Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
The saying goes that politics is a mugs’ game, the art of the possible and the practical and all that, and we must take what we can get – the crumbs off the master’s table, so to speak. Perhaps there be some truth in this, but it’s sort of looking at things backwards. To paraphrase[…]
To hear some virtuoso violin, treat yourself to Bach’s Partita in B minor (BWV 1002), first published in 1720, for solo violin, as performed by the incomparable Hilary Hahn: And, taking two centuries back in time, and since this was beautifully sung at a wedding of two alumni I had the honour of attending yesterday,[…]
I plead with you–never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid. (Pope Saint John Paul II)
Who do people say that the Son of Man is? (Mt. 16:16) ⧾ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16:16). St. Peter’s definitive response to Our Lord’s question is the foundation of the Christian faith; and it is no less the foundation of the Church’s life and mission. Christians are[…]
As everyone knows, the word “catholic” means all inclusive. It can be used with no religious connotation, as in “a catholic taste in reading,” referring to someone who will read anything from Shakespeare to the labels on a can of soup. As “Catholics,” therefore, we want to have everything, including whatever is worthwhile in other[…]
Has anyone ever come away from her troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly mysteries? Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because his request had been granted by the Mother of God? (Saint Amadeus of Lausanne)
Saint Pius X (+1914), born Guiseppe Sarto, was a peasant, he was the first such in centuries, the custom being that popes were chosen from the ‘nobility’ – it is a true rags to riches story, even if he rejected all the potential riches. He brought his simple ways into the papal office, rescinding the[…]
There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love. (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, +1153)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares that the devil is not only real, but most certainly is not just some blind impersonal force in human affairs. The devil is a thinking creature who delights in the temptation and torture of human beings. In John 8:44, Jesus speaks of the devil as “A murderer from[…]
The Gong Show – from which we derive the term ‘a gong show’, sometimes morphed into a more scatological form, which may apply more aptly here – was a campy variety program that ran from 1976 to 1989, where a panel of celebrity judges watched amateur and often embarrassingly bad acts, and would ‘gong’ them[…]
