Our Lady Seat of Wisdom and of Combermere
A blessed ‘feast’ of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, which this year falls on Pentecost Sunday. Sedes Sapientiae, an ancient and venerable title of the Virgin Mary is celebrated on June 8th as the Chora tou Achoretou, the ‘container of the uncontainable’, the new ‘ark of the covenant’, the ‘chosen shrine’, as the sixth century hymn by Venantius Fortunatus has it, ‘in which the ‘Architect divine’ made His dwelling. She is the seat of incarnate Wisdom, that highest of the intellectual virtues, by which we see the deepest reality, the ultimate cause, the highest truth.
Many days in the liturgical calendar, in fact most, have such a memorial to various titles of Our Lady, only a few of them celebrated in the public liturgy. This day, of course, is special to us as the patronal feast of the College at which I happen to teach. In fact, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom is the universal patroness of all Catholic schools, universities in particular, and Pope John Paul II closes his encyclical Fides et Ratio, on the theme of the complementarity between faith and reason in the search for truth, to the Virgin Mother with these words:
May Mary, Seat of Wisdom, be a sure haven for all who devote their lives to the search for wisdom. May their journey into wisdom, sure and final goal of all true knowing, be freed of every hindrance by the intercession of the one who, in giving birth to the Truth and treasuring it in her heart, has shared it forever with all the world.
This is also, providentially, the day on which Our Lady of Combermere is celebrated, patroness of Madonna House whose main centre is just down the road from the College, and annually on this day members publicly profess their promises of poverty, chastity and obedience. The greatest gift one can give to God is the gift of oneself; and, on the flip side, as Saint Philip Neri said, the greatest gift Our Lady can give to a soul is a vocation to the religious and consecrated life.
Whatever be our own path, and however we ‘give’ ourselves to God through Our Lady, rejoice, entrust your petitions and intentions to the Mother of God, who listens and intercedes. And pray for wisdom, that virtue and gift by which we are enabled to see all things sub specie aeternitatis, under the aspect of eternity. The Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes warned, the world stands in peril, unless wiser men are forthcoming, and our world is filled with distinctly un-wise men.
But fret not. As Saint Teresa of Avila would pray:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
We should recall that God is omnipotens, all-powerful, yet dwells amongst us in the form of humble bread and wine. If God the Father, His Christ, with His Holy Spirit, are – is – with us, who, really, can be against? And does the Creator of the universe not listen to she who is His own mother? And does not a mother listen to her own children?
Sedes Sapientiae, ora pro nobis!
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→