The Sheepcat

Congratulations, Cardinal-designate Thomas Collins

2012-01-06T23:55:00-05:00

The Archdiocese of Toronto has received a precious gift for Epiphany in today's announcement that our beloved Archbishop Thomas Collins is to be elevated to the College of Cardinals.

In 2007 Archbishop Collins received the pallium from the Holy Father.

The Sheepcat said in January 2007, just before Archbishop Collins' installation in Toronto, "Orthodox and positive. To me that's one inspiring combination." As we have come to know His Eminence and see him in action, our esteem and affection for him has grown. Ad multos annos!

A Post-Abortive Father's Coventry Carol

2011-12-28T23:58:00-05:00

On this Feast of the Holy Innocents as we commemorate the little children executed by King Herod, I have adapted the 16th-century Coventry Carol to reflect the spiritual journey of a father complicit in the abortion of his own innocent child.

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Child I begot, what have I wrought!
Cursed be that fateful day
Thy blood I shed. O shame and dread!
Beyond all hope I stay.

That woe is me, poor child for thee!
And ever mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Yet grace anew approaches through
Bethlehem’s lowly Babe
Who came to save e’en me, wretched knave
Who my own offspring slew.

Forgive me, Lord! Have mercy, Lord.
Renew my heart today.
I scorned in hate Thy providence great,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Now cleansed of guilt for blood I spilt
All of it washed away,
Absolved of sin, I know peace within,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Note: This is a work of imagination on my part. No child of mine or Mrs Sheepcat's has been aborted. But I used to march for "choice" on abortion, on International Women's Day and other occasions. And like many members of the gay and lesbian communities, I looked forward to severing the link between sex and procreation, imagining that this would bring liberty.

Instead we are now Co-Workers of Life promoting authentic freedom through Jesus Christ. The Sisters of Life offer days of prayer and healing for post-abortive men as well as for post-abortive women (separately). For post-abortion healing we also recommend Second Chance Ministry, Rachel's Vineyard Ministries, and Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

Remembering Father John Harvey, OSFS

2011-12-27T22:16:42-05:00

On this Feast of St John, we remember the death of Fr John Harvey, OSFS, a year ago today. Fr Harvey served with great patience and compassion as cofounder of Courage, the Catholic apostolate to persons with same-sex attraction and their loved ones.

This past August we had the privilege of attending the Courage/EnCourage conference at Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago. Five bishops supported the work by their presence: Bishops John Levoir, Thomas Paprocki, Mark Seitz, Thomas Olmsted, and the keynote speaker, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke.

Here Cardinal Burke speaks on "The Memory of Fr. John Harvey, OSFS and the Future of Courage and EnCourage." (The link opens a PDF in a separate window.) He is introduced by Fr Paul Check, the executive director of Courage.

At the opening Mass, on the Memorial of St John Mary Vianney, Cardinal Burke's homily remembered with gratitude the ministry of faithful priests such as Fr Harvey (the PDF opens in a new window).

Father Harvey accepted a priestly ministry which many either ignored or avoided. He faced serious misunderstandings and endured years of questioning, on the part of those from whom he rightly expected support. But, through, with and in Christ, he remained steadfast to the end, expending his every energy on behalf of the flock entrusted to his care. Our privileged time together, during these days, offers us the occasion to contemplate how Christ has loved us and cared for us, announcing to us the divine truth accompanied by the works of divine charity, through the priestly life and ministry of Father Harvey.

We were greatly inspired by the homilies and talks we heard. Courage members Angelo and Tina gave powerful testimonies recalling Fr Harvey's influence on their lives. Listen to them and watch other Courage conference talks here.

Have Yourself a Marian Little Christmas

2011-12-26T00:41:03-05:00

Call me schmaltzy, but I've long thought the secular Christmas chestnut "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has been crying out for a Catholic parody, so here it is. Not ha-ha parody, I mean, just imitative use.

Have yourself a Marian little Christmas:
Magnify the Lord.
Join His Mother and His saints in one accord.

Have yourself a Marian little Christmas:
In her "Fiat" see
The model of perfection in humility.

As we walk through this vale of pain,
Still our joy remains undimmed,
For She who bore the Holy Child,
Intercedes for us with Him.

In your longing for a sweet reunion
Turn to God and pray,
Worship Mary's Baby nestled on the hay
And have yourself a Marian little Christmas Day.

In 2001 the original songwriter, Hugh Martin, a Seventh-Day Adventist, co-wrote new, Christian lyrics under the title "Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas." Sorry, Mr Martin, I couldn't find a way to keep a second internal rhyme in the third stanza.

Click to listen to

Marian Little Christmas

Update: Thanks, Curt Jester, and sorry, everyone, for the technical difficulties here. If you can't get the player to play just by clicking, try right-clicking to open the mp3 in a new tab.

Apologies for the sound quality. Christmas comes once a year, so I thought I really should strike while the iron was hot. In my defence, let me cite Chesterton: "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."

Meanwhile, for more than a decade I've been writing parody songs (and the occasional original one) about pharmaceutical research and other topics. So please spare a prayer for my dear wife, who--bless her--puts up with a lot when I feel a song coming on. She knew and she married me anyway!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:53:58-05:00

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! Christ is born, alleluia!

Catholics and Protestants alike have loved this carol, "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" in the original German and now in many translations. The earliest text, dating from around 1580, was found in a Carthusian monastery. The video is based on the harmonization by the German composer Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) and the familiar 1894 translation by Theodore Baker.

One might wonder why in Baker's version the ending of the second verse, "She bore to men a Savior / When half spent was the night," repeats that of the first. So to emphasize the hour of Jesus' birth seems out of keeping with the overall structure of the hymn.

It turns out that Praetorius, who was Lutheran, and Baker played down the Marian nature of the hymn, which like the 16th-century Litany of Loreto, identified the rose with Mary rather than Jesus. And one form of that second verse literally ends, "She has borne a child / Remaining a pure maid," which of course reflects the Catholic conviction that Mary remained ever-Virgin. The carol in its Protestantized version is still very lovely, but it shows the long history of needing to ask "What does the hymn really say?"

Dear readers, whatever you believe or practise, we appreciate your interest in our occasional remarks here on the blog. Special thanks go out to those of you who pray for us and our family members, one of whom remains in particularly poor health. Rest assured of our prayers for you.

Note: Please visit again later today for a Christmas treat that isn't quite ready to post yet.