Norbert and Normandy
Saint Norbert (+1134) was a zealous bishop and founder, at the forefront of the ecclesial reform named after Pope Gregory VII, Hildebrand, who was its initial impetus. Norbert was born ten years before the death of the influential Pontiff in 1085, but it was not until his 35th year, in 1115, that he underwent a deep conversion – like the later Martin Luther (a more tragic tale) Norbert survived a lightning strike, and afterward vowed his life to God. Norbert’s reform began first with himself, retreating to a life of prayer and penance, taking on a rather extreme asceticism.
At the request of Pope Callixtus II, Norbert founded a community of priests, who would live an active life, but centred on a monastic rule and haven, the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, colloquially called the Norbertines or the Premonstratensians, officially established on Christmas Day, 1120, and the Order flourished, emphasizing devotion to the Eucharist and Our Lady.
Six years later, Norbert was appointed bishop of Magdeburg, which would remain a staunchly Catholic enclave until the preaching of Martin Luther four centuries hence, which, along with the influence of secular princes, would turn the city Protestant. But hope abounds, as always.
Upon Norbert’s death on this day in 1134, his body was brought to Prague, where it is on display in a glass-fronted sepulchre. He was canonized by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, the same year that the same pontiff reformed the calendar which now goes by his name, to correct the slightly-inaccurate Julian one (as discovered by Jesuit astronomers under the brilliant Christopher Clavius), abolishing two weeks of that year by papal fiat, (by the bull Inter Gravissimas) so that Thursday, October 4th, 1582, would be followed by Friday, October 15th, 1582. So from Gregory to Gregory, but, as always, the saints and what they signify transcend the temporal vagaries of this world.
And speaking of time, this is also the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy, when 150,000 soldiers – many of them young and untested – of various nations on the Allied side stormed the beaches of the north of France, then occupied and fortified by the Nazi German forces. The losses were heavy, with an estimated 5000-12,000 killed on the Allied side, while the Germans suffered 4000-9000 killed, wounded or missing, along with 200,000 taken prisoner. The scale boggles the imagination, and one must stand in awe of men wading ashore through relentless machine-gun fire, trying to manoeuvre with heavy packs and guns through sand, hoping against hope that they might just survive.
We should honour and pray for them all, the dead, and the ever-smaller band of survivors, and the cause for which they died.
Yet we should also remember how easy it is to lose freedom and virtue in a society. Many of the children of those soldiers were devotees of the sexual revolution in the sixties, and voted for Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Whether or not, as a rebellious, pacifistic, anti-war 23 year old, he drove around Quebec on a motorbike wearing a spiked, Prussian helmet and brandishing a swastika is up for some historical debate, but many of Trudeau’s principles were not far from those of the socialism adopted by the Germans and Russians. And the soldiers’ grandchildren, too many of them a coddled generation raised by an ever-more deviant nanny state, have now vested the same authority in his son Justin.
Both pere et fils and their sycophants have instantiated a Nazi-esque anti-life ethos in this nation, the state-funded execution of the unborn, the elderly, the sick, along with a relentless increase in state authority and intrusion – witness yesterday’s ‘debate’ on freedom of speech – that would have made those D-Day soldiers wonder what they were fighting and dying for, if it were all going to end in what we have in Canada, 75 years on, frittering away our fiercely fought freedoms, and tragically misusing what freedoms we still have. And it’s only going to get a lot worse, unless we turn things around, and soon.
So as we remember, let us continue their fight on for liberty, for justice and for truth, a war from which we can never rest easy, for which we too must be willing to suffer and even to die. Onward, Christian soldiers!
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→