Darkness and Pronouns

And thick darkness shall cover the land…The widespread blackouts in Manitoba and California – regions which otherwise share almost nothing else in common – signify our tenuous hold on what we call ‘civilization’. Contrary to Rousseau’s idealized version of the ‘noble savage’, life in its primitive state without creature comforts is more as his contemporary and foe Hobbes described it, ‘nasty, brutish and short’. How long would people in Manitoba live, in frigid cold, without outside civilization offering some sort of help?  One may fare better and longer in California, but even here, nature ‘red in tooth and claw’ would eventually gain the upper hand…

After all, what’s holding it all together? The far-flung, fragile wires of our electrical grid appear, as someone once described it, like a feathery spider web, blown asunder by wind or ice. The same holds for our lines of communication. No electricity, no heat, no light, no refrigeration or freezing, and, eventually no food. What would be the end result of that in the heart of our metropoli ?

Hmm. Pray for the best, but expect the worst, as the hold adage goes. Stock up on some water, food, winter gear, flashlights. If you are able, and live rurally, put in a wood stove with at least a few cords tucked away.

You likely missed it, but yesterday was ‘International Pronoun Day’, with all of us being exhorted to use the ‘right pronoun’ for those who choose not to use, well, the right pronouns. Instead of the usual three, that is, masculine, feminine and neuter, with their plurals and declensions, we now have about 57, give or take a few, or dozen, or whatever. One student mentioned to me that at the secular university she had attended, but left when she discovered that they were not all that interested in truth, nor much in education, her residence door had a form wherein the prospective arrival would write down what pronoun by which they preferred to be addressed. It is already seen as bad manners not to address persons by their preferred pronoun, corresponding with their preferred gender, or non-gender, and already illegal in Britain, where a physician, David Mackereth, a Christian, was fired for refusing to refer to a bearded man with the requisite male genitalia as ‘she’.

Mackereth was taken in for questioning, and the following unfolded when grilled by his manager. When asked whether he would refer to a biological man as ‘Mrs’, the physician replied he could not, going on to say that it was “not a question of whether we agree or disagree but whether we are free to say so. I believe with all my heart that God made us male and female and that I should be allowed to believe this

I’m not out to upset anyone. I care deeply about transgender people. But we must be able to say what we think and defend what we believe in a non-combative way. Otherwise, we will turn into a dictatorial state in which we are all enslaved.

I’m afraid it’s a bit late for that, for we’re already a good way towards a ‘dictatorial state’ in which we are ‘all enslaved’.

But for freedom, Christ has set us free. So, dear reader, hold onto that, as long as you can.

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→

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→

A Tale of Two Benedicts

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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→

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→