Therese, NAFTA and Communist Short Lists
I enjoy the serendipity of providence when the liturgical readings match up unwittingly with the day, as we celebrate Ste. Therese of Lisieux, more accurately, of the Holy Face and the Child Jesus, who entered Carmel in her sixteenth year, and died of tuberculosis at twenty four. As Christ proclaims in today’s Gospel, we must all become like ‘little children’ to enter the kingdom, which does not mean weakness and dependence, but rather a humility and trust in God.
For in other ways, as Saint Paul points out, we must act very much like men who have put away childish things, with greatness of soul. Child-like though she was, Therese could also, by her prayer, discipline and the grace of God, handle suffering and self-mortification far more worthily than most men. The paradox is one of many in Catholicism, gentle, yet strong; humble, but bold; meek, yet preaching the truth from the housetops, and on it goes, requiring a balancing act only possible with the grace of God.
Canada has a new NAFTA deal, with a different acronym and fewer socialist benefits. The dairy farmers apparently will be upset, but it may be too little too late, as the provincial premiers in their recent roundtable are admitting a rather grim economic future; we are shovelling out far more money, especially in wages, benefits and gold-plated retirement packages for ‘public service’ employees, than we are taking in through the beleaguered private sector. A deal with the U.S. may buy a bit extra time before we must face the music, but face it we must, one way or another.
At least this deal only has to do with the economy, for the other recent agreement, of the Vatican with China, involves not cows and cars, but souls and their eternal destiny. I still cannot get past the premise that, by their own inherent principles, would not the Chinese Communists only present episcopal candidates who are pro-Communist, which is why there is an underground Church in the first place? And are not Communism and Catholicism inherently antithetical? What of the regime’s atheism, its intolerance of religious freedom to worship, its draconian two-child policy, its support for abortion and contraception by means usually foul, its violation of labour laws?
Hence, any candidate the ‘Party’ recommends would seem to be, a priori, disqualified for the office of leading the Church, even of being a Catholic? Would he start preaching on Rerum Novarum, Centesimus Annus, Evangelium Vitae, Humanae Vitae? Does anyone think that the Communists would present a man for bishop who would in any way undermine their own atheistic regime?
One wonders, and wonders some more.
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→
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→
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→
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→