Bravest Thing (He Ever Did)

I am reading Willa Cather's Shadows on the Rock . Though not a Catholic, Cather certainly captures the heart of Catholicism in 17th century Quebec. Her passages concerning St. Francois de Laval, the first bishop of Quebec, are especially moving. Behold, how the saintly man called his flock to Mass every morning: "The Bishop got up at four o'clock every morning, dressed without fire, went with his lantern into the church, and rang the bell for early mass for the working people. Many good people who did not want to go to mass at all, when they heard that hoarse, frosty bell clanging out under the black sky where there was not yet even a hint of daybreak, groaned and went to the church. Because they thought of the old Bishop at the end of the bell-rope, and because his will was stronger than theirs. He was a stubborn, high-handed, tyrannical, quarrelsome old man, but no one could deny that he shepherded his sheep." May God grant us many stubborn, high-handed, tyrannical,...

 The so-called second wave of the pandemic is set to come down on us this fall/winter. The first hit of Covid-19 was terrifying. I don't mean the actual virus was terrifying, but rather the meltdown of society. Work, church, recreation, logic... all were more or less thrown out the door. It did allow for more reading, however. And time to think and pray. With that in mind, here are a some books I highly recommend as we move past summer and into more craziness. Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright - Dr. Peter Kwasniewski Dr. K's latest book came at a perfect time. I've had so many questions about the Mass, particularly in regards to the worth of attending Masses that are gong shows. Add in the question of raising children in this environment, and it has been downright perplexing. Dr. K not only explains the worth of the traditional Latin Mass, but he delves into the very purpose of the Mass, and the guiding principles for how we are to approach each Mass. His work provid...

How quickly time passes, memories fade, and youth withers. A couple of evenings ago my wife was reading Defending Boyhood by Anthony Esolen when she stumbled upon the lyrics of a song Esolen was mentioning in passing. "Hey, do you know this song? The words sound familiar... It goes: 'Gaudeamus igitur, Iuvenes dum sumus…" "Hmm. I'd have to see." After staring blankly at the words for a couple of minutes, desperately trying to hum various Latin tunes, suddenly the scales fell from our eyes, and we were able to recognize a treasure from our youth. We began to piece the tune together. "We used to sing that in Latin class at OLSWA! Mr. Zakrzewski taught it to us." "That's right. I can still see and hear him. He'd be so into it. It was his dream to have the old academic hymn make a glorious comeback. We used to sing that song everywhere. On hikes, in class, anywhere." And so it is, the great academic song trumpeting all youth to seize ...

We head back to school in a few weeks. Oh you should hear the socialists crying out - "Death! Bloody Murder!" - about the fact that, at least for now in Saskatchewan, staff and students won't be required to wear masks. I'm not sure why socialists love masks so much. Science Incorporated? Trust in the Globalist Agenda ? Because surgeons in a sterile and controlled-air environment use masks so as not to spit on a vulnerable person's internal organs? Or, they're just flat out ugly people, and the covering does them good? The other day I saw a woman walking her dog in an open field. She was wearing a mask. My only thought was, "and these people vote?" May as well put a mask on Fido while you're at it. Except I'll bet Fido would have none of that. Either way, here is a solid article by a teacher across the pond. Check it out HERE . A snippet: It also feeds the terror propagated by clickbait media. My least favourite weasel word in all this is ‘unp...

  As is my yearly custom, I will post my summer projects. Each year the projects get less and less impressive. No longer am I jackhammering concrete, ripping out tubs, or remodeling kitchens. Now it's more about doing little projects with the kids. And so, here is a glimpse at summer, 2020: Project 1: playhouse The boys took apart the old sandbox. And carted it away. We built a deck together, now they're holding up the walls while I hammer them in place. Sheeting. The boys put in hundreds of nails. The playhouse is half nails. Ahh the roof. I built it specifically to use exactly one bundle of shingles.  Last touches, putting the sand back. Here we are! A sneak peak of the inside. A little kitchen area for Emilie. Also, some storage shelves (the real reason I built the playhouse...). Project 2: shiplap feature wall Not much to say here. I was sitting staring at a wall in our living room at the heart of the virus lockdown. And I thought... "That wall might look good with shi...