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Answering the Call to Sainthood
Dear Theophilous,If you’re not shooting for sainthood, you’re aiming too low!It’s the truth! A saint is someone who, after this earthly existence, is spending eternity in heaven. And seriously, if your...
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Daily Opportunities for Sainthood
Dear Theophilous,We’re all called to be saints, and considering the alternative, who wouldn’t want to be one? That said, the goal of sainthood can seem a daunting one (as it truly is). Unfortunately...
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New 'Catholic' School Year's Resolutions
Dear Theophilous,Labour Day has a sense of foreboding in our home. In a household of 2 teachers and 1 student, it marks the end of carefree summer routines and lax bedtimes, while heralding a return to...
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In Defence of God's Holy Name
Dear Theophilous,Waiting for a wayward student on the school bus a few years back, my colleague and I did a roll call to figure out who was missing. The bus was quiet, and about three-quarters of the...
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Hell's Greatest Secret - Sins of Omission
Dear Theophilous,It’s over 20 years ago, but it still haunts me like it was this morning. My wife (fiancée at the time) and I were visiting the priest who was going to marry us at St. Augustine’s...
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Door Chalking - A Traditional Epiphany Blessing
Dear Theophilous,Almost a quarter-century ago I spent 6 months living in Bavaria, near Munich in the south of Germany. It was a culture-filled stay visiting museums, churches, castles, and best of all...
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A Morning Family Prayer of Blessing
Dear Theophilous,As a Christian father, I am called to help get my wife and son to heaven. This is my primary vocation in life. Everything else is secondary.When asked to give a list of priorities, I...
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The Lost Art of Tithing
Dear Theophilous,There’s an awkward moment we go through each week at Mass. Over the years we’ve gotten used to it. But it’s still awkward none the less.Each week at the offertory the usher hands me...
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Lenten Sacrifice = Easter Habit
Dear Theophilous,Sometimes I think it’s worse than Christmas… Every year Lent sneaks up on me, and I feel unprepared; left scrambling to put together a Lenten sacrifice. Forced to make a decision on...
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A Pocket Full of Coins
Dear Theophilous,I used to be like pretty much everybody else. Whenever we would venture into downtown Toronto, I’d be on the lookout; making wide detours when needed; directing my son’s attention the...
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Why Catholics Fast
Dear Theophilous,Why is it on days that I’m fasting, all I can do is think about food? It doesn’t help matters either when all the billboards are for restaurants, all the TV commercials for fast-food,...
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Keeping Holy Week Holy
Dear Theophilous,It seems like only yesterday we were surprised by the fact that, yet again, Lent had snuck up on us, and we weren’t ready to make our Lenten sacrifice. Ash Wednesday was upon us, we...
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Why Jesus Had to Die
Dear Theophilous,Like most of us who grew up going to a Catholic school, I could easily answer the question: Why did Christ die on the Cross?Like every child from preschool on, I would easily parrot...
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Rediscovering our Catholic School Identity
Dear Theophilous,The first week of May every year marks Catholic Education Week across Ontario. It’s a week to both celebrate and reflect on publicly funded Catholic Education throughout the province....
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Why We Fear Judgement
Dear Theophilous,“Who am I to judge?” One might say that this was the question heard around the world. The fact that it was asked at 35,000 feet on a Papal flight, might just justify that moniker. The...
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Turning Wait Time into Prayer Time
Dear Theophilous,The biggest complaint seems to always be about the walk-in clinic… The wait can seem endless! Not only are you not usually feeling your best, and when you add in the crying child...
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Smells and Bells - Engaging Kids (and Adults) in the Mass
Dear Theophilous,As a kid visiting the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, I never really understood the artistic value of the white-on-white canvas. If anything, the minimalist art display left me...
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Why Do We Fear the End Times?
Dear Theophilous,A month or so ago a colleague shared with me that she had walked out on the Sunday homily. According to her, the homilist was making too many dire links between the readings and...
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Advent - a Mini-Lent
Dear Theophilous,As the calendar turns over to December and the malls fill with Christmas decorations, we are reminded of the joyful warmth that Christmas brings. There are office parties to go to,...
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Advent - Learning to Wait
Dear Theophilous,A Google search for instant gratification produces “About 2,920,000 results in 0.59 seconds”. I know it’s true, because Google told me!For all the advantages brought about by our...
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Having a Mary (not a Martha) Christmas
Dear Theophilous,Each year Christmas seems to blow our home through like a tornado… There’s a low dark rumbling that grows in intensity through December that culminates in a whirlwind of family visits,...
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Finding a "Little Way" to Pray
Dear Theophilous,Even the greatest saints suffer spiritual dryness from time to time. One of the best examples being St. Teresa of Calcutta, who suffered from a dark night of the soul that lasted for...
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Parish Hopping
Dear Theophilous,We’ve had a hard time attending our parish over the past couple of months. It has noting to do with our pastor or what has been going on in our parish, but rather something that has...
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When Waking Up Takes a Heroic Effort
Dear Theophilous,Like most people, I think the hardest moment of my day is the first. Monday to Friday (along with the odd Saturday and Sunday) we all dread it… that moment when the alarm starts...
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Dear Theophilous,The announcement has been a long time in coming... The Fisherman's Shoes has been defunct for some time now, however, my new lay-apostolate, Catholic Moment, can be found...
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