Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. – Marcus Tullius Cicero
Year: 2022
Transitioning Toilets and Transforming the Mind
As I walked in the doors of the Social Science Centre at my one-time alma mater, the University of Western Ontario, I was struck by this sign. No, not the No Smoking one, which has been de rigeur for decades, even before I was there, nor the hand sanitizer, ubiquitous now for two years. No,[…]
The Camillian Ideal
The feast of St Camillus de Lellis remains a very intriguing story which keeps speaking to us, even after four hundred years. Born on May 25, 1550, at Bucchianico (today’s Abbruzzo which was then part of the Kingdom of Naples) from Camilla Compelli de Laureto, St Camillus’ life proved to be a very difficult one. Bucchianico,[…]
Think well. Speak well. Do well. These three things, through the mercy of God, will make a man go to Heaven. (Saint Camillus de Lellis, +1614)
The Vatican, Paris and Climate Follies
The Vatican has signed on to the problematical Paris Accord on Climate Change, apparently without reservations. Here are some thoughts. We’ve written before on the vague and uncertain nature of ‘climate change’, not least since the term itself is tautological, explaining everything, and, ergo, nothing. If someone could explain precisely what is meant by climate[…]
It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start. (Saint Teresa of Calcutta, +1997)
The Gnostic Roots of Transgenderism
Ideas have consequences, and few more dire than the idea of that one can transition one’s gender. The notion that our bodies may be manipulated and transformed at will has its roots in the early heresy of Gnostic dualism, already evident in the time of the Apostles. The Gnostics taught that we are really spirits,[…]
Run while you have the light of life! (Saint Benedict of Nursia, +543)
St Veronica Giuliani: Christ’s Stigmatic Bride
Last Saturday, the ninth of July, the universal Church celebrated the feast of the great and most humble Capuchin Poor Clares nun, abbot, mystic and stigmatist St Veronica Giuliani. She was born Ursula at Mercatello in the Urbino Duchy on December 27, 1660, from a very religious background. Her parents, Francesco and Benedetta Mancini Giuliani,[…]
Bach’s Trio Sonatas
Bach’s Trio Sonatas for the organ were penned after 1723, a time when he dedicated himself to instrumental music, in part to teach his children and improve the flexibility of their fingers (I’ll say!). The are ‘trio’ since there are three voices, all inter-related and interweave harmonically, works of his baroque genius, and can be[…]