Category: BC Catholic

Thank you so much for the beautiful picture of Luke 15 Recovery House, which was painted through the words of the residents, in the July 15 issue. 

I’ve been a part of Luke 15 House since 2005, first as a volunteer coming twice a week to help with groceries, menu planning, and cooking.

I am a woke Catholic, I’m sorry to say, and likely so are you.

We are woke because we take personal offence from attacks on Christianity, such as the recent opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics.

We are woke when we look at this mockery from an all-too-human point of view: It offended me.

Canada’s Catholic Civil Rights League rejected the apology offered by Paris Olympic organizers for the controversial depiction of the Last Supper during the Olympic opening ceremonies.

“The worldwide reaction to the mock Last Supper from the opening ceremonies on July 26 makes clear that the Paris Olympics organizers have abused their position,” the league said in a statement. 

With Parks Canada reporting “significant damage” in Jasper, Alta., from wildfires sweeping through the national park, Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith offered prayers on behalf of the Catholic community.

“Today is indeed a very sad day and I wish to convey my sorrow, solidarity and support to the people of Jasper and the parish community of Our Lady of Lourdes,” the Archbishop said in a July 25 statement.

Although he was deeply immersed in fashioning a life-sized bronze tribute to future saint Blessed Carlo Acutis, Canadian Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz keenly kept abreast of the discourse at the 10th U.S. National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

In a nation, indeed a world, that has become so polarized, the congress was a breath of fresh air, bringing thousands together over five days — and several pilgrimages in the weeks before leading to Indianapolis — from every corner of the U.S.

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) President Bishop William McGrattan has reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples to mark the second anniversary of Pope Francis embarking upon his penitential pilgrimage to Canada.

In a July 24 CCCB communique titled a “Letter to the People of God,” the bishops outlined the financial support, record-sharing, dialogue events and other initiatives launched to address the Pontiff’s call for justice, healing and understanding.

Sloth or laziness is one of the capital sins. The root of sloth is often acedia which means “lack of care,” or, as the Catechism defines it: “a form of depression stemming from lax ascetical practice that leads to discouragement.”

Pope Francis said, “it is as though those who fall victim to it are crushed by a desire for death: they feel disgust at everything.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
First Reading: 2 Kg 4:42-44
Second Reading: Eph 4:1-6
Gospel Reading: Jn 6:1-15

No one can miss the connection between the First Reading and the Gospel Reading this Sunday: both relate how a crowd is fed with a little food.

We only have one life on earth and one eternal one—hopefully in heaven.

If we always wait for the right conditions, things will never change. Will we ever be open to the possibilities that exist now? Will we experience the great joys amidst the challenges in daily life?

In a statement issued in the wake of Saturday’s attack on former U.S. President Donald Trump, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, said, “Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured.