Redeeming Grief
I think that the worst part of being upset about something is the side effects that come from crying. Just a few tears and suddenly you have a runny nose and a headache and then not only do you feel miserable emotionally, but you are wiped out physically as well. It almost feels like an allergy to grief, which kind of makes sense.
Earlier this week, I took my dog to the vet and got pretty much the worst news anyone taking a dog to the vet could hope to not hear. After managing to get out of the veterinary clinic and past the insanely and infuriatingly chipper receptionist, I indulged in a couple hours of crying and several more hours of nursing what I am literately calling a sick headache (because having a migraine due to receiving bad news is just way too unromantic; if I am going to be a complete goose about something, I’m at least going to have the fun of calling it by romantic names), all of which gave me ample time to reflect on this “allergic reaction to grief.” However, after I had a bit of time to pull myself together, I was compelled to remember that being sad or upset as a Catholic is at least superior to being sad or upset and not Catholic, because of that one dear little command so often given to us as little kids: offer it up.
A few weeks ago, I think it was on the Feast of Corpus Christi, my family had the pleasure of hearing a really excellent homily wherein the priest made the point that people, especially Catholics, shouldn’t find it so very difficult to believe that bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. After all, most of those same people don’t have a problem believing that Jesus cured diseases and raised people from the dead, and in doing so, changed the nature of death and disease and suffering.
Prior to Jesus’ lifetime, suffering was a sign of God’s supreme displeasure. It was a tangible sign that a person’s life was out of line with God’s will, and there weren’t all that many options to get back on the inside. But, as Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote in Salvifici Doloris, “In the cross of Christ not only is the Redemption accomplished through suffering, but also human suffering itself has been redeemed.” Because Christ chose to suffer in order to redeem the world, we too have the option of putting our suffering to use. It might not be a particularly easy option, and it doesn’t make the after effects of a sick headache go away any more quickly, but it does, at the very least give some meaning to what would otherwise be nothing more than a useless allergy to grief.
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→
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→
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→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
First Holy Communion: Sermon from May 16, 1943
Here is a sermon from the good old days by +Rev. Msgr. Vincent Nicholas Foy (August 14, 1915 – March 13, 2017), from 1943. Readers may recall that Pope Saint Pius X, by the decree Quam Singulari in 1910, lowered the customary age of reception of Holy Communion – after the rigours of the plague[…]Continue reading→
In the Glorious Light of Easter, Alleluia!
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour[…]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→
Europe’s Long Descent
(As we meditate on this day on Christ’s burial, and His descent into hell, it is fitting to ponder here with contributor Peter Marcus how the world seems to be heading there as well. The difference is that, although God cannot ‘redeem’ hell, nor those therein, He can and did redeem the world. There is[…]Continue reading→
Pope Saint John Paul II’s First Good Friday Homily
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS AT THE COLOSSEUM Good Friday, 13 April 1979 When we make the Way of the Cross from one station to the next, in spirit we are always at the spot wherethis journey had its “historical” place: where it[…]Continue reading→