Year: 2019
A New Archbishop, and a Mystery Solved
Bishop Michael Mulhall – who has led the diocese of Pembroke since 2007, wherein I and the College at which I teach both happen to reside – has been appointed by Pope Francis, as of today, March 28th, as the Archbishop-elect of Kingston. He is succeeding Archbishop Brendan O’Brien, who was also Bishop of Pembroke[…]
Rediscovering Sacred Limits
Is the attack on Edmonton priest Father Marcin Maroniuk, following hot on the heels of the knifing of the rector of the Montreal Oratory, another anomaly, or a sign of worse things to come? The assailant ‘smelled of liquor’, so perhaps the drink and not so much the devil made him do it. Father Maroniuk[…]
From the Desert
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:5). These sobering words from our epistle reading describe the fate of most of the Jewish people who had been saved from slavery in Egypt. Our first reading taken from the book of Exodus, records the[…]
Kissing Rings and Boxing Rings
The Holy Father has just completed his one-day pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto. As tradition has it – not of divine faith, but small-t ‘tradition’ – this is the original house of the Holy Family in Judea which, in the 13th century, was miraculously ‘flown’ from there by four angels, first to Tersatto[…]
Mary’s Hope
A blessed solemnity of the Annunciation, which commemorates the central feast of the Incarnation – the Word made flesh – the conception of the Son of God in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, freely chosen by the young Hebrew maiden Mary, who was given a choice to make: Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum, which should[…]
Persecution Rising
The rector of Saint Joseph’s Oratory, Father Claude Grou, was attacked during Mass the other day, as a ‘tall, thin man in a white hat’ – which sounds like something out of a mystery novel – approached the priest during his homily, wielding a vicious-looking two-pronged long knife, which he proceeded to plunge into Father[…]
The Who, What, and Why of “Walk the Opeongo Line”
To set out on a journey like this – 67 kilometres – just over forty miles, or a marathon and a half – of walking, camping, praying, etc. – you may need some good reasons. A strong sense of adventure isn’t enough to make everyone fill out the registration form. So, for those of you asking,[…]
The Evil Behind a Boondoggle Budget
The most apt adjective to describe the Liberal ‘budget’ – and I use that term advisedly – is meretricious, a term that means doing something superficially attractive, but devoid of real substance. Its etymology is from meretrix, Latin for a ‘prostitute’, selling – or buying – something that one should not. And what the Liberals[…]