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In this episode, we begin our Advent journey in Eden, a place of freedom, communion, and life without shame. Eden is not only a moment in history, but also an interior garden within each of our hearts. We talk about the deep ache we all feel for union, rest, and peace, and how this longing reveals our original design for communion with God. We also reflect on the shame that often accompanies this desire for communion with others, especially when our desires are left unmet, and how bringing these places of poverty to Jesus opens us up to real, lived communion with Him.

Show Notes

One Thing We Love This Week:

• Sister Miriam’s one thing – Sacred Anchor Artisans (Catholic Etsy!) founded by Tim and Molly Olsen

• Michelle’s one thing –  The Inspired Living and this Chrism Candle

• Michelle’s other one thing – Fr. Innocent Montgomery, CFR

• Heather’s one thing – The Renew Conference in Toronto

• Heather’s other one thing – Her Advent Worship Playlist

“God does not ask us to be successful, He asks us to be faithful.” – St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

Fr. Mike Schmitz reflects on this quote along with the way St. Mother Teresa lived her life. So often we measure our lives by worldly success, however God wants your faithfulness, not your success. 

Let us always say, “God let me honor you with my effort.”

Do you trust God’s timing? 

Fr. Mike Schmitz reminds us that God is never late (and never early). We can trust whole heartedly that His timing is always perfect!

Michael Bublé called meeting Pope Leo XIV on Friday “one of the greatest moments of my life,” adding that as he prepares to headline the Vatican’s annual Christmas concert for the poor, he hopes his example will encourage more people to speak openly about their faith.

The Grammy-winning singer, who grew up in Burnaby, B.C., and first sang publicly in local talent shows and hockey arenas, said faith “changes everything in my life, every single interaction.” Bublé has often spoken of his close-knit Canadian family, his grandparents’ influence, and the Catholic upbringing that shaped his early years.

“When you say that you have strong faith, this is shocking to people, which is sometimes hard for me to understand,” Bublé said in response to a question from CNA at a Vatican press conference on Dec. 5.

“And with the platform I have, my hope is that … there’s a young person who might listen to me today who might be afraid to share their faith or to be open about it, and they look at me and they say, ‘Wow, look at Bublé. He’s not afraid to share it,’ and maybe it will give them the strength to do the same.”

Bublé met Pope Leo XIV on Friday along with other artists participating in the Vatican’s sixth annual “Concert with the Poor” on Saturday, Dec. 6.

“I am overwhelmed,” he said. “This morning, I had the opportunity to meet the Holy Father. For me, this was something that I knew was going to be one of the greatest moments of my life.”

This year marks the first time a Pope will attend the concert, which is free and offered to 3,000 people in need served by volunteer organizations around Rome. They will receive a hot takeaway dinner and other necessities after the event.

“We know that times are difficult for many people, and there’s a lot of darkness,” Bublé said. “I feel like when you have faith, you have your own pilot light. And the lights can go out everywhere, everywhere, but if you have that faith and you have that light inside you, you can find your way.”

I asked Michael Bublé about how his faith at a Vatican press conference today and this was his response: pic.twitter.com/WF80pnhNzf

— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) December 5, 2025

The singer told EWTN News after the press conference that it was especially meaningful to introduce the pontiff to his mother, who was his childhood catechism teacher.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and Toronto’s Cardinal Francis Leo are urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to withdraw the Liberal Party’s reported agreement with the Bloc Québécois to remove religious-belief exemptions from Canada’s hate-speech laws.

In a letter published Dec. 4, CCCB President Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière warned that repealing Section 319(3)(b) of the Criminal Code — which protects good-faith expressions or opinions based on religious texts from hate-speech prosecution — would have a “chilling effect on religious expression.”

“The removal of this provision risks creating uncertainty for faith communities, clergy, educators and others who may fear that the expression of traditional moral or doctrinal teachings could be misinterpreted as hate speech and could subject the speaker to proceedings that threaten imprisonment of up to two years,” wrote Bishop Goudreault.

The CCCB urged the government to retain the religious-text defence. Alternatively, the bishops proposed two steps: a public assurance that “good-faith religious expression, teaching and preaching will not be subject to criminal prosecution under the hate-propaganda provisions,” and mandatory consultation with religious leaders, legal experts, and civil-liberties groups before any changes affecting religious freedom.

Cardinal Leo echoed the concern the next day in a letter to Toronto Catholics that he shared with MPs in the archdiocese. “As Catholics, we must always firmly reject all forms of hatred and discrimination,” he wrote. But “the ability to express and teach our faith freely — without fear that sincere, good-faith proclamation of the Gospel might be misunderstood as unlawful — is a cornerstone of a healthy, democratic Canada.”

Conservative MP Andrew Lawton welcomed the bishops’ intervention. He said he was “very happy to see” the letter and similar concerns raised “from members of the Jewish community, Muslim community and Indian religious traditions such as Sikhs or Hindus. All people of faith need to understand that this will target everyone.”

Lawton had been scheduled to attend a justice and human rights committee meeting Dec. 4 on a proposed amendment to the Liberals’ Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9). The bill would criminalize intimidation or obstruction outside institutions used by faith-based groups and ban the public display of certain terrorism or hate symbols.

The meeting was cancelled by Liberal chair James Maloney, who told media he wanted members “to regroup to find a path forward.” Maloney became chair after former chair Marc Miller was appointed Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture on Dec. 1.

After the cancellation, Lawton told The Catholic Register the Liberals were “refusing to say on record where they stand on this amendment to strip away religious protection and freedom,” adding that the lack of clarity “leav[es] tremendous uncertainty surrounding people of faith and what the future looks like.”

Archbishop Richard Smith says the 62 Indigenous cultural items received from the Vatican marks “a gift freely given” and an important step in rebuilding trust between the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples.

The artifacts, including a rare century-old Western Arctic kayak, were formally transferred to Indigenous leaders in Montreal as part of the Jubilee of Hope declared by Pope Francis. Before his death, the Pope expressed his wish that the items be returned. Pope Leo XIV carried out that intention, gifting them from the Vatican Museums’ Anima Mundi collection to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for immediate repatriation.

“This gesture is a gift freely given—an act of reconciliation rooted in the grace of the Jubilee Year of Hope,” said Archbishop Smith, a member of the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council and one of the CCCB’s key representatives during the repatriation process. “A gift, unlike restitution, is offered in freedom and friendship, as a sign of renewed relationship and mutual respect between the Church and Indigenous Peoples.”

Leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and the Métis National Council travelled to Montreal to receive the items. Local First Nations leadership held ceremony to welcome the sacred items and bundles back to Canada.

For the Inuvialuit, the return of the rare kayak marks the culmination of a long-held hope. “We are proud that after 100 years our Kayak is returning to the Inuvialuit Settlement Region,” said Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, Chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. “It is believed to be one of only five of its kind built more than a century ago… This is a historic step in revitalizing Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within our changing northern society.”

Indigenous leaders noted that Elders and Residential School Survivors have worked toward this moment for decades. A 2017 Assembly of First Nations resolution mandated efforts to secure the return of sacred items taken abroad, while the IRC has pressed specifically for the kayak’s repatriation.

“This step reflects the courage and persistence of the leaders, Elders, and Survivors who came before us,” said Victoria Pruden, President of the Métis National Council. “But this is not the end of the journey… Reconciliation is ongoing work, grounded in relationships, responsibility, and the continued pursuit of truth, justice, healing, and dignity for our Peoples.”

There is a scene in the emotional movie, “Good Will Hunting”, where Will is laid back against a wooden desk and his therapist looks at him lovingly after hearing something that happened in his past. The therapist says, “It’s not your fault”. Will, still laid against the desk, scoffs, shrugs it off and says, “I know that”. The therapist gingerly steps forward and says again, “It’s not your fault”. Will blinks, looking confused with a slight, crooked smile, “I know”? Then again, the therapist says, “it’s not your fault”. Slowly, we see Will’s face start to change. We may even see his eyes start to well with tears. The therapist keeps saying and keeps coming physically and emotionally closer, “It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault”. At the end, we see Will and the therapist embrace. Will’s sobs are the sound of a real cathartic release. 

Speaking as a counsellor, this scene is such a powerful picture of something moving from the head to the heart — from knowing to believing. Will knew in his mind that it wasn’t his fault; but until that moment, his heart did not.

Practicing our faith can sometimes be like Will’s experience. We know the Bible verses. We know to attend Mass. We know novenas and prayers ‘work’ but we struggle to believe that God will intervene within our families struggling with addictions, turmoil, grief, sicknesses etc…Like Will, “We know”. Yet sometimes, it feels like our heart is still catching up to what our head knows. Why does this happen?

In counselling school, I learned the phrase: “staying in the cognitive”, which is deciphering when a client tends to stay ‘‘in the brain’’, speaking in a matter-of-a-fact way; ultimately deciding not to feel things in the heart for whatever good and protective reason. This was a way to live safely as sometimes the heart is too unsafe, fragile and vulnerable. To “stay in the cognitive” feels safer than entering life fully with gusto and zeal. 

When someone stays in the cognitive, the counselling belief is that we get to know about their story, but not how they truly felt in that lived experience. For example, if a client tells me about a breakup and recounts how it happened, without the details of how they felt about the breakup, I am not getting the full story. Did they feel that it was unfair? Or needed? Both elements of the story – the facts and the feelings –  are needed because both can be used for God’s glory. Like most things of God and His character, there is no either/or, but a both/and. 

I fell in love with the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel decades ago, when I encountered it—in rapid succession—in both Fr. Raymond Brown’s “A Coming Christ in Advent” and Gail Godwin’s novel “Evensong.” Unfortunately, even daily Mass-goers won’t get to hear it this year, as it’s proclaimed only when December 17 (the first day of the “O Antiphons” leading up to Christmas) does not fall on a Sunday. 

Matthew’s genealogy is a startling, tongue-twisting list of fathers that also includes four mothers:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Their tales are filled with fraught sexual encounters, including incest, prostitution, and rape. We may be tempted to look away–or even question how these brutal stories can be considered sacred texts. And yet, each of these women played a key role in the history of salvation. So, in the spirit of the first antiphon—O Wisdom—let’s peek at the wisdom of our foremothers in faith. 

Tamar (Genesis 38)

In biblical times, if a married man died childless, his brother had to marry the widow to father an heir for the deceased. Tamar had married Judah’s oldest son, Er, who died, then his middle son Onan, who also died. Judah—understandably skittish—asked Tamar to wait a few years before marrying his youngest, Shelah. When it became clear that a third wedding was not forthcoming, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked Judah into sleeping with her; their son Perez became an ancestor of Jesus. 

After news of her pregnancy kindled her father-in-law’s rage, Tamar confronted Judah with the truth, and he admitted, “She is in the right.” Why was she praised for her deceit? I believe it’s because the marriage protocol in question was not just a human precept; it was what the people understood as divine law. Tamar knew it, and so did Judah. Instead of placing her hope in men, Tamar bravely placed her hope in God—and took matters into her own hands.

When have women (and men) of our day struggled with dawning awareness that those who should have known better were not doing the right thing? My mind goes straight to the clergy scandal, which eroded the trust of countless Catholics. Yet I also think of politicians who put the wishes of the gun and fossil fuel lobbies above the welfare of children, and of CEOs who amass wealth while denying their workers a living wage. In the face of their disgraceful conduct, I am inspired by women and men who speak truth to power, often at personal risk. Tamar is the patron saint for those who take bold action in the service of God’s vision—for our Church and for our world.

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is one of my favorite hymns, if not my all-time favorite. This hymn is ubiquitous with the Advent season and is heard in most Catholic churches in the United States at least once in the season. The words of this hymn, simultaneously wonderfully ancient and ever-new, are based on what is referred to as the “O Antiphons.” Now, maybe you already knew that, maybe you’ve heard of the “O Antiphons” before, or maybe you’re now wondering what an antiphon even is. Chances are though, you’ve heard this hymn and might have wondered where it came from.

An antiphon is a short phrase or sentence that is used in liturgies like the Mass or Liturgy of the Hours. Antiphons serve as small refrains and often highlight a particular message or prayer of the season. In this case, the “O Antiphons” refer to the specific antiphons used in Vespers (evening prayer of Liturgy of the Hours) that go with reciting the Magnificat (Mary’s prayer of praise from Luke) from December 17 to 23. Together, these seven antiphons – all of which start with calling upon Jesus Christ with an exclamatory O, hence the name –  help to serve as a prayerful conclusion to Advent, a homestretch prayer on our way to Christmas.

Structurally, each antiphon has two key parts. The first is a traditional title of Jesus Christ as the messiah, the one who was promised to come, such as Emmanuel, used by Gabriel in the Annunciation meaning “God with us.” These titles reflect how the prophets thought of the coming messiah and who he is. The second part of each antiphon is a reflection of that role by drawing upon the words of the prophet Isaiah. This portion helps to reflect on the mission and ministry of the messiah and how he would live out that particular title. For us as Christians, we use these prophetic titles and words to reflect on Jesus Christ, what he has done in history, and how he continues to act in our lives today.

We can sit with these seven little phrases and draw upon their richness in helping us to know Jesus Christ as the wisdom of God, guiding us in our lives and actions. We too call upon Jesus Christ in a longing way as we look forward to and hope for his second coming. So just as the prophets longed for his first arrival, we too wait eagerly and look forward to his return in glory.

December 17: O Sapientia

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care.

A week after The Catholic Register revealed that pro-life advocate Alissa Golob went undercover while 22 weeks pregnant to test whether late-term abortions were accessible in Canada without medical justification, the national response continues to intensify, with a new twist: a fourth hidden-camera video that Golob says she is legally barred from releasing.

Golob, co-founder of RightNow, posed as an undecided pregnant woman in abortion facilities in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary in 2023. The Nov. 19 Register story detailed her conversations with counsellors and physicians who told her late-term abortions could be arranged at nearby hospitals, sometimes “up to 32 weeks,” without needing to provide medical reasons.

Staff described procedures as a “mini stillbirth,” advised her she could “expel the fetus in the car,” and said reasons such as already having two children or “not wanting to be pregnant” were acceptable.

Those recordings — three of which have now been released — directly contradict long-standing political claims that late-term abortions in Canada are only performed in cases of maternal health risk or severe fetal anomalies.

In an email interview with The B.C. Catholic, Golob said the reaction from Canadians has been more visceral than she expected.

The dominant response has been “overwhelming shock and horror from the average Canadian who didn’t think late-term abortions were possible,” she said.

Many who describe themselves as pro-choice wrote to her saying the recordings were disturbing and that unrestricted late-term abortion “just shouldn’t be allowed.”

By contrast, she said some abortion-rights advocates have reacted with confusion and contradiction. “They were basically trying to throw everything they could at it to see if anything would stick,” she said. “Some said the videos were lies, some said late-term abortions don’t happen — despite the videos proving otherwise.”

Golob said the most significant development since the Register story broke is her discovery that she cannot release the Calgary footage at all.

“Alberta, shockingly, has the most extreme and over-reaching bubble-zone legislation in the country,” she said. “Distributing any footage recorded in the bubble zone could result in a fine or jail time.”

She called the legislation “worse than Ontario and even Montreal,” meaning the fourth video will remain unreleased unless the province changes its law.

Although no physician has contacted her privately, Golob says some health-care professionals reacted strongly in group chats and medical forums.

“Doctors were trying to disprove that late-term abortions happen until others in the chat posted my undercover videos,” she said.