Latest News & Articles
Latest news from Saint Francis de Sales parish and Archdiocese of Toronto
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Devotion to the Holy Family flourished in the Renaissance. The leading artists of the time – Michelangelo, Raphael, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens, to name a few – often portrayed the Holy Family in their work. When this feast day was instituted in 1921, it was...
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Holy Innocents
The ‘Holy Infants’ are the male children recorded slain by King Herod in Matthew’s Gospel. This unique episode in Jesus’ life is not found in any other document, secular or religious, yet this incident, along with the account of the flight into Egypt, presents the...
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St. John
Also known as John the Divine, the apostle John was the son of Zebedee and the brother of James, and a fisherman. John was very close to Jesus and was present at the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the Agony in the Garden. John is the “beloved...
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St. Stephen
This celebration dates back to about the 4th century. Because his name is Greek, it is assumed Stephen was a Jew of the diaspora (Jewish communities outside Israel) who had resettled in Jerusalem. Stephen is the first-named among the seven deacons chosen to minister...
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Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
A feast dedicated to Mary’s conception first appeared in the 7th century and by the 12th century it was firmly established in England. In the 13th century, great thinkers such as St. Bernard and St. Thomas Aquinas debated whether Mary could have been born without...
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St. Andrew
Andrew came from Bethsaida in Galilee. Like his father and his brother Simon, he was a fisherman. A disciple of John the Baptist, Andrew was present at Jesus’ baptism. When John stated “Behold the Lamb of God”, Andrew understood and followed Jesus. Going to his...
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Christ the King
We live in a ‘humpty-dumpty world’, a broken world. Millions slaughtered by their own kind, mass migration of refugees across the globe, disease ravaging continents, and the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor are some signs of the cruel joke. ‘All the...
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Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Today is the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I in 324. Originally known as the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour, this church is called St. John Lateran because it was built on property owned by the Laterani family...
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All Souls Day
Since the early Church, Christians have prayed for the dead. By the 7th century, some monastic foundations reserved this day to pray for deceased members and benefactors. In 988, Odilo abbot of the great monastery of Cluny in France, established the tradition of...
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All Saints Day
This feast honours all the saints of the Church, known and unknown. The occasion provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature of sainthood and to celebrate the exemplary faithfulness of holy men and women of every place and time whose lives and deeds continue to...
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St. Simon and St. Jude
The names of Simon and Jude appear in New Testament lists of the apostles but little else is known about either. Since there are two apostles named Simon and two named Judas (Luke 6.14-16 and Acts 1.13), these are distinguished as Simon the Zealot and Judas the son...
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St. Luke
Historical sources are unanimous in stating that the author of the third gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles is a physician named Luke. He was undoubtedly a Gentile (that is, non-Jewish) Christian and wrote for other Gentiles who did not have a background of the...
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Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are three of the seven archangels who stand before God and are venerated in both Jewish and Christian traditions. While once dedicated solely to Michael (Michaelmas), this date now commemorates all three. Michael (‘Who is like the Lord?’),...
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St. John de Brebeuf, St. Isaac Jogues and Companions
This day honours the eight martyrs of North America – six Jesuit priests and two lay assistants – who died between 1642 and 1649. All came from Europe in response to a call for “missionaries to the Indians”, and all showed great courage. The first group, who died in...
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St. Matthew
The apostle Matthew has two names in the Gospels: Matthew and Levi. Since only the name Matthew is entered in any scriptural mention of the 12 apostles, it is commonly held that his name was Levi until Jesus called him to be a disciple, then he was called Matthew...
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Exaltation of the Holy Cross
This liturgical feast has been celebrated since early times. In the 4th century, two churches in Jerusalem were dedicated to the cross on this day and the occasion was commemorated annually. Adopted by the Church in Rome during the 7th century, the feast commemorates...
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Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This feast originated in the Eastern Church and was commemorated in the West as early as the 5th century. No one is certain where Mary was born, but two traditions have survived from ancient times, one naming Nazareth and the other, Jerusalem. An occasion for praise...
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St. Bartholomew
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and the Acts of the Apostles count Bartholomew as one of the 12 apostles, associating his name Philip. John’s Gospel links the name Nathaniel with Philip and never mentions Bartholomew. Apart from that, we know little about him....
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St. Lawrence
Saint Lawrence suffered his martyrdom in the year 258, three days after Sixtus II and six other deacons. A defender of the Church in Rome, he was one of the most venerated Roman martyrs of the early Church and is a patron of Rome. He is mentioned in the canon of the...
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Transfiguration of the Lord
The Feast of the Transfiguration has been observed on this day by the universal Church since the 15th century. The experience on Mount Tabor is one where Jesus reveals his divinity, and invites us all into a similar mystical encounter. The path up that mountain...
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St. Anne and St. Joachim
The gospels are bereft of details regarding Mary’s parents – Jesus’ grandparents – not even offering their names. What we do know comes from writings excluded the canon of Scripture, in particular the Protogospel of James. Nevertheless, the cult of Saint Anne existed...
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St. Thomas
Since the early Church there has been a tradition that Thomas is the Apostle of India. In Syriac his name means ‘twin’: he is also called by the Greek equivalent, ‘Didymus’. Although the phrase “doubting Thomas” refers to him, it overlooks both his loyalty in troubled...
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St. Peter and St. Paul
Tradition says these two apostles, honoured since the earliest days, were martyred in Rome. Peter, a fisherman, was chosen by Jesus to be his disciple. After Simon confessed that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter and told him that it was on...
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Nativity of St. John
The birth of John the Baptist was one of the earliest feasts to be named to a particular day on the Church calendar. June 24 was chosen as it is six months before the birth of Christ. With its proximity to the summer solstice, it signifies the waning of the light,...
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