A Steady Focus in Fractious Times

I sit, typing this, in my basement office in my home in Virginia as the world watches the drama of the recent elections in the United States unfold in such a way as to point to a Biden / Harris win for the positions of President and Vice President. Whether I have the respective positions correct will remain to be seen – but I digress. I find myself in a state of serious unease in these times; then I look to the coffee cup my wife bought me years ago, emblazoned with the seal of the Holy See of Peter, bearing the words, “The Catholic Church, Outlasting Oppressive Governments Since 33 A.D.” and I find hope.

Please do not read here that I have put my faith in the present Prince of the Oval Office. Each of the candidates has their foibles. No, as my coffee mug implies, my faith is in Christ. But as I have walked this Earth I have watched as the culture of the West consumes itself. Europe, the one-time bastion of Christendom, is a shell of its former self and appears to have surrendered to some kind of doubt-filled self-loathing in an effort to make amends for the sins of their colonizing fathers. In the United States this self-loathing has lately been made manifest under the guise of the original sin of slavery and all its evils, which truly were evils.

Yet, there are real and present evils which go ignored and in some cases even celebrated. I need not type them all here. Rather, I implore you, good reader, to look deep inside yourself and deeper into Sacred Scripture, and the Catechism of the Church, to find where you will be judged. And you will be judged, as will I. But there is one evil which has become such a scourge on the spirit of the West that I cannot leave to itself. That, my friends, is abortion.

I wanted the first president of the United States to ever attend the March for Life to have a second term. I wanted this because I have seen what he has done on this singular front and it gave me hope. In the United States we have surpassed sixty-three-million babies discarded – murdered – in the name of freedom. The German third Reich came nowhere near this number. The Soviet purges in Asia and Eastern Europe still fall well below this. These two regimes – socialist in name and action – murdered their own people on a mass scale, but we have outdone them. I hoped we were near an end to this insanity, but if the present course bears its apparent fruits in this election, I fear the carnage will continue. The candidates have openly admitted their wish that it does. In my church we had a novena for God’s will to be delivered in the election. I have to believe that God heard us, and He is answering. What will come about is yet to be seen.

Allow me to draw some parallels. Early Christians did not have it easy. They were shredded by beasts in the Coliseum for sport. All but one of the original Apostles were martyred, as were the first thirty Popes. Roman citizens who refused to burn incense to Caesar, which would have been counter to the Christian faith, were killed. Being a champion for Christ was often a sentence to an early and gruesome death for the first three hundred plus years after Christ returned to heaven. Yet still they came, and happily so. Their persistence led to the conversion of a pagan empire in which sins of the flesh – and even abortion – flourished. This Empire would be the forebearer of our present civilization, which appears to be reverting into pantheism and paganism once again.

So, in an uncertain time, in an unsteady age, what are we supposed to do? Like our Christian fathers, we are meant to show the Truth to a pagan world. Looking to them we can see our path, persistence in witness. We will suffer if we do it well. Pray, fast, repent, be ready. Preach the Gospel every day, and to paraphrase Saint Francis, use words when you have to.

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→

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→

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→

Weronika Krawczyk and Injustice in Poland

Catholic Action in Poland has issued a formal statement appealing to the President of the Republic of Poland to pardon Weronika Krawczyk—convicted for warning other women against an abortion-performing gynaecologist. Catholic Action (AK) emphasizes that no apology is owed to a doctor who has performed numerous abortions and proposed others; furthermore, the organization considers the[…]Continue reading→

Saint Isidore of Seville, the Internet and Industriousness

Today, April 4th, muted this year by Holy Saturday, is the commemoration of Saint Isidore of Seville (560-636) a bishop and doctor of the Church during a tumultuous age, when civilization was crumbling, coming apart at its very seams, which may sound sort of au courant. Then again, the form of this world has always[…]Continue reading→

Bishop Fulton Sheen’s 58th Good Friday Reflection

Incredible, at the beginning of this reflection, that the Venerable Bishop Sheen declares that he has given nearly 58 Good Friday reflections – this, as far as I can gather, was his final one, and he seems in full vigour in mind and body. The good bishop and evangelist died in his 84th year on[…]Continue reading→

A Minimal Friar and the Death of a Great Pope

This April the second- overshadowed by Holy Thursday this year – marks the memorial of Saint Francis of Paola (1417-1507), founder of the ‘Minim’ friars, so called for their humility and poverty, who interpreted the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi in quite a literal sense: extreme poverty, trust in God, foregoing all animal and[…]Continue reading→

Woven versus Seamless Garments

The reflection on the worthy project by Magie Dominic was intriguing, and I thought I would offer a brief follow-up commentary. The garment woven out of many pieces is a poignant symbol, even a ‘sacramental’, inspired by prayer and grace. We are all united in some way, and should strive for such unity, wherever we[…]Continue reading→

Bill C-9: Prelude to Persecution?

Well, it happened, as I suppose was inevitable, at least in a secular sense (from God’ perspective, there’s always hope). Bill C-9, the ironically named ‘Combatting Hate Act’ passed the House of Commons with a 186-137 vote. Look on the good side – there’s still over a hundred sane people in parliament who believe in[…]Continue reading→