Revolution, Paris and the Olympics
The French Revolution casts a long shadow. It seems the generational guilt in casting off the ‘shackles’ of the Church, which entailed also the rejection of the moral law and of God Himself, has yet to be exorcised from France. Like Lady Macbeth, they wash their hands in fruitless ways, like trying to clean oneself in the sewer that is the Seine (I still can scarcely believe they have athletes swimming in it. I once walked for miles along the edge of the ‘river’, and the thought of diving in did not cross my mind. Have they no pools in France?). Hence, the images from the opening ceremonies, listed in Andrew Caruk’s recent post, are but the flesh-tattered ghosts come back to haunt a seared and unshriven national conscience. To paraphrase Pope Saint John Paul II, ‘France, become what you are!’. And what France really is, is the eldest daughter of the Church. We are either for Christ, or against Him. May France repent, before it is too late.
The same God does give signs. Right after the rain-drenched ‘ceremonies’, Paris was plunged into darkness – some odd power outage – but the lights of Sacré-Cœur Basilica on top of Montmartre kept shining, for some reason yet unexplained. The basilica had been built for the purpose of making reparation for sins against the Sacred Heart, and there has been perpetual adoration since 1885, decades before its final completion in 1914 and its consecration in 1919. Those continual prayers were needed during the World War(s), and they’re perhaps even more needed now.
Readers may peruse my thoughts on the modern Olympics and professional sports in general, which are good in themselves and as far as they go, but have become a quasi-religion for so many. Recent events, ergo, do not offer much surprise. There’s no sitting still in this pilgrimage of life – just as we are for or against Christ, so too we either trod the road to heaven or to hell. There is a fine line between seeking excellence and virtue in sports, all in the right order, and turning them into an idol, with the whole pagan ‘cult of the body’, of which the Catechism warns. It may be no surprise that few seem to be watching, or attending. (Do they still even have ‘women’s’ events, with the transgender travesty?) This may be the fin de siècle of the modern Olympics, to be revived someday in a way that restores all things in Christ. For only in Him is true excellence to be found.
So, semper altius!
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→