LOOKING DEEPLY AND THINKING DEEPLY
Father John Walsh

Transformation begins with the decision to courageously look deep within one’s “self.” In today’s culture meaning is derived outside of the inner reality of each person. Modernity focuses humanity on that which exists outside the individual, who, in turn, finds it hard to internalize within her or him that which comes from the outside. Time and energy are expended on the objects that entertain but are not meant to bring growth and understanding to who we humans are and who we can become. In …

RELIGIONS IN A SECULAR SOCIETY
Father John Walsh

Today’s world is a secular world. We are living in a secular age. Humans are now in charge. The gods have been abandoned. There is no supernatural world over and against the natural world. There is no God over and against the world in which we live our daily lives. Cultures are godless and society is soulless. In a secular setting religious traditions are unreasonable and simply no longer offer reasonable answers to the world’s most pressing questions. The Enlightenment of the seventeenth and …

THE MESSAGES OF HIJRAH — HERE AND NOW
Imam Dr. Zijad Delic

The season of Hajj signifies a time of forgiveness, mercy, sacrifice, commitment and renewed opportunities for unity among all Muslims. The new Muslim Hijri year of 1441 starts on Friday, August 30th. The new Hijri year brings together Canadian Muslims with the international Muslim family (Ummah) to recall the Prophet’s Hijrah (migration) from Makkah to Madinah (Medina). The Hijrah has an historical perspective, but Muslims have always been encouraged to contemplate Hijrah on a far deeper level. Hijrah is based …

HOW TO START A HARD CONVERSATION
Rabbi Michael Whitman

The Jewish calendar is not just a way for Jews to mark time. It is also a textbook, a source of universal lessons about every aspect of life relevant to each of us. We are currently experiencing one of the most important lessons our calendar teaches. We are approaching the Jewish High Holidays (Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year; and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement), with its heavy subjects of judgement, apologies, and forgiveness. Each of us has moments in our lives …

WORDS TELL US ABOUT THE MEANING OF LIFE
Father John Walsh

Words matter a lot. Words of praise can buoy a person up for days, if not weeks or months. Everyone needs to be thanked for a job well done. We all need to be recognized. Our identity is often dependent on the manner in which we are recognized. Grade school nicknames are carried by some people throughout their lives. “Oh him, he’s a clown!” “Her, she’s … you know. “ Words can shatter a person for life. In our North American …