A Tale of Two Princesses
September 5th was the 20th anniversary of the death of Teresa of Calcutta, canonized by Pope John Paul II on September 4th, 2003, but still known colloquially as ‘Mother Teresa’, sometimes with a ‘Saint’ preceding. Her death in 1997 was overshadowed by the tragic, violent and unexpected death of another famous figure, Princess Diana of Wales, formerly Diana Spencer before her marriage to Prince Charles, whose life was a sort of mirror-image of Mother Teresa’s. Worldly fame, fortune, physical beauty, romance (of a sort) were not the lot of the tireless worker in Calcutta, who would chose the worst room for herself in her convent of Sisters.
Yes, Diana had her good qualities, and my point is not to judge her; the princess may have made her peace with God in the midst of her turbulent life. What began as a fairy tale, with the most lavish and expensive wedding in modern history, was shown to be a facade, now being exposed to the world in memories and biopics. Diana’s tragic end in a dark Paris tunnel was sad. But it does seem somehow providential that God would permit these two women to depart this mortal coil within one week of each other in very different circumstances, to provide a contrast, perhaps, between what the world offers, and what God does.
Besides the eternal fate of each, one of which we know now for certain, the other we leave in the hands of God, there is the earthly story: Which woman was more fulfilled and happy in this side of eternity? Saint Teresa’s memoirs (which she wanted destroyed), like Diana’s, indicate a soul that carried a lot of suffering, especially interior. Yet her darkness seems to have been vicarious and salvific, carrying the burdens, the lack of faith and the agony, of others, in a purifying and sanctifying dark night of the soul. Yet the Saint of Calcutta always radiated joy, goodness, patience and kindness, regardless of how she was ‘feeling’ inside.
Teresa and Diana trod divergent paths, made very different choices in life, and we now know that the one we can pray to, the other we must pray for (regardless of the secular verdict found in that treacly Elton-esque ballad). Perhaps, we may hope, the poor but determined saint interceded for the rich but wandering princess, and they may meet in paradise.
One never knows. But there really is something to Our Lord’s warning that the first shall be last, and His invitation to sell all we have and come follow Him. After all, heaven is worth nothing less.
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→