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
Tarantella by Hilaire Belloc[1] Do you remember an Inn, Miranda? Do you remember an Inn? And the tedding and the spreading Of the straw for a bedding, And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees, And the wine that tasted of tar? And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers (Under the[…]
Austin Ruse, Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point Us to Christ. Charlotte: TAN Books, 2017. With modern medical breakthroughs, treatments and medicines, we have become sophisticated in the avoidance of physical, mental, emotional pain – the avoidance of suffering. In a growing number of countries it is acceptable, even meritorious, to end[…]
Obedience is not necessarily a virtue. It did not excuse the Nazis at Nuremberg, who were just ‘following orders’. Just as Serviam has its exceptions and nuances, so too Non Serviam can be firmly stated without its usual demonic overtones. So how do we know when obedience is good, and when not so? With Saint Peter, we must in[…]
In Mark, 10, Jesus is asked by the Pharisees (“to test Him”) whether divorce is lawful. As He admits, the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 24 and elsewhere) permitted divorce under some conditions. But Jesus argued more broadly, basing His words on the second chapter of Genesis, “the two will become one flesh.” Therefore, Jesus says,[…]
“Praised may You be, my Lord, through our Sister, Bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape.” (Canticle of the Sun composed by St. Francis of Assisi,+1226). Those who have lived or stayed for a while in Australia must have noticed that generally Australians focus heavily on life, and avoid talking about death. They[…]
Last week I promised to consider how we could possibly ignore all the bad and sad news and try to make this Christmas as joyous and cheerful as possible. But I realized that given the doom and gloom in which have found ourselves, by simply offering a few tips, some upbeat pragmatic advice, and jokes[…]
It has always been difficult for the homilist to preach on the feast of the Holy Family. In the old days, the priest would deliver a string of platitudes about loving mothers, provident fathers and so on. There’s a joke people used to tell about such sermons. After Mass Mrs. Smith said to Mrs. Jones,[…]
What is God like? The Bible itself answers the question if we examine it carefully. The first thing that struck me as I reflected on the sacred text was the surprising fact that God has made himself known at all, that we can say anything about him. After all, he is by definition transcendent, i.e.,[…]
My mother’s sons were angry with me, they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept. (Song 1:6) For many of us, 2020 has been a year of blight and suffering. Everywhere we turn, we are constantly reminded of rising death tolls, job losses, illness and the threat of[…]
The following reflection from contributor Father Tim McCauley offers a perspective on the financial impact of the lockdowns, in our current times of controversy. Many of our readers have reservations about the proposed vaccine, and I share any number of those – I will offer more thoughts on that shortly – We’re each going to[…]
