A reader sent me the following email:
I have a suggestion for a future topic for your website: The Endtimes.
Yes, that’s right. The End. There is much confusion on the topic today, and given the recent popularity of the “Left Behind” books and movies, a lot of things should be clarified.
I know I need clarification.
YIKES! That is a *huge* topic. It is far more than one post can cover. I’ll take a stab at something for now, and then see how things go.
I was chatting with a colleague in hospital chaplaincy, and she referred me to the web site of the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE). In particular, she suggested I read the white paper they produced on the place of pastoral work within a health care environment, entitled Professional Chaplaincy: Its Role and Importance In Healthcare. Looks like an interesting read.
In my times of reflection I've come to realise that the New Evangelization, for it to succeed, needs to take into account the question of Beauty. Beauty is one of those things that is hard to define, but we know it when we see it. How? By the reaction it produces in us — a kind of "pleasingness" which, in its highest forms, produces a sense of "ecstasy".
A new edition of Crisis Magazine is out, and on-line one can find a most interesting article: None So Blind: How Secularists Ignore the Value of Religion. He points out that, increasingly, the secularists are attacking not simply the values of this or that religion, but the idea of religion in general. I love this passage:
A few days ago I posted a (rather lengthy) comment on Amy Welborn’s blog regarding the question of Catholic preaching. I have a passion for this topic, in part because I sincerely believe we Catholics could be doing much better in this area.
Secret Agent Man has written an essay on the euthanasia bill currently before Parliament. It is hard to read, in part because he cautiously criticizes Canadian society. But to be honest, if we Canucks do just sleepwalk into this Brave New World, he’s right. As he states:
Our local chapter of the Catholic Women’s League held their annual bazaar today, and I hear it was quite successful. Congratulations, ladies! You deserve all your success.
As an aside, I noticed many Muslim women coming to the bazaar, hunting for bargains. There is a significant Muslim population in the area, so perhaps we are now making “first contact” with them. Community through shopping — not what I would have expected, but if it breaks down barriers, let’s go for it!
This evening I had the pleasure of attending a reunion of sorts, open to all those who were once a part of the Challenge movement here in Montreal. I helped found the movement in its latest incarnation, and it was good to go back for some fellowship and memories.
This evening was the inaugural meeting of the new West Island Pastoral Council, a new structure being put in place to group together the 11 English-speaking parishes of the West Island, to better coordinate our pastoral efforts. I was part of the committee that drafted the new charter for the Council, so I am glad to see this thing get going.
Today is the feast of All Souls, and in my homily I mentioned how part of this feast means that we celebrate the existence of purgatory as another sign of God's mercy. What, you say? Purgatory as a sign of *mercy*? Well, yes! If we understand it correctly, the fact that purgatory exists is a sign of both great mercy and great promise from the Lord.
Just to let you know…..Bill C-407 (the euthanasia bill) was debated in the House of Commons yesterday. Click here to read the transcripts of the speeches given in the House. (Just keep clicking “next” at the bottom of the page to get to the subsequent pages.)
