Of Unforeseen Tragedies
On the note of suffering, even in the midst of this Easter joy, which in this vale of tears is still mingled with sorrow, at times most poignant and tragic:
Last night, a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey team from northern Saskatchewan, was T-boned by a tractor-trailer, killing 14, and injuring many more. I was in the area last summer visiting alumni and others, and the small-town, close-knit community will make this a loss beyond words. May God rest the souls of the deceased, and bring what comfort He may to their families.
The day before that saw the entrance into eternity of the ‘butterfly boy’, Jonathan Pitre, at about the same age as the young hockey players. For all of his brief seventeen years, Jonathan suffered from one of the most painful and debilitating conditions known to medicine, epidermolysis bullosa (a disorder in the connection between the dermis and epidermis) which causes the skin to blister, shear and scar, never healing. Hours of bandage replacement, covering the sores to prevent infection and offer some degree of comfort, were his, and his mother’s, daily routine.
Yet Jonathan remained happy and smiling, making the best of the hand he had been dealt; I read about him a few years ago, and he has come to mind as one of those chosen souls born to suffer. I know not how much he ‘spiritualized’ his condition in the whole Catholic victim-soul theology we read of in various saints (cf., Ludwina of Schiedam for a rather vivid example). The articles in the secular newspapers mention nothing of such. But how much explicit ‘offering up’ does God need in children, to use the salvific power of such pain to redeem many in the world, to make up what Saint Paul describes ‘lacking in the sufferings of Christ’, not the Lord’s own merit (which is infinite), but rather our own participation therein?
From our limited perspective, apparently ‘random’ suffering seems capricious and ‘bad luck’. If either the bus or the truck had been delayed but a few seconds at the last coffee stop…But we know that God’s providence is concrete and immediate, and He has His reasons, which we will only discover fully in eternity, when all things will be made well.
We may hope, Jonathan and all of those who have accepted the grace of Christ will, in God’s own good will, have that resurrected body I discussed yesterday, without spot, wrinkle, blister or scar.
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→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]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→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]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→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→
Payette’s Payout
I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→