La Vang and Le Sword
On this day in 1798, in the midst of a brutal persecution, Our Lady, holding her Son and with two angels at either side, appeared to a group of Vietnamese Catholics, who had fled to the rain forest to hide, and where many fell seriously ill. Like the good mother she is, Our Lady instructed them to make tea out of a specific leaf which would keep them healthy and hale. She also said that prayers would be answered in that spot, leading to devotion to Our Lady of La Vang, which has given life to the Church in Vietnam, an officially Communist dictatorship, but where the Church still has life, as she always will.
And on this day in my own native British Isles, in 1549 some zealous Catholics in the south of England took up arms in the Battle of Sampford Courtenay to resist the imposition of the new-fangled Protestant prayer book. Our modern minds might quibble – a war over a prayer book? – but those Catholics knew what they were about: Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi – the law of praying is the law of believing is the law of living. Or, we live and believe as we pray. And if prayer goes off the rails, not least public liturgical prayer, then, quite literally, everything else goes to hell. As Cardinal Manning said to a young Hilaire Belloc, all disputes are ultimately theological, which was in turn echoed by Chesterton, who said that all wars were, in the end, religious.
This is not to say that we impose the Faith by the sword but, at times, we must defend our Faith, and those of the Faith, with such – at least, with the sword of truth, and the armour of righteousness.
He said to them, “But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. (Luke 22:36)
On this day also Prospero Lambertini was elected as Pope Benedict XIV in 1740, one of the most learned Popes of modern times. A perusal of his life shows what good can be done via the papal office, who saw the Church through the head anti-religious days of the so-called ‘Enlightenment’. We may hope for better days ahead. God is in charge, and will see us through what battles there be.
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→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]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→
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→
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→
Three Easter Musical Gems: Bach, Palestrina and Byrd
A very blessed and glorious Easter! Christus surrexit vere, alleluia! As we begin this Easter Octave with the great Solemnity of Easter, music to lift the soul would be one of Bach’s Easter cantatas, composed during his time at Leipzig in the early 1700’s, for the six Sundays of this festive season, leading up to[…]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→
An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday
The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→