We ascend to the heights of contemplation by the steps of action. (Saint Gregory the Great, +604)
Month: September 2025
Andre Grasset, Canada’s First Homegrown Beatus
Blessed André Grassett was the first Canadian to be beatified – not quite the first ‘saint’, which requires canonization, and that honour belongs to the heroic Jesuit martyrs (if we consider them Canadian, for they were all missionaries, born in France). The first canonized saint who was both born and died in Canada is Marguerite[…]
Strong demand, intense debates: Ontario’s Catholic schools at a crossroads
As students prepare to bid farewell to summer and head back to school, Catholic education in Ontario may be at a crossroads. In Ontario, as in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Catholic schools are government-funded under a separate public school system. About a third of Ontario students — well over 500,000 — are estimated to attend Catholic[…]
The Legendary Hermit, Saints Giles, or Egidio
The life of Saint Giles, as many mediaeval saints, is steeped in legend. What we do know is that he had quite a following, his popularity attested by the countless places, villages, cities, churches are named after him, including the Italian variant of his name, Egidio. He was a hermit, likely in the 6th century,[…]
Labour Day, Leisure and Life
Labour Day is a rather prosaic name for the last holiday of summer. Why not, ‘blow out day’, or ‘the end of leisure, and back to work day’ (at least for teachers and students), or ‘summer’s almost over’ day…Ah, well, love’s labour – or the love of labour – is not lost. In the end,[…]