Elizabeth, Regina, Requiescat in Pace
Queen Elizabeth has died, after a reign of 70 years, at the age of 96, at the royal residence of Balmoral, Scotland, on this, Our Lady’s Birthday. Requiescat in pace, and we may hope and pray that she, although never embracing the true Faith, availed herself from what faith she did have of God’s mercy and salvation. Here is a brief reflection we posted last year, on the 69th anniversary of her reign. We may have more on what may unfold in the days and weeks ahead, with her putative successor, climate zealot Charles the Third, who may be nearly as unhinged as his ancestor George of the same number; but, for now, we pray and intercede for his mother Elizabeth before the throne of the Creator. For a fuller, and frankly more eloquent, reflection, see today’s post by Mark Steyn.
On this June 2nd, in 1952, Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England, and all her colonies, in Westminster Abbey, which, if my math is correct, would mark her 69th anniversary, the longest-reigning British monarch in history, by a fair piece. I have reservations about the modern monarchy – its apostasy during the 16th century had disastrous consequences – but Elizabeth is a sympathetic figure, echoing a bygone era of manners and decorum, always poised and gracious from the first moment of her reign.
King Louis XIV ruled France for an impressive 72 years, and holds the historically longest sovereign rule – but then, he was a little lad of five when he acceded to the throne, while Elizabeth was 25 when she heard the news of her father, George VI’s, death, while on tour with her husband Philip in Kenya. Philip just died at the ripe old age of 99, while Elizabeth is still a spry 95, showing no signs of retiring or slowing down much – bestowing upon poor Charles the record of the longest-reigning heir-apparent in history. (He’s 72)
A few days before her coronation, on May 29th, Edmund Hilary and Tenzig Norgay had conquered Mount Everest in the name of Britain. Hence, the pageantry of Elizabeth accepting the crown of Britain and her empire was a high point of the old order – and it’s sadly been downhill ever since, into the sad, socialist quagmire that England now is, with immigration just barely balancing a low birth rate – Elizabeth’s four children would now be considered a rather distastefully large family, but would be on the smaller side when she had them. And the Queen was crushed by the breakdown of her children’s marriages, calling 1992 her annus horribilils.
We continue to hope for better days, even against hope. And, if not, well there’s always eternal life. And we pray for Elizabeth, Regina, as the words of the anthem already proved true –
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save The Queen!
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save the Queen!
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→