The Pope's first Encyclical letter was released. I was so excited waiting for it since early December. The rumors of its release have hit my ears last year and with each possible date for its release come and gone my excitement just grew. This week it is finally here.

For some reason a lot of people have found the Encyclical a bit surprising. The theme it deals with is love. A purification of love in society and a return to a very fundamentally Christian concept of loving our neighbor. Many people say that there is nothing new in this letter. That it simply restates what the church always believed. This is true, but what it does restates is very badly needed today. The pope knows this and maybe thats why he chose this theme for his first Encyclical.

The world needs love. It needs Christian love. It needs Christians to live their Christian lives in truth and not in shame. Love must be a part of every action of a Christian.

"It is terrible how much harm we can do if we allow ourselves to be carried away by the fear or the shame of being seen as Christians in ordinary life. " St. Josemaría Escrivá

Today I finished reading "The Way" by St. Josemaría Escrivá. A book of 999 short paragraphs. I could write a long review of it but someone else did a better job that I can ever do.

"Msgr. Escriva de Balaguer has written something more than a masterpiece; he has written straight from the heart, and straight to the heart go the short paragraphs which make up The Way."
Osservatore Romano (March 24, 1950)

With the election just a few days away I have decided to post few reasons why I will vote the way I will vote.

I believe that all the talk about protecting the environment is just that talk. NDP has no problem speaking for environmental protection simply because they are not in power (and most likely will not be any time soon) and therefore there is very little chance that they would actually have to commit to the things they endorse. I hope I am wrong on this point and someday things will actually be done. For my part I continue to use public transportation and do not intend to buy a car any time soon.

As for the child care, this is very important to me. As I expect to have kids in the near future, this will directly affect me and my life. My belief is that the type of child care a child receives should be determined by the parents. Perhaps I want to hire a nanny or have my child put into a child care facility that shares my views about religion, society and values. I would not want the government to spend all of the money they have designated for child care on an institutional system.

Now for the greatest concern I have with the way Canada is heading. Last summer the Liberal government, with the help of the NDP and Block, passed Bill C-38. This made same sex “marriage”legal in Canada. Now my views about this issue are fairly obvious. Same sex “marriage” to me is like counterfeit money. It may look good on paper but it is simply not real. I was very disappointed with the way the voting for this bill went. No free vote was allowed for all MP's. What this means is that MP's elected by the Canadian people were not allowed to voice their opinion and the opinions of their constituency . Is this democracy? This was one of the darkest moments for Canada. A lot of people will say that this issue should be left alone, and that it doesn't affect an average Canadian but in my opinion that is not true. What is keeping the society strong is the fact that family is the basic unit of it. It is where we get our values and our upbringing. It is where we learn our moral values (absolute moral values - not values that can be changed with a non democratic vote). If the government destroys the meaning of family, they are in fact destroying the entire society. Also I think it just shows how bad things are getting, since on the birth certificate it is no longer written “Mother and Father” but “Legal Parent 1 and Legal Parent 2”. Soon we may have to add a few more numbers to the “Legal Parent” lineup after polygamy which will soon follow the insane downward spiral of morality in this country.

Due to all these reasons I have decided to vote Conservative this year. This does not mean that everyone who has similar concerns should vote like me. In a lot of ridings there are many great men and women of all parties who want a moral Canada.

I found this website useful Marriage Canada

These few words struck me today. From them it is clear that since God wants us with him for eternity, and He wants us holy both in body and in soul, we must start now. Our entire lives must be ordered towards this one goal. To live up to the image and likeness of God. To become saints.

The first book that I finished this year was Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). This book is just one of many books I have read by the cardinal. From the very first book by him that came to my hands (Spirit of the Liturgy) I was drowned into this man's incredible mind.

A Ratzinger book is always full of insight and it is almost impossible to pull all the information out of his books on the first read. Introduction to Christianity is no different. It is a deep book. A book that follows the Apostles Creed as the basis of explaining the Christian faith. Faith that is not just something abstract that people do in their spare time but real and fundamental aspect of reality. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

VOX clara ecce intonat,
obscura quaeque increpat:
procul fugentur somnia;
ab aethere Christus promicat.

Vox Clara means clear voice in Latin. Whose voice? Mine? Hardly. There is only one voice in this world that is clear. The voice belongs to Christ's Church. Like John the Baptist, the Church is once again the forerunner for the return of Christ Jesus the Word of God.

I want this blog to be my small contribution to the voice of the Church. A voice of a layman, working in the world. Interacting with the world yet living with a knowledge that there is a greater beauty outside of the visible busy reality of our existance.

I want this blog to force me to examine my life more closely. My relationships to the world and the people in it. I know that all this sounds very abstract and maybe not so interesting but hopefully over time I will find my voice with which to share the great joy that loving God brings.

A THRILLING voice by Jordan rings,
rebuking guilt and darksome things:
vain dreams of sin and visions fly;
Christ in His might shines forth on high.