Avila, Mary and Veritatis Splendor
On this half-way mark in the month of October we celebrate the great mystic and doctor of the Church, Teresa of Avila (+1582) who, along with her male contemporary Saint John of the Cross, helped to reform the ancient Carmelite Order, like a female Elijah, albeit with more refined, New Covenant sensibilities (regardless of how bad her fellow Catholics might be, even her fellow Sisters, she would never have advocated the punishment Elijah had inflicted on the false prophets of Baal, but times are what they are).
It was Saint Teresa who described prayer quite simply as ‘conversation with God’, especially through the humanity of Christ, with Whom we are meant to build a friendship, based more on love than duty, as friendship should be. Yet as she once said to the Lord, at least half in jest, after a more-than-usual bout of suffering and dryness ‘If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few!’ Yet Christ would also fill her soul with the most sublime spiritual ecstasies, a joy unsurpassed in the human milieu, a veritable glimpse of beatitude. As Saint Paul avers, once you have a taste of that definitive joy, all else seems like dross.
Saint Teresa comes across through her marvellous and engaging writings as a very attractive, warm, humorous, self-deprecating soul, filled with the love of God and a desire for perfection, strict with herself, but gentle with others, with profound insights on the human soul and its condition. Her treatises on prayer are amongst the finest in the Church’s tradition, along with those of her fellow Carmelite, John of the Cross. It was the latter who led Karol Wojtyla on the path to holiness (whose original intention was to join the Carmelites), as it was Teresa, particularly her autobiography, that inspired the conversion of the Jewish philosopher and future martyr Edith Stein, who adopted her name in joining the Carmelite Order, as Teresa Benedicta a Cruce. There truly is an interconnected community between earth and heaven, past and present, souls in via and souls in gloria, and, in that perspective, we are not all that far from each other. The saints are still very real indeed
Speaking of intercession, peruse Father Scott Murray’s fine article on the Marian encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII, and the beneficial effects of prayer to, or more properly through, Our Lady, especially her Rosary, an exhortation reiterated by Popes too numerous to mention. There is something very effective about this spiritual ‘weapon’, if one wants to think in those terms, for we are in a battle, as Saint Paul says, with powers and principalities beyond our ken, becoming all-too evident now.
Finally, I must confess to being remiss in not saying something to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of one of the finest of John Paul II’s encyclicals (even if they are all excellent), Veritatis Splendor, issued, hard to believe, a quarter of a century ago on October 5th, 1998. As others have remarked, this document has received rather scant attention in the current Magisterium, quoted neither in Amoris Laetitia nor in the Instrumentum of the current Synod on Youth, for reasons we must leave to the conscience of the current Pontiff. One wonders, for in Veritatis one finds an unsurpassed masterpiece in laying out the framework and purpose of what is meant by the ‘moral life’. To bring this back to Saint Teresa, John Paul sees the path to heaven, rightly, as a work of love and friendship, rather than of duty, if even ‘work’ it may be called. For in love and friendship, things that seem difficult become easy and delightful, as Christ’s describes the yoke He imposes, or, might I say, proposes.
I will have more to write on this, in part to expiate my own omission, so stay tuned.
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
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→
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→
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
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→
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→