Of Muslim Mayors, Fire and Brimstone
By the time you read this, London (the one in England) will have elected a new mayor. The residents did not have much of a choice: A Muslim, raised in Britain, of Pakistani lineage, or a multi-millionaire playboy kicked out of Eton for smoking pot. Not a surprise, that London would eventually end up with an Islamic mayor, given that in many regions of Britain the most common newborn name is Mohammed (of various spellings). The choice is symbolic: The weakness of the West symbolized in the playboy, who has never had to work a day in his life. And the Muslim, whose father was a bus driver, who helped put his son through law school, and, insofar as one still can nowadays in our socialist system, worked his way up through the ranks. Perhaps the Islamic Europe envisioned in Houllenebecq’s dystopic novel Submission was more prophetic than even my pessimistic mind thought.
And speaking of tough choices, it looks as though it’s going to be Trump versus Hillary next November. Blowhard reality TV star who says, and does, whatever comes into his fevered, billionaire mind, versus a woman with principles about as diametrically opposed to Catholic ones as one can imagine. Ted Cruz, like him, love him or hate him, I think had it right in his farewell speech: America may well be headed for some kind of abyss. What kind of hell-esque scenario remains to be seen.
And speaking of the inferno, the wildfires continue to rage in the region of Fort McMurray. As we know from the Catechism, nothing is by chance in God’s providence, so there is some meaning in this apocalyptic scenario. Many are blaming, guess what, climate change, as this shrill headline in the New Yorker makes about as clear as one might want: Fort McMurray and the Fires of Climate Change. Hot and dry conditions? But one might think that if CO2 is causing a greenhouse effect, it would be hot and humid. But what do I know? Are they implying that ‘Mother Nature’, who, like some Greek nemesis, chose the oil-producing centre of Canada to call down her wrath? The climate zealots seem to get more religious everyday. Maybe some eco-terrorist started the blaze, just to blame Mother Nature, like the bored 18 year old firefighter in BC who started fires just to have something to put out, a phenomenon more common than one might think.
We should pray that people are kept safe, along with as much property as possible.
And speaking of life, today is the anniversary of Tim Bosma’s death, the Ancaster father who was selling his truck on-line, climbed in with two shady-looking prospective buyers, and never returned. The two men are charged with shooting him point-blank, in a bizarre attempt to steal the vehicle. The lives of these two sexually-deviant spoiled-brat hoodlums and their pathetic girlfriends, whether guilty or not, makes for depressing reading, and says much about modern Canada that they not only survive, but thrive in our enabling milieu, and still want more. You may want to arm yourself if you plan on selling anything on Kijijii.
But hope: Today is also the feast of Saint Francois de Laval (+1708), the first bishop of Canada, a saintly ascetical man who lived for the salvation of souls, and whose original diocese spanned much of eastern Canada and the United States. The souls were not that numerous back then, but he laid the spiritual foundation for the millions who would move to this land from Europe and elsewhere. His remains lie in the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Quebec City, the oldest church north of the Spanish colonies in Florida and New Mexico. We should pray to him for a renewal of faith in this country, and for a spirit of courage and counsel for our bishops, as we also begin the oldest novena in the church, to the Holy Spirit, counting down the days to Pentecost.
Saint Francois, prie pour nous!
Veni sancte Spiritus!
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 Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
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→
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→
Saint Gemma Galgani
On this April 11th, in 1903 – the same year that the Italian Guiseppe Sarto was elected Pope later that summer as Pius X – a lovely, young Italian woman died, by the name of Gemma Galgani. She lived a brief life of 24 years, as did a number of other young saints, including Pier[…]Continue reading→
An Ideological and Improper Translation
I noticed something odd with the psalm reading at Mass the other day. Our bishops’ conference here in Canada has decreed that the Mass in English – Novus Ordo – use the ‘NRSV’, the ‘New Revised Standard Version’, an ‘updated’ translation of the original RSV, first published in 1952. This ‘new translation’ has the tendency[…]Continue reading→
Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: A Teacher for Teachers
Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651 – 1719), a French nobleman, ordained a priest, founded the first order in the Church’s history entirely without priests, and this came about almost by accident. I say ‘almost’, for, of course, there are no accidents with God. Destined for ordination from an early age, Jean-Baptiste never looked back, even[…]Continue reading→