Sunday, and Pre-Election Thoughts
A blessed and glorious Sunday to all our readers…
Today’s Gospel speaks of Christ’s ‘elect’ – that is, His chosen, which in the end means those who choose Him and His truth – whose prayers and cries He will most certainly hear, in the time when His answer will be of most effect. Hence, the exhortation to pray and not lose heart. Yet, when He returns, will He find faith upon the earth? That may have raised questions in the mind of the mediaevals, when faith was more or less universal upon the earth as then known, but we now know that faith can be gained, and lost, accepted, and rejected. I hope to write more on this soon, offering a Thomistic take on what we as Catholics mean by ‘faith’, and why so many may be losing it.
And, speaking of losing it, it is our own election day tomorrow in this fair Dominion. The choices are grim, but we are called to cast our ballot at the very least for the one who will do the least harm, and perhaps some little good, whether by omission or commission. Politics is more or less a mug’s game, especially when it becomes a profession unto itself, with those seeking to rule, for ruling’s sake.
We are, in the end, governed far more by our culture, which is really the manifestation of our ‘religion’, which in turn are those things – or that one thing – that is, as Thomas puts it, ‘master of our affections’. And all too many of us are ruled by forces we understand not, our passions and our erroneous opinions, foisted upon us by years of socialist, public education, but then also by far more sinister powers behind these, which bring darkness upon the land, and our minds and souls.
On that note, as you prepare to vote, perhaps peruse these words on the late and not-so-great Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who did more than most to shape – and deform – Canada into what it now is, a bankrupt, socialist regime run by an immature, self-satisfied dauphin who, we may only hope, is so unreflective and unaware that he knows not what he doth. Ponder his legacy: The legalization of the murder-suicide of the elderly, sick and depressed under the euphemism of ‘euthanasia’; the legalization of mind-and-soul numbing marijuana; the entrenching of the right to murder the unborn, and squashing of any conscientious objection thereto; the expansion of ‘transgender’ rights; untrammelled immigration, without much thought of the long-term consequences; and an unrealistic ‘green’ policy that has already led much of the way to Alberta’s – and, hence, Canada’s – impoverishment, even financial ruin and collapse. The examined life seems not to be his.
But it should be ours. So pray, and don’t lose heart. Whatever happens, for those with faith, our redemption is always near at hand.
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
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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→
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→
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→
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→
Three Easter Musical Gems: Bach, Palestrina and Byrd
A very blessed and glorious Easter! Christus surrexit vere, alleluia! As we begin this Easter Octave with the great Solemnity of Easter, music to lift the soul would be one of Bach’s Easter cantatas, composed during his time at Leipzig in the early 1700’s, for the six Sundays of this festive season, leading up to[…]Continue reading→
In the Glorious Light of Easter, Alleluia!
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour[…]Continue reading→
An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday
The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→