February 2005

It has been another amazing day in the life of this priest. But it’s been a busy one!

This evening I was presenting to a group of children who are preparing to live the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time this Saturday. I brought up the topic of the seal of the confessional, and how everything that is said to the priest is kept secret. Some kids weren’t so sure how tight this secret really was, and they offered a few test cases.

“What if the police ask what I said?” My reply: “Nope, not even if the police come and ask.”

In my opinion, fear and loathing of the sacraments is one of the clearest signs of the Evil One. I am not simply speaking of disdain and contempt: those can come out of human pride, a kind of superior attitude that says “Look at those stupid people, pouring water on babies’ heads and thinking it does more than give them a wet head.” This is bad enough, of course, but what I am really referring to is a deep loathing of the sacraments, the kind of attitude that seeks to prevent people from “wasteing their time” in the worship of God.

Thanks to a blog post by Bryan Jerabek over at Quodlibeta, I’ve discovered Hildegard von Bingen’s morality play Ordo Virtutum. As I read the English translation I couldn’t help but be amazed by the depth of the message it taught. I really believe that the new evangelization of our culture is going to have to involve the fine arts, so I wonder if it would be possible for us to put on this play here in Montreal.

Yesterday I wrote a long post in reply to a long post of Hilary of Fiat Mihi. Hilary, who writes news articles for LifeSite news, had posted the full text of a not-very-flattering conversation she had with Fr. Toupin, the secretary to the Cardinal Archbishop of Montreal. Since this is my backyard, and I know Fr. Toupin personally, I felt I needed to reply.

The title says it all: the Greek Orthodox Church has decided to restore the diaconate for women.

The church was packed both this morning and tonight for our Ash Wednesday service. I’m glad to see so many come out to hear the words “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.”

Today I presided the funeral of the woman I visited in hospital last December 15. She hung on for 6 more weeks, in terrible pain, but now she is at peace.

Her illness, and the way she lived it, is a textbook case of finding meaning in suffering. Her cancer was long-running *and* excruciating. I knew I had to address the issue of her suffering in my homily.