If Joseph was so engaged, heart and soul, in protecting and providing for that little family at Nazareth, don’t you think that now in heaven he is the same loving father and guardian of the whole Church, of all its members, as he was of its Head on earth?” (Pope Pius XII, +1958)
Month: April 2025
Saint Joseph Cottolengo and Giving Everything
Saint Joseph Cottolengo (1786 – 1842) signifies a life of total service to others. He was born the eldest of twelve children, into a comfortably well-off middle class family. He discerned a class to the priesthood, entered the seminary (eventually receiving a doctorate in theology), and was ordained a priest on June 8th, 1811. All[…]
Marie of the Incarnation: A Saint for Canada
Saint Marie of the Incarnation (1599 – 1672) was a mystic and missionary to Canada, contemporaneous with the first settlers of this wild and savage land, along with the Franciscans and Jesuits who brought the Faith. She was born Marie Guyart in 1599, in Tours, France, her father a baker, her mother a homemaker, who[…]
Saint Pius V: Between Heaven and Earth
Michel Ghislieri was born as Anton in 1504, but took the name of the Archangel ‘who is like God’ when he joined the Dominican Order at the age of 14, and never looked back. Fitting, for his whole life was a spiritual battle, first, against his own sinful tendencies – against which he was merciless,[…]
He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely (Saint Catherine of Siena, +1380)
Pope Benedict and Saint Catherine of Siena
BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Paul VI Hall Wednesday, 24 November 2010 Saint Catherine of Siena Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to talk to you about a woman who played an eminent role in the history of the Church: St Catherine of Siena. The century in which she lived — the 14th —[…]
Carney One, Canada Zero
Canada has likely reached the point of no return, like a 12-0 hockey game in the final minutes of the third period, with the goalie pulled. I don’t play the game – soccer is what I grew up with, even if sports analogies always limp. At least in theory, in games, everyone’s pitching in, and[…]
Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Doctor and Reformer
Ecclesia semper reformanda est. So goes the old saying – the Church, always in need of reform – applies now, perhaps, more than ever. And one of her greatest reformers was not a Pope, nor a bishop, nor a man, but a simple woman of great holiness, intelligence, character and strength, a Dominican tertiary, who[…]
United Party of Canada
I’m not sure why I’m just learning about this Party, whose policies are the precise opposite of the United ‘Church’. The United Party stands for freedom, life and true human rights. It’s an option, at least for one’s conscience.
What Choice on Election Day?
It’s election day here in Canada, even if we don’t have much of a choice. We have Mark Carney, about whom Scott Ventureyra wrote a masterful critique, warning his fellow Canadians about what the destruction he will bring in his train. Carney has publicly stated he will do nothing about the culture of death reigning[…]