Our Dominion Day
A blessed Canada-Dominion Day to all our readers, on which we celebrate the official founding of ‘Canada’ as a (mostly) independent part of the British Commonwealth since the signing into effect of such in 1867, with the ‘province of Lower and Upper Canada’ (later Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Although we gained further sovereignty, of a sort, with Pierre Trudeau’s 1982 Constitutional Act – along with his bland, yet insidious, Charter of Rights and Freedoms – we are still technically a democratic-constitutional monarchy, with full authority residing in the Queen, through her representative, the Governor-General, who bestows authority to rule on the Prime Minister, his cabinet and party, and the parliament overseen by them, whether as a majority or minority rule.
As someone once quipped: North of the 49th parallel we value equality; south of it, they treasure freedom.
For all the talk of democracy, we hoi polloi don’t have much say in Canada, except a vote for a member of parliament every four years or so, who cannot do much but sit mutely by. Back to Pierre Trudeau, who spoke more truth than he perhaps wanted to let on, when he called such back-bench MP’s ‘nobodies’. Power now resides in the Prime Minister and his ‘chosen few’, his cabinet ministers, and, if a crisis arises, or is some awful law cannot get through parliament, in unelected judges. Hence, we have foisted upon us everything from unrestricted abortion, euthanasia, same-sex ‘marriage’, transgenderism, vague ‘hate’ laws restricting freedom of speech, at least of the conservative variety, even reasonably put forward (the other side can spew vitriol all it wants), and now police-state Covid laws, with rumours that little tyrant Trudeau may force us all to wear masks in all public spaces. Intervene, o Queen! By that, I mean either Elizabeth exercising her rightful authority, or, more likely, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, setting things right by the divine power of her Son (see our original anthem in an accompanying post).
But, as the priest at Mass this morning reminded us, a Jesuit, like those who first evangelized this fair nation, let us today rejoice in what Canada does have: Not only an unsurpassed scenic beauty, as well the freedom to move about and explore that beauty. We also, so far, and far more importantly, have the freedom to worship, associate, write and teach and criticize the government, our dear leaders, to our heart’s content. Yes, such freedom is being whittled away, especially in our public institutions, so let us fight and defend our freedom, and use wisely what freedoms we do have.
The best way to do is to keep firmly in our hearts and minds that Canada was founded on Christian principles, as embodied in the one, true, holy Catholic and apostolic Church, spread and watered by the blood of martyrs, apostles, missionaries, pioneers, and all the noble first dwellers in this land. We have made ourselves slaves by jettisoning that heritage, for a government can only control people who, at some level, want to be controlled, and have sold their birthright for a bowl of milquetoast Liberal-esque pottage.
We would do well to honour their memory by waking up, and telling the powers that be that enough is enough, and that the only way to live, is to live free.
Our Lady, Saint Joseph, Saint Anne, and all the holy Martyrs, priez pour nous!
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 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→
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→
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→
Saint Gemma Galgani
On this April 11th, in 1903 – the same year that the Italian Guiseppe Sarto was elected Pope later that summer as Pius X – a lovely, young Italian woman died, by the name of Gemma Galgani. She lived a brief life of 24 years, as did a number of other young saints, including Pier[…]Continue reading→
An Ideological and Improper Translation
I noticed something odd with the psalm reading at Mass the other day. Our bishops’ conference here in Canada has decreed that the Mass in English – Novus Ordo – use the ‘NRSV’, the ‘New Revised Standard Version’, an ‘updated’ translation of the original RSV, first published in 1952. This ‘new translation’ has the tendency[…]Continue reading→
Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: A Teacher for Teachers
Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651 – 1719), a French nobleman, ordained a priest, founded the first order in the Church’s history entirely without priests, and this came about almost by accident. I say ‘almost’, for, of course, there are no accidents with God. Destined for ordination from an early age, Jean-Baptiste never looked back, even[…]Continue reading→