Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
The parents of Niclas Kopernik of Poland were dedicated Catholics and members of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. The young Copernicus lost his father at the age of ten, but his uncle, a bishop, saw to his education at the University of Cracow where he specialized in the study of mathematics and astronomy. At[…]
Qui cantat bene, ora bis – He who sings well, prays twice (Saint Augustine, +430)
As the patroness of Church music, and music in general, Saint Caeceilia has her work cut out for her. A young virgin martyr in Rome, put to death either in the late second or early third century, she was married, against her will, during which ceremony she ‘sang in her heart to the Lord‘. For[…]
To complement our devotion on this memorial-feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, here is Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg’s, polyphonic composition of the ancient Latin hymn, Ave Maris Stella, composed in 1888-89.
As the stakes rise in the various conflicts around the world, not least in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle east, we should remind ourselves of the Church’s theory of a ‘just war’, which should be our guide – not jingoism or dreams of unconditional surrender. Like most theories, it’s more difficult in practice. Still, we[…]
There’s a story told of Father Georges Lemaitre, the priest who first proposed the theory of the Big Bang in 1927. He didn’t call it that, but rather the ‘Hypothesis of the Primeval Atom’. It was the atheist Frederick Hoyle who coined the nickname, perhaps in derision (although he later denied this motivation) in a[…]
Delight in him from whom you have received everything that delights you. But in that I do not include sin, for sin is the one thing that you do not receive from him. With that one exception, everything you have comes from him. (Saint Augustine, +430)
Mostly in modern times has the notion really caught on that the human mind is purely composed of matter in motion, and that its exclusive residence is in the physical brain. Belief in a realm beyond the physical has taken a great hit. Scientific discoveries gradually pushed the main line of thinking this way because[…]
November 16th was the feast of the holy doctor of Naples, St Joseph Moscati. Giuseppe Moscati, who was born in Benevento (southern Italy), on July 25, 1880 and died on Holy Tuesday, April 12, 1927, and he remains a great figure to be imitated. His is a holiness of the lay people who put Christ[…]
Philosopher Michael Ruse departed this world on November 1, 2024, at the age of 84. And although I had never met Michael, it is with sadness that I reflect on his passing. I had briefly corresponded with him a few years ago. I knew by listening to him in debates, interviews, and lectures over the[…]
