In June, we honor both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The title “Immaculate” belongs to the whole being of our Mother, and not just to her heart. This title ‘Immaculate’ flows from God’s gift to her by becoming His Mother. “One is my dove, my perfect one and Thou art all fair my Love and there is not a spot in thee.” (Can 4:7)
A brief dip into Latin helps us understand how preconceptions can lead to biased judgments that falsify history — as they did when an Australian Royal Commission on sexual abuse recently impugned the integrity of Cardinal George Pell.
People, events, and programs have all fallen victim to the effects of the coronavirus in our diocese. The latest, and one of the biggest victims, is the annual mission appeal.
The Coronavirus pandemic has been the cause of much upheaval in the lives of many people. From the devastating death of loved ones to the minor inconveniences the lockdown has caused, people have suffered in various ways.
In his “Life of St. Augustine,” the 5th-century bishop Possidius tells us that the greatest of the Latin Doctors of the Church, knowing that his earthly end was near, had four penitential psalms copied and hung on the walls of his room.
In mid-May, Chinese leader Xi Jinping unveiled a plan to bypass Hong Kong’s legislature and impose draconian new “national security” laws on the former British colony. Putatively intended to defend Hong Kong from “secessionists,” “terrorists,” and “foreign influence,” these new measures are in fact designed to curb the brave men and women of Hong Kong’s vibrant pro-democracy movement, who have been aggravating the Beijing totalitarians for a long time.
I’d heard about Father Alexander Sherbrooke long before we met in June 2011; Father Sherbrooke had been a mentor for young friends of mine who had worked at St. Patrick’s Church in London as pastoral assistants and catechists.
Shortly after President John F. Kennedy’s cabinet met for the first time, Vice President Lyndon Johnson waxed enthusiastic about the best and the brightest to his mentor, Speaker Sam Rayburn.
“The beautiful month of May dedicated to the Mother of God begins today,” wrote St. Maximillian Kolbe whilst in prison under the Nazis. “At last, here comes the month of the Beautiful Mother,” wrote another true child of Mary, St. Padre Pio, in one of his letters. As children of Mary, this is a month we should always look forward to, a month beyond comparison: the month of the Beautiful Mother.
As the world and the Church mark the centenary of the birth of Pope St. John Paul II on May 18, a kaleidoscope of memories will shape my prayer and reflection that day.
