Even the Kitchen Sink
April 11, 2018
As the sacred streams in with the light over the kitchen sink, we look for God’s face in the ordinary space of the kitchen sink.
The morning light streams in the window bathing the sink in light ...
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The End of a Thing
April 11, 2018
Death and birth are inextricable; loss makes way for something new. Can the flurry of autumnal leaves be a rustling of the Spirit in our midst?
Christ in the quiet ...
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Minimalist of All Minimalists
Breanne Valerie
April 10, 2018
Since December, Convivium contributor Breanne Valerie has been adopting one of St. Benedict’s principles each month and reporting on its impact on her personal life. This month she goes back to the roots of minimalism as a spiritual tool, guiding us beyond this principle’s Instagrammable possibilities, and revealing the heart of the practice – to lead us back to God.
Benedict includes in his Rule that monastics should not own anything and should abide by certain rules concerning clothing because he knew that things can and do build walls When we see the Glory of God more clearly, when we make the effort to strip the things of the world away, others end up seeing...
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My First Holy Week(end)
Ashley Chapman
April 9, 2018
In the aftermath of Easter, Convivium contributor Ashley Chapman reflects as a new Catholic on finding her way through failure and beauty in ancient Church traditions.
It was my reception into the Catholic Church, complete with confirmation and first communion Last year was my first Easter Vigil and the most joy-filled day of my life After work, I attended my first Holy Thursday Mass, armed with only an expectation that it would be short ...
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Fool's Gold?
Peter Stockland
April 6, 2018
Convivium Publisher Peter Stockland finds in this week’s International Golden Rule Day a reminder that alluring dross has become the substitute for Christian culture.
It’s the second of Christ’s two great commandments, following indivisibly from the first: to love God with all heart, soul, and mind On its surface, International Golden Rule Day appears to be a point somewhere between solemn religious feasts and munching a burrito Why? Because, despite its many mer...
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Preach It, Reverend King!
Raymond J. de Souza
April 5, 2018
Father Raymond de Souza, Convivium’s editor in chief, reflects on the influence of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on North America, and on his own call to priestly life.
President Obama had a MLK quotation woven into the rug he designed for the Oval Office: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice Later, during an academic fair in high school, I would make a presentation on MLK and the civil rights movement, about which I had studied a gre...
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The Social Assistance of Marriage
Peter Jon Mitchell with Peter Stockland
April 4, 2018
In a new study on social assistance and marital decision-making in Canada, Cardus Family senior researcher Peter Jon Mitchell finds growing acceptance that getting married is a sound way to avoid going on the dole.
Peter Jon Mitchell: The report is a review of the literature for understanding the research environment on a particular question, which is, "Does social assistance in Canada influence family formation, particularly marital formation?" The idea is the review will actually lead into a much larger proj...
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Brick by Brick
April 4, 2018
The deepest beauty of our cities is hidden in the small stories which are tucked like pebbles amidst the rush of cars, joggers, revolving doors, and buses.
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In the Quiet
April 4, 2018
Sitting in the quiet of holy mass, a nun dwells in the quiet of worship.
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In His Service
April 4, 2018
As a Cardinal and an altar server, each devoted to serving the Church in their distinct role, proceed up the aisle of the church, we are reminded of Christ’s call to serve and love the church, together.
We the communion of saints, your image of God beings, your beloved ...
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Sweeping Up Martin Luther King’s Dream
Scott Ventureyra
April 2, 2018
It is 50 years ago this week since Martin Luther King Jr. was struck down by an assassin’s bullet. Surveying the half-century since that heinous act, Convivium contributor Scott Ventureyra finds a world that has radically broken faith with MLK’s Christian vision of faith in common life.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character… And when this happens and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state a...
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Lenten Reflections
Jordan Feenstra
March 29, 2018
As we shift to the end of Holy Week and anticipate the coming of Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we want to leave you with this final Lenten reflection.
As we shift to the end of Holy Week and anticipate the coming of Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we want to leave you with this final Lenten reflection ...
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Cardinal Sarah, Friendship and Law
Raymond J. de Souza
March 29, 2018
Convivium editor in chief Father Raymond J. de Souza returns to Cardinal Sarah's address from earlier this month to examine how the law of love can shape our Holy Week.
Cardinal Sarah invited us to think about the connection between friendship with Christ and obeying His commands Cardinal Sarah explains how such a conception of friendship can be applied to God, with the differences noted: At the heart of those five chapters, we find some of the most consoling words...
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Shadowlands
Daniel Bezalel Richardsen
March 28, 2018
Christians often rush through the sombre moments of the texts and liturgies of the Christian faith, seeking the lesson from each negative experience. Allowing ourselves to dwell in the shadowed liturgical spaces, writes Daniel Bezalel Richardsen, leads us to hope that has been sharpened by grit.
According to the Book of Occasional Services, in the ancient and medieval tradition of the Western Church, the word Tenebrae was used to describe the early morning and late night prayers of monks, with the interplay of the shadows of dawn and dusk, during the last three days of Holy Week While it ma...
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Speaking Out Makes Us Citizens
Peter Stockland
March 27, 2018
There’s much more at stake in the Canada Summer Jobs fiasco than student employment. There’s nothing less than the freedom of citizens to speak and oppose, writes Convivium Publisher Peter Stockland.
It also changes the Summer Jobs debate from an argument for or against abortion, and it makes it about limitations on our basic right to political speech The fog of controversy has distracted Canadians from efforts by Hajdu and others to depict opposition to abortion as “hate speech” that violates f...