Lies from the father of lies

For anyone who thinks Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church did nothing about Hitler read this:
The Pope, Christmas, and the “Fake News” about Hitler

The author ends with this:

"So why does the myth persist of the “silence” of the Church? For the same reason that other anti-Catholic myths have found a place in our culture. In this case, it’s more than just “fake news,” because when the Church’s heroic efforts at rescue are ignored or even transformed into their very opposite, it’s out-and-out lying prompted by the Father of Lies."

Trailer for the Marian Congress in Ottawa 2017

Here is the educational/promotional trailer for the Marian Congress 70th Anniversary Celebration.

When people flocked to Mary in Ottawa 1947

The provincial promotional office Ciné-Québec presents the Marian Congress in Ottawa, June 1947.

A tribute to His Excellency Archbishop Alexandre Vachon, Archbishop of Ottawa

A film by Fr. Maurice Proulx

From the transcript of the video: 

"The great serenity instilled within countless faithful by preaching and prayer will never be known.

The anonymous face of this throng will never reveal the individual exaltations of consciences, the hidden, intimate shared joy. 

Transcending the divisions of languages and borders, the universal Catholic Church here offers the comfort of true faith and many are they who come to draw from it. 

The Heads of State whose daily task is the life of a nation. 

The great and the humble, the weak who no longer feel tired, the sick who smile in the blazing sun, the pious and the reluctant who ask for strength, the strong who seek prudence, the unbelievers who are surprised at being shaken, the skeptics who look on astonished and cannot avert their eyes, the curious or the sincere, they all wanted to go to the Virgin, and grace lined their way."

The Splendour of the Ottawa Marian Congress

Maureen put together the following synopsis from newspaper articles of the Marian Congress that was held in Ottawa in 1947.

Dear Mary, please pray for Canada, we so need it.

By Maureen Ward

Wednesday, June 18th, 1947 - Sunday, June 22, 1947

The Marian Congress was Ottawa’s greatest pilgrimage of faith and drew over a quarter million people to the city. No other occasion in the history of Ottawa induced as many people to come as far, and stay as long, as did the Marian Congress. All who attended said the experience was unforgettable. There were pageants and parades with beautiful floats. The music was heavenly. There were spectacularly robed Cardinals, numerous dignitaries and throngs of people who came from far and wide. Oh, what a week!

It was to celebrate the centenary of the Archdiocese of Ottawa and to pray for lasting peace in the world. The message of the Marian Congress: Intercession with the Mother of God to obtain from her Divine Son a lasting world peace, and  this message was the keynote of all the addresses delivered by world known prelates.

Although now largely forgotten, in its day it was the largest religious conference in North America and Ottawa had never seen anything like it. Visitors arrived by car, bus, plane, and special excursion trains. Ottawa street cars had its greatest traffic in history. Joy and reverent faith was everywhere. 

A huge outdoor repository was built at Lansdowne for the religious festivities.  It was 515 feet long and along its back wall were four large statues of angels raising golden trumpets toward a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that topped a 115 foot tower at the centre of the dias. Beneath the tower was a stage and altar. In front were benches enough to seat 75,000 people. There were also 110 wonderful exhibits on the site.

A statue of our Lady from Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Que. was installed in the Peace Chapel at Landsdowne Park and a series of masses – day and night – without interruption began. There were 48 masses each 24 hours, one every half hour. 250 different priests said the masses, and most of them were members of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate who also direct the Marian Shrine at Cap-de-la- Madeleine.

In many of the Churches in the city there were numerous extra masses to welcome visitors. Some churches had masses at Saturday at midnight and at 1 and 2 am Sunday morning.

A message to the Congress from Pope Pius XII was broadcast during a Mass on June 19 and carried by major radio networks across the country. 

The Congress was attended by 9 cardinals - including Cardinal McGuigan of Toronto (who was the official Papal Legate), Cardinal Tisserant, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for the Oriental Church, Cardinal Mindszenty, Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of the Church in Hungary, Cardinal Gerlier, Archbishop of Lyons, Archbishop Mar Ivanios of Trivandrum, India, and Cardinal Artegay Bentancourt of Havana, Cuba - 19 archbishops (including Archbishop John D’Alton, Primate of All Ireland) and 120 bishops from seven countries.

Prime Minister Mackenzie King did not attend but hosted a dinner for the cardinals at his Laurier House Residence. However, Louis St Laurent, then Secretary of State for External Affairs, Premier Maurice Duplessis of Quebec, Thibaudeau Rinfret, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Angus MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia, and Paul Martin, Federal Minister of Health  and Welfare, were some of the government representatives in attendance.

During the five-day Congress there was a procession of floats along the canal driveway, public veneration of a replica of the statue of Our Lady of the Cape, and the consecration of Canada to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This act of consecration was recited before a great crowd at the 155-foot- high Landsdowne Park outdoor altar during Sunday’s closing Pontifical mass. Louis St. Laurent, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs read the Act in French and Dr. J.J. McCann, Dominion Minister of National Revenue, read it in English. In his closing remarks the Pontiff said. “Take courage and know that the Immaculate Mother of God had appealed to her Divine Son so that the repentance of the world will bring redemption."

The entire week was magnificent but Sunday was the day of days with so many in attendance that there were many extra trains. There were trains where you never saw trains before and some of them arrived less than a minute apart. Ottawa’s normal population of something like 200,000 swelled to something close to 500,000.

There was unforgettable splendor as at the great dinner Saturday night at the Chateau Laurier.  At no place did Church and State, religious and civil authorities meet under such truly colourful auspices as at the dinner tendered in the Chateau Laurier Saturday Night to His Eminence James Charles Cardinal McGuigan, Legate of His Holiness Pope Pius XII and His excellency the RT Honourable Viscount Alexander of Tunis. Rev. Vachon, Archbishop of Ottawa and Official Host of the Congress gave the dinner.  Among those attending were Premier Drew of Ontario, Prime Minister MacKenzie King, Right Honourable J.L Isley, Minister of Justice, Cardinal Spellman of the Americas, Cardinal Frings of Germany, Honorable Humphrey Mitchell Labour Minister, Hon. J.J. McCann, Minister of National Revenue. Cardinal Mindzenty of Hungary was there as was Hon. Alphonse Fournier Minister of Public Works and Rt. Honourable Louis St. Laurent minister of External Affairs. Representing the Eastern Branch of the Catholic Church was cardinal Tiserant. Cardinal Gerlier of France attended as well as Major General HP Letson the Governor General’s Military Secretary. Stanley Lewis, Mayor of Ottawa and Honorable Wishert Robertson, Government leader in the Senate both attended the Gala

And there was the  beautiful simplicity of so many families having picnics in their cars while stuck in traffic or picnicking and resting amid the June foliage of the parkway and on boulevards. Many slept under the stars at Landsdowne: some because they had no accommodation, others because they wanted to be close to the morning celebrations. There were scores of volunteers and all across the city there are numerous stories of people helping one another.

Although it rained early on in the week, the weather was magnificent later on and for the spectacular closing ceremonies. On Wednesday in a special statement to the Ottawa Citizen The strong faith of the archbishop was evident when he said  “I am confident Almighty God will bless us with fine weather” One might have been skeptical of this statement because it had been raining every day for a month before the Congress began.

Sunday’s procession of the Blessed Sacrament  preceded by 26 beautiful religious floats and 1,000 maids of honour were viewed by spectators exceeding 200,000 in number along a route extending from MacKenzie Avenue via the Driveway to Landsdowne Park. Anxious crowds had lined both sides of the driveway two hours previously. One RCMP officer estimated that more than 20,000 people had surged unto the plaza square.

Sunday was sunny and cloudless and during the night the crescent moon rode the skies til dawn  amid the splendour of unforgettable fireworks. The fireworks, depicting scenes in the life of the Blessed Virgin, maintained to the last the spirit of reverence and faith in prayer which the whole congress engendered.

After the closing ceremonies there was a mass exodus of people and the Union Station was packed to the rafters with thousands of Marian Congress participants returning to their homes in all parts of Canada. They waited patiently with their suitcases outside the station as packed street cars arrived at the station. Police, Railway Officials and members of the Saint John Ambulance Brigade were there to assist those in need. The crowds were regulated by some 30 city Constables, RCMP constables and CPR police kept order and regulated the number of people who could enter the station at one time.

The smooth operation of trains leaving in quick succession was due mainly to the efficient management of the station staff under the direction of CPR and CNR traffic experts sent from Toronto and Montreal to supervise the movement of this great mass of people. Throughout the peak rail traffic period of the weekend there had been neither accidents nor confusion. After midnight trains were leaving the Station minutes apart.

Unbound Conference in Ottawa

Maureen and I went to the Unbound conference Friday and Sunday in Ottawa. Great conference.

Maureen took these pictures.

Silence from our prime minister

Fr. Dennis talks about the brutal murder of the ISIS killing of 84-year-old Father Jacques Hamel who was brutally murdered by terrorists in France yesterday.

The Bishops of France decided that there will be a national day of prayer and fasting for the entire country this Sunday. The president said that France is now at war.

And where does Justin Trudeau stand on this atrocity? As a Catholic himself (or so he says), and leader of Canada, one would think he speak out. But no. Just silence.

Return to Ireland - the people

The people of Ireland. Maureen put this video together of some of the pictures of the people of Ireland.

One thing Fred and I both noticed about the people we met in Ireland. They are very gracious. And they have an amazing sense of humour. They weave these lovely character traits into everything they do and say.

From the musicians, to the residents of Lahinch, to the servers in the pubs and restaurants, to the owner of the house we stayed in, to the priests who said Mass and carried the Eucharist through Lahinch on Corpus Christi. All are lovely genuine people. No wonder I love the fact that my roots are from County Clare.

Novena to our Lady of Perpetual help for Canada

The Feast day for Our Lady of Perpetual Help is Monday June 27th.

This is an invitation for you to join many others who will be praying a Novena to Our Lady asking for Her intersession for the intentions related to euthanasia and assisted suicide as listed below.

The Novena starts this Saturday June 18 and ends on June 26. 

Intentions:

        -  for the abolition of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada and in 
                the world,
        -  for the of conscience rights of health care professionals and others  
               who may be required  to participate in anyway, and of institutions,  
        -  for the protection of children and the vulnerable from these acts.

A NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

Oh Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke your powerful name, the protection of the living and the salvation of the dying. Purest Mary, let your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, Blessed Lady, to rescue me whenever I call on you. In my temptations, in my needs, I will never cease to call on you, ever repeating your sacred name, Mary, Mary. What a consolation, what sweetness, what confidence fills my soul when I utter your sacred name or even only think of you! I thank the Lord for having given you so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely uttering your name. Let my love for you prompt me ever to hail you Mother of Perpetual Help. Mother of Perpetual Help, pray for me and grant me the favor I confidently ask of you.

(Three Hail Marys)

http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/novena-to- our-lady- of-perpetual- help.html

Year of Mercy pilgrimage

This is the year of Mercy. Maureen made a mini pilgrimage yesterday to our own Holy Door at Notre Dame Cathedral. Here is her post on this wonderful Year of Mercy.

Return to Ireland - Fleadh Nua part two

Well we are back home in Canada. The land of moose, maple syrup and eh. Great to be home but I miss the rolling hills, the narrow roads, the grand scones, and the lovely people. And the music.

Videos I took at the Fleadh Nua in Ennis.

One more video here of the children dancing.

The one of the little girl dancing was taken in O'Connell Square.

The others are with Yvonne Casey and company, and were taken at the Bia Agus Caife. I love the casual and seemingly effortless way these musicians play.

Thanks to Pete McNamara for the picture he took of us at the Burren.

Return to Ireland - The Mass

While here in Ireland, I have been able to attend Mass at three different places, Ennis (the Franciscan Friary), Lahinch, and Corofin.

The priests here really inspire me. It's almost as if instead of saying the Mass, they experience the Mass. I feel as if they are including the congregation in the Mass, and that we are the Apostles.

It has been such a blessing to be able to witness these priests and be present at their masses. During the week the priest has no altar servers and no readers. Usually there is no music and no choir. There are no ushers on Sunday. Mass is shorter. Mass here seems simpler. But it is always inspirational and very reverent.

Sometimes I wonder if we in Canada over-produce our Masses. That we make them too complicated, instead of just being with Jesus and the apostles on the night before Jesus died. There's nothing wrong with beautiful hymns at Mass, but it is also lovely to have silence where we can quietly meditate.

I also noticed the first couple of times we attended Sunday Mass in Lahinch, that collections were being taken outside the church for different causes. I assumed these were Church sanctioned causes. But then at the end of the Mass on the second Sunday, the priest said from the altar that he didn't think it right that these collections take place, that outside the church was not the right place. And they stopped, I haven't seen those collections since. I can't imagine a Canadian priest saying something like that from the pulpit. But the priest was right.

I love going to Mass wherever I am and feel blessed that I can do it often. When I return to Canada, I will remember being at Mass here and how I felt, sharing the Body and Blood of Christ with the priest as Jesus, and with the other Apostles.

Return to Ireland - Drunkometer

From the Clare Journal February, 1845

Return to Ireland - Irish Artist Michael Hanrahan

This morning Fred and I walked to ennnistymon again. I hadn't planned on taking any more pictures but apparently I couldn't stop myself.

Anyway you won't see those pictures today because when I get back to Canada I'll get Maureen to make me one of her lovely videos with the pictures (right Moe?).

We were going to the bus stop to go back to Lahinch after our scone and coffee at Ginger Lou's, when we bumped into Michael Hanrahan.

We had met Michael when we are here three years ago. He is a lovely Irish artist and my daughter's had bought one of his prints of a beautiful painting he had done of Lahinch.

Today we went into his gallery in Ennistymon and he showed is what he is currently working on. See below. It is a lovely work of something similar he painted before (that was sold), to commemorate the Queen's visit to Ireland in 2011.

"Michael was the only artist accredited to paint the historical occasion of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's State visit to Ireland in May 2011. This was the first visit of a British Monarch to Ireland since independence in 1922. One of Hanrahan's paintings commemorating the visit is now in the Royal collection."

This is Michael's second painting to go to Buckingham Palace.

Return to Ireland - Faith and the potato

Today Fred and I went back to Ennis. I checked out the Clare records office again and Fred shopped.

I also went to Mass again at the Franciscan Friary.

The priest quoted another priest during his homily. This other priest said that Faith is a precious gem that we pass down from generation to generation. And we do it with our dirty hands. But Faith itself never gets dirty.

I remember challenging a doctor once on the nutritional value of the common potato. He wrote a diet book and he strongly disagreed with me that the potato was in fact nutritious. He basically said that the potato had no nutritional value and that people should avoid eating them. I guess he'd never heard of the Irish and how they survived on potatoes. I don't listen to anything he says anymore.

 From the book Flight from Famine, the coming of the Irish to Canada by Donald MacKay

Return to Ireland - finding our roots - eventually?

Yesterday we went to Corofin to the Clare Heritage & Genealogy Centre. My distant cousin Michael Maloney had hired them four years ago to find the three Maloney brothers (John, Michael and Patrick) who came from Ireland before or during the potato famine. Our file was actually begun 25 years ago by Eileen Maloney, another relative (daughter of Bill and Clara Maloney who complied our existing family tree). We didn't have any luck, as the woman Michael was dealing with was on holiday. They are supposed to get back to me with results, hopefully before we return to Canada next week.

We had a lovely bus ride into Corofin with a lovely bus driver who chatted with us all the way there.

There isn't much in Corofin and we did manage to check out the entire village. As luck would have it Mass was being said about ten minutes after we arrived (the church was easy to find like it is in all the villages here). Like all the priests who have said Mass in Ireland, this one was very expressive as he said the Mass. As if he really meant all the words he was saying. Before Mass he prayed for all expectant mothers and their unborn children (it was the Feast of the Presentation of Mary).

Downtown Corofin

Testament to the potato famine in the restaurant where we had lunch.

No potato famine now as you can see from Fred's lunch. Clearly the Irish are making up for lost time as far as potatoes are concerned. Just in case.

Where we had lunch.

Many villages have grottos. You see them everywhere.

Scary selfie.

Vegetation seems to grow wherever there is stone.

Return to Ireland - Feast of Corpus Christi

UPDATE June 4: Maureen my sister put together a video of the pics below.

Yesterday was the Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

After Mass the priest led a procession through the streets of Lahinch with the real presence  of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

The children who had recently made their First Holy Communion led the way, and the girls threw rose pedals for Our Lord.

What a lovely procession it was.

As a child I remember we used to have similar processions where I grew up in Hull Quebec. But it's been years and years since I've attended this wonderful testimony to our Catholic faith. I don't think most parishes do this much anymore in Canada, if at all. What a pity.