Giving Thanks

Real gratitude is a spiritual practice. It is impossible to be alone or simply “the boss” when we allow ourselves to be filled with the spirit of thanksgiving. To be grateful for material and spiritual blessings is a start. In a month of weeks full of bad news, this is...

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Ramadan Mubarak !

Our Muslim sisters and brothers are halfway through their Ramadan observance now. This movable feast doesn’t always fall during summertime, but fasting from before sunrise to after sunset is obviously most difficult this time of year in our latitude because the nights are so short. As a spiritual practice this...

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Anticipation

Advent Sunday ushers in, for Christians, a time of growing anticipation. And while it might seem “godly” to eschew the commercial holiday madness, preparing a place for generosity … tokens of love for our near ones, and, yes, gifts far beyond ourselves too… is an honest part of this season....

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“Because you have so much desire…”

STUDY is a traditional spiritual practice. Right now, parents all over Montreal are buying school supplies for their children. Older students are choosing their courses, working out their schedules, gathering their assigned materials and readings. Teachers and professors are preparing for the new school year. Yet as Thomas Moore writes...

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It is Lent

It is Lent. We prepare for Christ’s death and resurrection by turning to God in fasting, in prayer, and in acts of generosity. Let us set aside things that distract us from what is good and holy in God’s sight. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Let us...

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Rest

In these busiest, dizziest days between Canadian Thanksgiving and Canadian elections… with DIocesan Synod thrown in for good measure… the need for REST becomes obvious.  If you want to read while resting, here is a link to John Mark Comer’s essay “The Gift of the Sabbath: I Am Not a Machine.” He...

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Coming Together For Refugees

Photo: On a beach in Morocco, people take up the posture of little Aylan Kurdi, whose whose death sounded a wake-up call to the world, How are you responding personally to the refugee crisis? By endorsing  the recommendations of Canadian organizations that work with refugees, about how to ramp up our...

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Taking hold of vacation [spiritual practice]

Whether you’re travelling or taking vacation time in place, here are two specific ways to open up to the refreshment a seasonal sabbath offers. (1) Consider prayerfully detaching from continuous electronic notifications. Decide how often you’ll check your mail and phone messages. Every hour?  Three times a day? Every other day? Here’s...

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