Saint Agnes of Montepulciano
Saint Agnes of Montepulciano (+1317) is one of the ‘incorruptibles’. She was born in the picturesque cliff-top Italian city on January 28th, 1268, the same day as her fellow Dominican, Thomas Aquinas (whose birth year was likely 1225). The future Jesuit and Cardinal, Saint Robert Bellarmine was also born in Montepulciano, and the region, in southern Tuscany to this day produces some of the finest of Italian wines. I have friends visiting over there as I write, likely sipping some of that vino on a terrace somewhere, as I look out my window as minor snow squalls here in Canada.
We take what God gives us, and the incorruptibility given to Saint Agnes is one reserved to only a small number of saints, a charism given by God as a sign to the rest of us of the future resurrection of the body, as well as its original integrity and immortality. She went straight as an arrow in her earthly pilgrimage towards heaven, joining the Franciscan convent when she was 9, by special dispensation (even back then, there were laws for when one might get married, or give oneself to religious life). Frequently ill, she lived a life of austerity and fidelity to the rule, with a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, which was growing in those days, offering all to God. She was blessed also with the gift of healing, visions and prophecies.
She was soon leading her convent, still young, and, after a heavenly visit from Saint Dominic Guzman was moved to lead her nuns to become Dominicans. After a full but mostly hidden life, Mother Agnes fell ill in 1316, and no cure was given for her who had cured so many others. She accepted her death peacefully, as she did all else, and went to God on this April 20th in 1317, at the age of 49, serendipitously, the same age that Thomas Aquinas had died in 1274. They rejoice together in heaven, and may they intercede for us and our world, that all may see the truth, and live it. +
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 Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
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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→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
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My Name is Bernadette
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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→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
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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→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→