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Vancouver Archbishop Richard W. Smith is inviting the faithful to take part in the worldwide day of prayer and fasting for peace called for by Pope Leo XIV on Friday, Aug. 22, the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Pope Leo XIV has invited the faithful to join him in a day of prayer and fasting for peace,” Archbishop Smith wrote in a message to the Archdiocese. 

“As wars continue to cause suffering in Ukraine, the Holy Land, and other parts of the world, let us unite in prayer, asking the Lord for peace and justice, and entrusting our world to Mary, Queen of Peace.”

He closed his message by asking the faithful “to join me, so that our prayers may bring comfort to those who suffer and open the path to peace.”

The Holy Father made his appeal during his Aug. 20 general audience, asking Catholics around the world to mark the Aug. 22 feast day with fasting and prayer, “imploring the Lord to grant us peace and justice and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of ongoing armed conflicts.”

“Mary is the Mother of the faithful here on earth and is remembered as the Queen of Peace,” he said. “May Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede so that peoples may find the path of peace.”

Pope Leo also greeted Polish-speaking pilgrims on their way to the Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa at Jasna Góra, asking them to pray for the gift of “a peace that is disarmed and disarming – for the whole world, especially for Ukraine and the Middle East.”

On Tuesday evening at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope again turned his thoughts to the war in Ukraine, expressing his hope for a solution but emphasizing the need to continue to “work hard, pray hard” for peace.

With files from Vatican News and ACI Prensa, Catholic News Agency’s Spanish-language news partner.

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TORONTO (CCN) — Catholic Women’s League of Canada members called on the federal government to create its long-promised Office of Palliative Care, saying too many Canadians — especially seniors and dementia patients — still lack access to the universally recognized health right.  

The resolution was one of four passed by more than 400 delegates from across Canada attending the CWL’s 105th annual national convention, a four-day gathering that wrapped up Aug. 13.

Participants were eager to share their hopes and enthusiasm for the league’s future, and some of their enthusiasm surrounded the resolutions, which also called on the federal government to support military chaplaincy, recognize the life of the unborn in the criminal code, and centralize the reporting of cybercrime in Canada.

“These are a big part of putting our money where our mouth is,” said Barbara Dowding of Vancouver. “It’s not just wringing our hands but growing spiritually, offering service and also taking it on to the legislature.”

Founded in 1920 and federally incorporated in 1923 under poet and writer Mary Ellen (Bellelle) Guerin, the CWL is built on three pillars: faith, service and social justice.

In interviews, members shared stories of local service, such as supporting women’s shelters for abuse survivors, aiding a hospital in Bethlehem, and providing meals for the homeless in rural parts of Canada.

According to the league’s 2024 annual report, more than 55,000 members in more than 1,000 parish councils collectively contributed more than $2 million to local organizations, over $200,000 nationally, and another $200,000 earmarked for international organizations.

Calgary Bishop William McGrattan, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, served as spiritual adviser for the CWL during his first five years as a bishop and said its members have an “understanding of the impact of certain social and moral situations.”

For Bishop McGrattan, it is no surprise that league members have “an attentiveness to the marginalized.”

CWL membership stood at more than 56,400 at the end of 2024, across more than a thousand councils in 11 provinces. Despite a loss of 1,000 members from the previous year, delegates say challenges, such as aging demographics and volunteer shortages are opportunities for renewal.

At the age of 84, Eleanor Arless of Montreal still has the fervour she experienced when she joined the league at 16. “I’m always excited [to attend],” she said. “I’ve just always loved being here.”

Plans for membership revitalization include mentorship programs for younger women and outreach campaigns offering more flexible volunteer roles.

Those efforts to reach new members are also an opportunity to connect with people who are searching, said Karen Rossiter of Prince Edward Island. “This is our time.”

Florie Mariano of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, was a first-time convention attendee and said she was grateful that another woman in her local CWL chapter encouraged her to get more involved.

How do I fit in prayer with my busy schedule?

Fr. Mike shares some practical advice for fitting in prayer when you feel you don’t have time. He also explains the importance of having a plan by sharing these three questions: Where am I going to pray? When am I going to pray? How am I going to pray?

In this episode of The Catholic Money Show, host Jonathan Teixeira dives into the intriguing concept of a “Catholic economy” with esteemed guest Henry Kutarna, an experienced economist and founder of the Catholic CEO. Together, they explore how Catholics can unite to support each other’s businesses, fostering economic strength and cultural influence while upholding shared faith values. Tune in for insights on practical measures, community bonds, and the long-term vision for a thriving Catholic economic network.

“I kneel before the Father, that He may grant you in accord with the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” —Ephesians 3:14, 16-19

I am a people pleaser. Having people appreciating me and my works can be a source of joy but, when I fail to measure up, it can also be a source of anxiety and despair. As a wife and mother, my main preoccupations involve caring for my family, cleaning my home, and preparing meals. These are the daily tasks that can’t be left neglected, and yet they are not the only tasks that demand my attention. There are the extra obligations, commitments, and my own personal endeavors that fill the empty spaces in my daily routine. Together, these endless lists of things to do can be overwhelming, especially for someone whose goal is to please those around her.

I carry the expectations of my husband, of my friends, and of society as the standard of my work, endeavouring to reach the bar they’ve set for me or the one that I’ve imagined they’ve set. In an effort to please, I become obsessed with this performance, falsely believing that as long as I perform well, I will be appreciated and loved.

This pursuit stretches me thin and fills me with excess anxiety and stress. It sucks the joy and peace out of me, perverting the very objective of my labours. Instead of being the gift of love I’ve intended, my offering becomes tainted by self-righteousness. Although well-intended, I unknowingly become like the Pharisees. Through pleasing people, my daily pursuits take a subtle shift towards idolatry. 

As I write them, these words shock me. Idolatry? Pharisees? How could this be when I pour my heart and soul into serving those around me? 

With the morning sun, warm and welcoming, God’s wisdom speaks: do not for love of man, but for love of Me. How could I have muddled the lines between serving others and serving God? The Lord calls us to see Him in those we serve, loving all, treating even strangers the way we’d treat Him. And yet, my reason for serving gets lost somewhere along the way. 

Seek to please Me, not the world. Love Me through loving others, not through the pursuit of recognition or praise.

Who is orchestrating your life? If it’s God—and not you—what will you say to him? Fr. Mike suggests trying “yes.” 

Whether life circumstances bring the best out of you or the worst out of you, you need Jesus more than you think you do. And that is a very good thing. Here’s why.

A number of “Case for” titles have been popularized in Christian circles lately, several of them written by former atheist journalist Lee Strobel, including The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for the Real Jesus. (I was looking forward to his eventual penning of The Case for Catholicism, but that one’s already been covered by Catholic apologist Trent Horn.)

Next week in Toronto, a group of Catholic journalists will make their own case — The Case for Religion Journalism — in a public panel discussion exploring the current state of religion reporting, why it still matters, and its place in today’s media landscape.

It wasn’t long ago that religion had a regular home in Canadian newspapers. Across the country, newspapers like The Vancouver Sun had writers like Douglas Todd who would explore religion and faith on a regular basis. But slowly, religion pages vanished, and then so did the media that once carried them.

On Aug. 14, veteran religion journalists will gather at St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church in Toronto to reflect on what’s been lost, and what the future might hold. The event is part of the “God in the City” Catholic journalism course, offered all week by Canadian Catholic News (CCN).

I’ll be moderating the panel, which features:

• Barb Fraze, longtime international news editor for Catholic News Service

• Michael W. Higgins, columnist and religion commentator for The Globe and Mail and CBC, affiliated with St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, and former interim president of St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi Colleges in Vancouver

• John Longhurst, Order of Canada recipient and freelance religion writer for the Winnipeg Free Press, Religion News Service, and CBC Radio

• Michael Swan, award-winning journalist and former associate editor of The Catholic Register, now freelancing for Canadian Affairs, will serve as respondent

The summer course is organized by CCN, with Matthew Marquardt of Catholic Conscience; Laura Ieraci, editor of ONE magazine; Barb Fraze; visual journalist Jermaine Bagnall, and me.

The initiative will build on CCN’s recent Teaching Truth in Charity journalism courses, as well as a recent session Ieraci, Fraze, and I presented in Phoenix — “What Makes Journalism Catholic?” — where we unpacked Canada’s MAiD debate and the broader collapse in media credibility. 

Sadly, trust in journalism has cratered, particularly in Canada. Recent surveys show trust in Canadian news as low as 32 per cent, with Statistics Canada reporting only 16 per cent of Canadians have “high trust” in the media.

Is the decline of religious journalism a symptom of media collapse or a cause? Maybe we’ll find out next week. But I do know that when the search for truth disappears, it’s not surprising that the search for God isn’t far behind.

The Legion of Mary was founded by Frank Duff, a Servant of God, on Sept. 7, 1921. The Legion of Mary honours Our Lady under the title of “Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of all Graces.”

In his 1894 Rosary encyclical Iucunda Semper Expectatione, Pope Leo XIII emphasized Our Lady as “Mediatrix of Divine grace.” He wrote:

“The recourse we have to Mary in prayer follows upon the office she continuously fills by the side of the throne of God as Mediatrix of Divine grace; being by worthiness and by merit most acceptable to Him, and, therefore, surpassing in power all the angels and saints in Heaven. Now, this merciful office of hers, perhaps, appears in no other form of prayer so manifestly as it does in the Rosary.”

Leo XIII invited the faithful to contemplate the Blessed Mother as “Mediatrix of Divine grace” in the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary:

“First come the Joyful Mysteries. The Eternal Son of God stoops to mankind, putting on its nature; but with the assent of Mary, who conceives Him by the Holy Ghost. Then St. John the Baptist, by a singular privilege, is sanctified in his mother’s womb and favoured with special graces that he might prepare the way of the Lord; and this comes to pass by the greeting of Mary who had been inspired to visit her cousin. At last the expected of nations comes to light, Christ the Saviour. The Virgin bears Him.”

Regarding the Sorrowful Mysteries, Leo XIII wrote:

“She knew beforehand all these agonies; she knew and saw them… It is certain, therefore, that she suffered in the very depths of her soul with His most bitter sufferings and with His torments. Moreover, it was before the eyes of Mary that was to be finished the Divine Sacrifice for which she had borne and brought up the Victim.”

Regarding the Glorious Mysteries, Leo XIII wrote:

“Though worthy of Heaven, she abides a while on earth, so that the infant Church may be directed and comforted by her… Mary is in the room, and there, praying with the Apostles and entreating for them with sobs and tears, she hastens for the Church the coming of the Spirit, the Comforter, the supreme gift of Christ, the treasure that will never fail. And later, without measure and without end will she be able to plead our cause, passing upon a day to the life immortal.”

St. Bernardine of Siena said, “Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order; for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us.”