Putin's War 24 February, 2022 In the early morning hours, Putin finally made good on his threats by sending Russian forces into Ukraine, from the north out of Belarus, from the east out of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and from the south from Crimea and Russian naval forces.  Missile strikes have targeted cities and military targets throughout Ukraine.  God only knows how many innocent civilians have already perished by this unjust, illegal, and immoral declaration of war on Ukraine. The national leaders of the West have all condemned Putin's invasion.  They've imposed and threaten to impose harsh sanctions on Russia.  The West has supplied Ukraine with advanced weaponry, but no other support. The diplomatic efforts lead by them have failed.  Amazingly, there are some in the West, especially here in the USA that seem amazed that Putin finally made good on his threats.  There are others who opine that the invasion of Ukraine is no business of ours....

 The Curious Case of Father Arango   20 February, 2022 I'm relatively sure, dear and gentle reader, that you've heard of, read or seen the story about Fr. Andres Arango, a priest in the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, who, over the course of nearly a decade, administered the sacrament of Baptism invalidly to thousands of unwitting people merely because of one word he had changed in the form of the sacrament.  Rather than saying "I baptise you...", he decided to say "We baptise you...".  The Diocese of Phoenix declared that all baptisms celebrated by him from 2013 to 2021 were deemed invalid, and this was confirmed by Vatican officials as well.  Fr. Arango has since resigned as pastor of his parish and apologised for his mistakes. To the unknowing, this my seem like nit-picking on the part of Church authorities on the diocesan level, and even at the Vatican, however, it is anything but.  Words matter, and in the celebration of the sacraments, they matter very m...

 Panem et Circenses 11 February, 2022 Gentle reader, it has come to my attention that evidently there's a rather large sporting event occurring this weekend here in the States; something to do with a bowl that is evidently super.  I do hope it's a Wedgwood or Waterford! Alright then, yes, I know it's American "football", which has nothing to do with what the rest of the world calls football.  Really, it should be termed "hand-egg" since feet are rarely used aside from a "kicker", and it's usually carried or thrown, and the ball certainly isn't spherical, but is shaped more like a hen's egg.  Anyway, I digress.  I couldn't care less about it, nor any other sport, amateur or professional.  They bore me.  I feel no innate need to join with the masses in cheering over-paid athletes to run around, in those few moments of play between interminable gaps referred to as "time out". Paint dries more quickly than American footbal...

 Congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen on Her Platinum Jubilee 7 February, 2022 Yesterday, February 6th, gentle reader, Her Majesty the Queen celebrated her seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne.  Seventy years spent in service to her realms!  That is truly a landmark anniversary, not just for reigning monarchs, but for any working person.  Even before the death of her father, the late King George VI, she and her husband, the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, worked in representing her father to the remaining countries of the slowly disintegrating British Empire.  This grand lady has spent her entire adult life working in service of her realms of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (Wales is not mentioned, since it is a principality), Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, along with all her other territories, dominions, and Commonwealth realms. As a Canadian, I am proud to have her as my sovereign.  Her reign ...

 In the Dead of Winter 5 February, 2022   Dear and gentle reader:  It's bitterly cold here, snow covering the ground, and the furnace seems to run nonstop.  To use the old parlance, it's in the dead of winter.  Not many people seem to say that nowadays, nor "in the dead of night"; phrases that indicate something happens at the darkest, coldest moment. Perhaps it comes from our ancestors' pre-electrical times when darkness and cold could indeed be very common life-threatening times.  Mayhaps it stems from our primitive ancestors fear of darkness, cold, and death. We as Christians are called not to fear death, nor anything aside from the eternal death of separation from God; in a word, damnation.  We believe Christ has indeed conquered, and we are called to live His victory in grace.  Yet how often we find ourselves going the way of the world and fearing death!   Death is an inescapable reality that each one of us must face, no matter how ...