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As we journey further into Lent, let’s talk about how we can escape the devil’s grasp. 

It’s no secret that sin is prevalent in our world today, but what’s truly alarming is how numb we’ve become to just how distorted certain things are. 

Fr. Mark-Mary sheds light on how we’re slowly being simmered in the devil’s crockpot, often compromising on sins, but especially sexual sin. He addresses the widespread presence of pornography and sexual immorality in our lives, while urging us to stay vigilant in resisting these temptations.

What did you think of the news?

As a Filipino, in my heart, I was expecting Tagle! (Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization)

Really?

Then Prevost—he’s like a wild card. He’s our brother. I worked with him.

He actually celebrated Mass with us. He was our provincial. We were in the same province. In fact, our province just sent greetings. This was never expected.

I was so excited—a big shock—because nobody expected this. Even me, as an Augustinian, I never expected him to go as far as he has today.

On Thursday, Archbishop Miller was celebrating Mass, and someone said, “There’s white smoke.” I whispered it to him before the Gospel.

After Mass I asked, “Who do you think it’ll be?”

He didn’t know, although we Filipinos thought Tagle’s name was strong. I noticed Tagle and Prevost were always sitting beside each other.

Then when he came out—Prevost! That’s our brother! He was our provincial in Canada. Later he became general. And when he was general, I became provincial of the Canadian province. He was the one who installed me—at Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Toronto. He was general when we started working with the federation.

We never expected one of us to be Pope! I by own mind he is still our brother Bob. I was so excited–shocked in a good way.

His big word was always “community.” We are of one mind and one heart, inspired by St. Augustine himself. That’s our contribution to the Church—not just as friars or Augustinians, but following the witness of St. Augustine, one of the greatest sinners who became one of the greatest theologians.

And Prevost—when we had meetings, he was always big on collaboration: “What can we do together?” Because together, we are stronger.

He assisted the process of the Canadian province being included into the Chicago province. The Canadian province was in decline and he said, instead of trying to survive on your own, come together and share your strengths—for the sake of the Church and the ministry.

Despite its growing popularity, I have been reluctant to comment on The Chosen, the television series produced by “Loaves and Fishes” that narrates the story of Jesus. 

In large measure, my delay has been due to the fact that, although the series is currently available for free and through some streaming services, it remains incomplete — only four of the proposed seven seasons are available. Season five is apparently about to be released. However, having viewed the first four seasons, I feel confident that anything I have to say will also apply to the remaining productions.

In fact, my reaction to what has been released is largely positive, though potential viewers should be aware of some caveats.

The first of these is that, unlike many previous attempts to portray the life of Christ on screen, The Chosen does not offer a clear narrative easily followed by those unfamiliar with the Gospels. Instead, the series plunges the viewer into the dramatization, often without identifying characters or explaining their role. Viewers are expected to piece together the story using what they already know of the Gospels.

Persistence pays off. This approach appears deliberate — the purpose of the series seems to be, above all, to ask the viewer to rethink the familiar.

The Chosen relies heavily on imagined interactions between characters. They are introduced almost haphazardly, and viewers gradually come to know them. This results in significant invention by the writers. For example, there are frequent, entirely imagined conversations among the disciples, often involving the kinds of questions many of us would want to ask. Characters given only brief mention in the Gospels are granted lengthy reflections on the events portrayed. Martha and Mary, for example, are given larger roles than one might expect. Thomas — he of doubting fame — is fleshed out in a way that logically builds on what little we know of him but gives him unusual prominence.

In other words, the point of the series is to flesh out the characters so that we can reconsider the import of the Gospels. The show raises the kinds of questions we might have asked if we had been there. This encourages deeper meditation on the Gospel stories. Because of this, many will welcome the fictional interplay among characters, the extension of minor incidents, and even moments of comedy.

For me, the biggest stumbling block is the portrayal of Jesus. I suppose this is inevitable, but the performance — for me, at least — lacks the gravitas and charisma that Jesus surely had to compel twelve men to follow him on a perilous journey. That said, I acknowledge that giving a convincing interpretation of Jesus is almost impossible.

As white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, was at Sacred Heart Church in Ladner, celebrating Mass ahead of the March for Life in Victoria. 

Pastor Father Francis Galvan, OSA, leaned over after the first reading and quietly said: “There’s been white smoke.” 

“That gives about a 40-minute window before the new Pope is announced,” Archbishop Miller recalled. “And so I was on the way back to Vancouver — actually just at the Massey Tunnel — when I was following it on the media. Cardinal Prevost had been elected as Leo XIV.”

“It was certainly a surprise, frankly, to me,” he said. “Although he had been sort of in a wider group of so-called ‘papabile’, he wasn’t in the top five or six that the media had identified — and that I, too, had more or less identified as the top runners. But we were all surprised. The Holy Spirit had a different plan in mind.”

He reflected on the fact that someone from Chicago, in the United States of America, is now the successor of Peter. “It’s the first time anyone from North America has succeeded to the Petrine office. It’s amazing. It’s really a wonderful testimony that the electors went beyond political considerations — like American superpower status — simply to find the best man available, who in a sense happened to be an American.”

He has “enormous experience in Latin America, where he served as a bishop in Peru — not in his home country,” said Archbishop Miller. “He’s spent time in Rome, studied with the Dominicans, was rector of a seminary in Peru, taught canon law, and most recently he’s been a cardinal for a little less than two years. But in his position as head of the Dicastery for Bishops, he obviously enjoyed the trust of Pope Francis and of his fellow cardinals.”

The election was “rather quick,” he said. “This is only the second day — maybe the fourth or fifth ballot — which shows great unanimity. There was no major kind of blocking or power plays that endlessly delay the election.”

Archbishop Miller found the Pope’s chosen name particularly striking. “When I heard it — Leo XIV — I said, ‘Wow, what an interesting and bold choice of name.’ That’s really a throwback to a nineteenth-century Pope.

Leo XIII, from 1878 to 1903, “was sort of the father of modern Catholic social teaching. He revived interest in St. Thomas Aquinas at the end of the 19th century. He was a great devotee of Thomism. That fits very much with the profile of the new Pope,” he said.

When you think of holiness, what comes to mind? Is it a saint who has never stumbled? Does the idea of holiness feel out of reach when you’re grappling with your own brokenness or the weight of your sins? 

Today, Fr. Mike reminds us that the journey to holiness isn’t always a straight path. There are both good days and bad. Yet, despite our flaws and failures, God’s grace and mercy remain abundant, offering hope and renewal.

We have a cause to celebrate. But we’re really bad at celebrating. 

Today, Fr. Mark-Mary teaches us how we can celebrate the gift of Christ more each day. Celebrating can be defined as “the work of receiving the gift”. Celebration is seen all throughout scripture, from the story of the Prodigal Son to the celebration of every Sabbath day. And it’s in this celebration that we receive the gift of God’s mercy and grace. 

Fr. Mark-Mary explains why we’re not great at receiving the gift and how we can get better at it.

As we begin a new year, the Busted Halo Show welcomes back author and philosophy professor James K. A. Smith to discuss his new book, “How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.”

“That pivot from New Year’s Eve to the New Year, it’s a reflective moment,” James says. “People are taking stock of what were their favorite movies for the past year, they’re setting goals and things for the new year. I think there’s something sort of natural and human about that, and I think finding time to reflect on when we are goes a long way to sort of deepening the intentionality in our life.”

He explains that his book is not meant to help you with a new years resolution, but rather how to reflect on our place in history. “I’m much more interested in catalyzing reflection on, what does it mean that we are historical creatures? That we are heirs of a past, that we inherit things that have been handed down to us, and that we each carry a history in our bones.”

James also notes, “I think there are a lot of facets of American culture that kind of mitigate against reflection, just to understate it. We’re sort of perpetually distracted, which is what frustrates the capacity to engage in introspection, reflection and contemplation.” 

Father Dave explains one action he takes to be more present as he celebrates Mass, and explains two definitions of time that James also discusses in his book. “I remember learning that the Greeks would have different words in different notions. One is chronos, and one is kairos,” Father Dave says, with chronos marking sequential time and kairos being more qualitative. “When I celebrate Mass, I take off my watch for a couple reasons, because the Apple Watch, it lights up and it’s a little distracting…but hopefully, even in a busy day, that puts me out of what we call the chronos time and put me into a little bit of a kairos time.”

James continues, “Kairos is this kind of pregnant, generative, infused possibility of time, where we are taken up into, you could say, the coming kingdom. Like it’s almost little foretastes of kingdom come.”

They also discuss different seasons of life, from young parents to middle-aged adulthood. Father Dave notes how Krista tries to be present with her young daughter, rather than document every moment. James expands on this and says, “So much of our experience now is about accumulating experiences by what we can capture on our device, as if that’s going to somehow help us remember it and be present to it.

In one of his last public acts before he retires later this month, an emotional Archbishop J. Michael Miller spoke to a cathedral filled with uniformed first responders, political officials, faith leaders, and grieving friends and family members of victims of the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy, reminding them “that our lives are bound together and that we cannot face tragedy” as isolated individuals.

“We need a community of solidarity to support and help us as we walk through this valley of darkness,” the Archbishop said, in reference to Psalm 23, read as the Responsorial Psalm during the liturgy.

Reaching out to everyone affected by the horrors of “this grim day in Vancouver’s history, but especially to our Filipino brothers and sisters and their friends,” the Archbishop spoke of the temptation during catastrophe to forget the needs of others. “Our gathering this evening in our cathedral tells a different story about who we are in Vancouver,” he said. “Instead of surrendering to either helplessness or self-interest, we have chosen to cultivate the simple virtue of kindness” through consolation and practical assistance.

He assured those mourning “that they are not alone in their grief,” and that “we are with you in the sorrow that shakes all of us to the very core of our being,” as they remember the “innocent victims and those injured so senselessly on Saturday evening.”

He then spoke of the gratitude the city of Vancouver has for the many gifts the Filipino community brings. The “vibrant” Filipino community inspires others “with its spiritual resilience founded on faith, openness to others in difficulty, and the importance it gives to the treasure of family life.”

Although everyone at the cathedral was united in sorrow, the Archbishop spoke of how faith among believers forms an interconnectedness that is “even more profound because it engages us supernaturally” and forges “bonds of communion between the living and the dead.”

By offering one another “our thoughts and prayers,” he said, “we recognize that we can pray for one another, even for those who have preceded us in death. Our prayers for the deceased express our kindness and our confident hope in the certainty that death doesn’t have the last word.”

Authentic kindness entails not only words and prayer, he said, but also practical assistance. He noted the many civic associations and faith-based ministries offering spiritual care at their places of worship and health-care facilities.

The Archdiocese of Vancouver is providing counselling and spiritual support, he said, and a special collection this weekend will support ongoing healing and outreach services for victims and their families.

Pope Benedict XVI said music can open hearts and minds to the good and beauty created by God. If so, this year’s edition of Blooms into Rooms might just have helped scores of seniors catch a glimpse of the divine.

In addition to the customary Holy Saturday distribution of flowering plants and greeting cards to retirement homes, group residences, and long-term-care facilities in the north of the Fraser area, three of the volunteer teams this year sang songs for the seniors.

The performances have never been part of the regular Blooms into Rooms program, said Blooms co-founder Wim Vander Zalm. “They seem to have grown organically as volunteers looked to bring light and love into the seniors’ lives. It’s wonderful to see.”

At Chartwell Willow Retirement Community in Maple Ridge, for example, family members of St. Patrick’s parishioner Elizabeth Loch presented a program of 13 religious and secular songs, including Amazing Grace and Edelweiss, accompanied by piano and guitar.

“Not many of the seniors were able to sing along, but they all clapped heartily after each piece,” Loch said.

This Easter marked the 31st year that parish and school Blooms into Rooms teams from Coquitlam to Chilliwack have visited seniors to lift their spirits and bring to life the Church’s reverence for life. 

At Eagle Ridge Manor in Port Moody, a St. Joseph’s parishioner serenaded three separate groups with Broadway show tunes, including Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin.’ Some seniors were so lifted by the performance that they continued singing and clapping well after the performer left.

Choir members from Holy Cross Regional Secondary augmented their annual Blooms into Rooms tradition of flowers by serenading residents of Elim Village retirement community in north Surrey with a variety of songs, including Let it Be. Volunteers also included parishioners from St. Luke’s Parish in Maple Ridge and students from Our Lady of the Assumption School in Port Coquitlam.

Art’s Nursery provided 1,500 African violets — one for each senior — at wholesale cost to project organizers, who were supported by cash donations from the Life Compass Society and several individuals and parish groups.

Loch said a wonderful byproduct of the Easter-flowers event is the joy it brings to staff serving the seniors. “They said they loved how the flowers, companionship, and music lifted their patients’ spirits,” she said. “And that, in turn, lifted their spirits, too.”

Martha Bonnet, who led the team visiting the Westbrooke Seniors Living Community in Pitt Meadows, said everyone from receptionists to nurses is buoyed by the visit.

“The nurse said, ‘If my patients are happy, I am happy. And they are very happy and grateful,’” Bonnet said.

Not surprisingly, the sick and elderly who received the flowers, cards, and visits were grateful, too.

After 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we have finally reached the Easter season of rejoicing. Although we are now free to leave fasting behind and celebrate, our prayer is that we carry the Lenten pillars with us in new ways as we move forward in the hope of the Resurrection.

As St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in Confessions VIII, “There is no pleasure in eating and drinking unless the discomfort of hunger and thirst have preceded them.” How spiritually fulfilling is our Easter feasting now, having experienced the hunger and thirst of Lent!

During Lent, we focus on improving our relationship with God and on becoming more self-aware, both of ourselves and others. In addition to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we aim to grow through repentance and renewal. We are all called to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once during Lent. And now, with Easter hope and joy, we are called to keep converting our hearts every day.

St. John Paul II once said that Lent is “a time to be dedicated in a special way to conversion and renewal, to prayer, to fasting, and to works of charity.” Lent allows our hearts to be transformed and our vision refocused on our heavenly goal. The good habits we embraced during Lent must not be left behind. They are tools that help us grow closer to God throughout the year. There are many distractions in life, but when we recall our Lenten commitments, we pray they will sustain us during Easter and beyond.

St. John Paul II also said, “… after these weeks of penance, we will experience the joy of Easter. Our eyes, purified by prayer and penance, will be able to behold with greater clarity the face of the living God.” Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice inspires our behaviour and assures us that he has paved the way to eternal life.

We know that Christ has triumphed over death and sin. He has opened the path to heaven. But as Easter people, we are called to live in a way that reflects that truth. Yes, Christ showed mercy to the Good Thief in his final moments, but we who know the story of salvation must not wait until death to turn to God. Each day we are called to grow in self-awareness, to seek forgiveness, to deepen our relationship with Christ and others, and to live with gratitude for his mercy.

In her diary, St. Maria Faustina shares Christ’s message of Divine Mercy, especially from Good Friday until Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter. During the joyful celebrations of the Easter Octave, we are called to intentionally seek God’s loving mercy.