Fidelis and Redemption by Blood
We should pray for the victims of the van attack in Toronto yesterday, the ten who have died, the others still in hospital in critical condition, and, yes, the perpetrator, who perhaps needs prayers most of all. Not much is known of him; a motive has so far not been disclosed, and it is always fraught to speculate. He has an Armenian name, a nation which is well over 90% Christian (almost all of them a branch of Orthodoxy). So we know not. We will write more as things unfold.
To put this into perspective, 67 people were blown to pieces in Kabul by ‘ISIS’ the day before that, as they waited in line for identity cards, a massacre that barely made the news. We know that nature is red in tooth and claw, but it seems human society is becoming more so, as we descend, as Pope John Paul predicted, into a new form of unspeakable barbarism as the culture of death grows. Aristotle wrote that only Man can be a beast, for, unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, only he can use his reason to devise ever-new forms of evil, like mowing down innocent bystanders with rental vans.
All blood shed can be redeemed, and today we celebrate Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen (+1622), martyred just as the fanatical and religiously-motivated 30 years war was beginning, by a mob of armed Calvinists whom the Franciscan was trying to convert. The saint’s holy death, forgiving his slayers as his blood dripped to the ground, like the protomartyr Stephen, led to the conversion of a number of them, including the pastor who instigated the murderers, again, in parallel with Saint Stephen’s own religiously motivated enemy, Saul. We really should not despair of anyone, and God needs very little to make a saint. A simple yes will do.
On that note, Fidelis had been a brilliant, virtuous, unimpeachable lawyer in his early manhood, but the danger of moral compromise in the profession led him to follow the radical path of Saint Francis, giving quite literally all to God, including his very life.
So there is always hope, even in the midst of what appears as tragedy. In the end, God is, and always will be, victorious.
Mary Mother of God School in Toronto is celebrating 25 years this year, hard to believe, since I recall its beginning with significant clarity. There is a Gala dinner on May 5th; the last day for tickets is (was) today, the 24th, alas. But you could always call and check.
And this Sunday is the Rosary on the Coast in Great Britain, to commemorate, if such be the word, 50 years of the ‘Abortion Act’. The unborn have shed more blood than all victims of all wars and holocausts combined, but God has some mysterious plan even in this inscrutable horror.
We should join their intentions in our own rosaries, at whatever time and locale. We also have our own March for Life coming up, this year on May 10th, as always, in Ottawa. So mark your calendars, if you can make the trek, and add your voice, for those who have no voice.
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→