24th
May 2013
In Ireland, my ancestors were offered a devil’s bargain by the otherwise good people during the potato famine. At that time, well-intentioned but misguided folk would provide soup to starving Irishmen on the condition that they renounce their Catholic Faith. The sentiment of the Irish peasants was expressed in the song that they sang in the streets of Dublin: “Souper souper ring your bellsouper souper go to hell.” My paternal ancestors faced a similar problem only three hundred years earlier, in Lancashire, ... (Continue reading)
I was speaking with a colleague, Fred, who is an atheist, and he told me that he preferred to use Xmas on his Christmas cards rather than Christmas. This, he said, would not give offence to people who did not accept the entire Christian association with Christmas. Never mind the obvious, that there is no Christmas without Christianity. This reaction to Xmas is a common mistake, and one that we ourselves can easily fall into. I pointed out to him ... (Continue reading)
“Therefore your end is on you, Is on you and your kings, Not for a fire in Ely fen, Not that your gods are nine or ten, But because it is only Christian men Guard even heathen things. "For our God hath blessed creation, Calling it good. I know What spirit with whom you blindly band Hath blessed destruction with his hand; Yet by God’s death the stars shall stand And the small apples grow.” G. K. Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse Many of the traditions that are associated with ... (Continue reading)
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!’’ But it’s “Saviour of ’is country,’’ when the guns begin to shoot; Yes it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please; But Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool—you bet that Tommy sees! - Rudyard Kipling, 1892 Pacifism is a religious version of a wolf in sheep’s clothing; a mockery of the obligation to labour for peace in the world; a caricature of that zeal for peace that is ... (Continue reading)
In 1993, when I was a young married man with a growing family, I received a magazine in the mail as a gift from Paul Morgan of the Peterborough Pro-Life Association—the first issue of Catholic Insight. This issue had articles on the media and the US election of the pro-abortion president Clinton, a selection from Pope John Paul II, and an editorial by the founding editor, Fr. de Valk, with associate editors David Dooley and Fr. Stephen Somerville. They wrote:... (Continue reading)
When I was growing up, my immature self believed that the family rosary was something that had to ...
"I'm heartbroken to announce that last week, we discovered a crushed consecrated Host beneath one of the kneelers," ...
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - ...
Several years ago, when I was working on a community theatre project, I overheard two little girls having ...
My friend blogged the other day about how her boys, when allowed to have whatever they want for ...
In Ireland, my ancestors were offered a devil’s bargain by the otherwise good people during ...
I was speaking with a colleague, Fred, who is an atheist, and he told me ...
“Therefore your end is on you, Is on you and your kings, Not for a fire in ...
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!’’ But it’s ...
In 1993, when I was a young married man with a growing family, I received ...