Mater Ecclesiae and the Entrance into ‘Ordinary Time’

We celebrate today the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, as mentioned, made official by Pope Paul VI in 1964. During the Council, there was debate whether to have a separate document on Our Lady, but the decision was made by the Fathers (by a narrow margin, to be sure, of forty votes, one of the closest) to place the Mariological teaching at the end of the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, since not only was Mary’s life totally given to Christ, the nascent Church and the first believers, but she herself is the very type and perfection of all the Church is meant to be: To form believers in the fullness of charity, grace and truth. As the decree instituting this memorial teaches:

This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

So today, especially, invoke the tender Mother of God, of Christ and of the Church, that all men of good will may respond to the truth, and that they may at least be united to Christ by grace and charity, moving towards that fullness of union in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church, under the maternity of the humble handmaid, whom God has exalted above all.

As the first day after Pentecost, we also on today enter back into the less-than-felicitously named ‘Ordinary Time’, for no time in God’s kingdom is ‘ordinary’ in our now common sense of that term.

As far as I know, the term ‘ordinary’ here derives not from our English use of the term – the contrary of ‘extra-ordinary’ – but rather from the custom of counting the Sundays in ‘ordinal’ numbers, from the ‘First Sunday in Ordinary Time’, which is the feast of the Lord’s Baptism just after Christmas, to the 33rd Sunday, after which we close off the liturgical year with the solemnity of Christ the King. Between the Sundays, there are the ‘ferial’ days, regular weekdays in English, but which Latin term ironically derives from festum or feast, that is, from the festive Sunday from which they follow.

So, if you have followed all of this, we are now in the Ninth Week in ‘ordinary’ time, which puts us in the second week of psalter, in that ongoing song of the Church’s praise, with which we hope to meet the Lord upon His return, at the end of time, which will, I would imagine, indeed be most extra-ordinary.

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→

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→

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→

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→