momentous, and I hope life-changing, day.
In fact, the whole day has been unusual. I had trouble sleeping last night, but instead of fretting, I played relaxing music, lit scented candles, prayed and listened to Scriptures. I finally fell into a peaceful sleep, but unusually, I kept waking up...
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I’ve made a renewed commitment to pray every day. I can’t manage life’s busyness and stress without prayer. And now that summer is here, I like taking my Bible to the garden or park, where I find it easier to connect with God, and disconnect from my to-do list.
Last week I was reading about the ancient Jewish tabernacle, an elaborate tent about 15 metres long. Its ceiling was a beautiful...
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Confucius taught, “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”
"To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the...
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Christ is risen!
In our tradition, we respond, “He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!” And we joyfully proclaimed it this morning!
I feel blessed to overflowing. This weekend I went to four different churches, using the different expressions of prayer, praise, and worship to lead me more deeply into Jesus’ paschal journey.
On Maundy Thursday, we sat at the table where Jesus shared his last meal with...
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It’s Easter Saturday — the day after we commemorate the death of Jesus. Jesus is in the grave. It’s the Sabbath, the day of rest, so his friends cannot embalm him, or prepare for a funeral — it would go against Jewish law. But how necessary was that enforced rest for them. They must have been exhausted with shock and grief.
Just one week ago they had danced in a joyful parade, ushering Jesus into...
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