Bravest Thing (He Ever Did)

Announcing Jude Charles Millette. Born a healthy 8lbs, 10oz, on August 28 at 9:36am. Mother and son are doing well. The whole experience reminds me of the old spiritual maxim for priests: Say every Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass . This birth reminds me of having our first child, our last child, our only child. This is our last child in the sense of our most recent child (not as a "no more kids for us!"). W e showed up at the hospital not too early, and not too late. The doctor and nurses were very respectful, not at all pushy, and overall just tremendous. Becca was a champ at getting the baby out. The doctor even remarked, on more than one occasion, that Becca should be inducted into the Obstetric Hall of Fame (probably non-existent). The nurses afterwards left us alone as much as they were allowed to. And, amazingly, the doctor even sent us home the same day, which is quite rare. What a difference a few kids make! When our first

Here's a brief update, as well as some flotsam and jetsam: 1) The "13th Man" Baby Here in Saskatchewan there is a moment in our province's history we discuss only with hushed anger: The 13th Man.   Of course the story is that the Saskatchewan Roughriders were all set to win the CFL Grey Cup Championship back in 2009. In fact, they won it! The Montreal Alouettes missed a game winning field goal at the end of the game. Roughrider players poured onto the field in jubilation. However, and I shake still as I write this, Saskatchewan was charged with a "too many men" penalty. That's right, there were 13 players on the field. Montreal got a second chance to kick the field goal. They made it, Saskatchewan lost, and the rest is history. Sad, sad history. What of this event? So last night it seemed we finally, FINALLY, were going to have our baby. I even called my dad and he made the 45 minute drive to our house, at 1am, to watch the kids while I drove

GK Chesterton's cause for sainthood has met a major stumbling block. According to the Bishop of Northhampton, Most Reverend Peter Doyle: “That conclusion is that I am unable to promote the cause of GK Chesterton for three reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, there is no local cult. Secondly, I have been unable to tease out a pattern of personal spirituality. And, thirdly, even allowing for the context of G K Chesterton’s time, the issue of anti-Semitism is a real obstacle particularly at this time in the United Kingdom.” Ouch.  Now if you have ever been to a Catholic college (as in non-Jesuit, but rather truly Catholic), you will be familiar with the Chesterton crowd. They will smoke cigars, quote pithy from GK, and meet at pubs to discuss intellectual topics (while smoking more cigars). “In Catholicism, the pint , the pipe and the cross can all fit..." they will add, as a smoke ring rises to the rafters.   I'm not sure if these Chestertonians ever discus