Year: 2020
A Crisis of Faith
Reports indicate that only a quarter of Catholics believe in the Real Presence, and even that may be an overestimate. One wonders about belief in other ‘hard truths’, as even the Apostles described Christ’s promise to give us His own ‘flesh’ to eat in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. How many, we may ask,[…]
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen (Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas)
A Pope’s Homily at Auschwitz
APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE TO POLAND HOLY MASS AT THE CONCENTRATION CAMP HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II Auschwitz-Bierkenau, 7 June 1979 1. “This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith” (1 Jn 5:4). These words from the Letter of Saint John come to my mind and enter my heart as I find myself[…]
You also ought to exercise pleasantness towards all, taking great care especially that what you have commanded may never be done by reason of force. For God has given free will to everyone, and therefore he forces no one but only indicates, calls, persuades. Sometimes, however, something will have to be done with a stronger[…]
Third Sunday and the Foolishness of the Cross
For the message about the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18). ⧾ The Gospel reading records the beginning of Our Lord’s public ministry; the call of the first Apostles, the proclamation of the good news of the[…]
The Decline and Fall of the Catholic University: Episode 1
Since the tragedy is so grand, so evocative and seemingly inevitable, it seems requisite to keep some historical record of the continued decline of the once-proud-and-great Catholic university, especially here in Canada. Since this seems to be an on-going theme, we will begin with episode 1, and continue – like Star Wars – until what[…]
The most important thing of all to him, however, was that he knew himself to be loved by Christ…To be separated from that love was, in his eyes, the greatest and most extraordinary of torments; the pain of that loss would alone have been hell, and endless, unbearable torture (Saint John Chrysostom on Saint Paul)
Just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling, each according to its colour, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion…in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the[…]
The Four Last Things as an Antidote to Euthanasia
Since legalization in 2016, medical assistance in dying has become normalized, with too many doctors and nurses presenting it as a viable medical treatment. From my point of view as someone who works in healthcare, when people are staring at their mortality, besides the turmoil of emotions that accompany their inescapable fate, many more consider[…]