Today is the memorial of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, (+1622) whose original name was Mark Rey: 'Sigmaringen' was his birthplace in what is now Germany, and he took the name 'Fidelis' - faithful - in religion, after he joined the Capuchins in the first decade of the 1600's. This...
$624 million. That's the apparent tally for hosting the portion of the World Cup games to be held in Vancouver this summer - seven matches, which comes to just under $90 million per game.
We've written before about the excesses of professional sports, the bloated salaries, the insane hype and...
Today used to be (*) a national holiday in England - as the people hearken back to an earlier and better time in the now tragically declined, if not lost, nation. For today is the feast of their patron, the semi-legendary Saint George, martyr for the Faith, slayer of...
Pope Leo XIV is on the last leg of his pilgrimage to Africa, the destination he chose for his first apostolic visitation. Makes sense, for the continent is one of the few places left on actually replacing itself. This interactive map is intriguing, if also somewhat depressing. Hovering above...
I met an alien today. If you humour me for a few moments, Iâll explain. It isnât one of the aliens that appeared in the media earlier last year, were confirmed as real, and who then evaporated into thin air. Unfortunately not. Rather, the alien I encountered was more...
Saint Anselm (+1109) was bishop of the see of Canterbury, in the south of England, whose old buildings and cobbled roads still evoke her mediaeval era. Canterbury is famous both for her original founding bishop, Augustine, who governed from 597 until his death in 604 (yes, the 'other' Augustine,...
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Saint Anselm
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Benedictine Abbey of Sant'Anselmo is located on the Aventine Hill in Rome. As the headquarters of an academic institute of higher studies and of the Abbot Primate of the Confederated Benedictines it is a place...
Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (Jn. 21:17). ⧟
The Easter Season is a privileged time of liturgical catechesis or instruction called mystagogy because it draws into the Mystery of Christ. This mystery is a reality that is the foundation of our hope and the reality...
A blessed, joyous and grace-filled Easter to one and all! Christus resurrexit! Dominus surrexit vere! Alleluia! One of my favorite songs of this season of joy the Regina Coeli, the antiphon of praise to Our Lady.
Here is simple Gregorian chant version, which we sing (or at least pray) in...
As a child, I was struck with a certain astonishment at the perverse and sometimes startling coincidence that opposites exist. I think most children within their early life recognize the division of the world in this way. Ordinary things are known by their opposite, or by the contrast with...
Bd. Marie-Anne Blondin (+1890), whose optional memorial falls today in our fair Dominion, the day of her birth in 1809, five decades before Canada was Canada. Most Canadians, alas, have likely never heard of her, but she was one of the founders of our once-glorious and envied educational system,...
After five defections â euphemistically described as âcrossing the floorâ â 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...
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...
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...
(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...
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...
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...
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...
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 - 1433) was one of the countless and glorious âvictim soulsâ 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...
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...
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHERÂ
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...
