Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
Saint Bernardine of Siena (+1444) lived through a tumultuous time in the Church’s history. The Great Western Schism had begun in 1378, two years before the birth of Bernardine, with, eventually three rival claimants to the papacy, all with their various supporters. Left orphaned at six years old, Bernardine was raised by a pious aunt,[…]
A happy Victoria Day to all our readers, when we celebrate the history of our Dominion, first as a French, then a British colony, under both crowns. For better or worse, the Brits won out, even if la langue et culture francaises still exist in la belle province. Some have dubbed this ‘May two-four’, I[…]
The signs have been hopeful in this first week of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate – full regalia, clear teaching, warm demeanour, pastoral yet doctrinal. On Monday, May 12th, he addressed journalists, advocating for a charitable and peaceful presentation of truth, to ‘dis-arm’ words: Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even[…]
The life of Paschal Baylon (1540 – 1592) has much in common with that of his fellow Franciscan, Joseph of Cupertino (+1633). They were both Franciscan friars who adopted lives of great humility and austerity – Paschal would wear a spiked metal coat, or a habit with rough pig hair on the inside. They were[…]
Saint Brendan (+577) the sixth century Irish monk, called the ‘Navigator’, is reputed to have discovered Canada a full millennium before the Italian John Cabot – Giovanni Caboto – arrived on the shore of the Gaspé in 1497. In his semi-mythical recounting, the immram (‘narration’) known as Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (the Voyage of Saint[…]
The story of Saint Dymphna (7th century), steeped in legend, is not one, perhaps, that parents would feel comfortable telling their children. Dymphna was a lovely young Irish lass, the daughter of Damon, a minor king, of Oriel, experiencing an idyllic upbringing in medieval Ireland, her mother a devout Catholic, as so many Irish used[…]
Saint Isidore, or, in his native Spanish, Isidro de Merlo y Quintana, was named after the other Saint Isidore, the bishop of Seville (whom we celebrated back on April 4th). This saint, known to us as Isidore the Laborer (Labrador) – or the Farmer – was born about the year 1070 in Madrid, and spent[…]
A good choice was made with Saint Matthias, in accordance with God’s holy will, and we may rejoice accordingly on this feast of the Apostle. But the Good in this vale of tears always goes along with some Evil, the wheat and the tares inextricably linked unto the end of time. And a bad choice[…]
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them So wrote the Bard in his 1602 play the Twelfth Night, and ’tis fitting as a theme for the one who was chosen as the new twelfth Apostle, who was definitely not born into greatness, but had greatness thrust upon him and,[…]
Today we commemorate the early martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, soldiers, officers of the court, and converts, likely put to death under Emperor Domitian in the late 1st century. Other sources claim Diocletian in the third. Their lives are shrouded in legend, like many of the earliest martyrs. Saint Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratory[…]
