We saw a production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Stratford Festival a few years ago. We’re fortunate to live close by and to be able to get out to see a show once in a while. We’ve never been disappointed. Tevye is who I always think of when I hear the word, “Tradition.” Maybe you’re like me. In Fiddler, Tevye, the patriarch of a Russian Jewish family, is struggling against the tension between the modern world (circa 1905) and the tradition... Read more
Having spent some quality time with my Dutch Catholic priest Catholicism had, like I said, become somewhat normalized. There were things I heard—explanations from Father Roderick—that I shook my head at, or tentatively disagreed with, but Catholicism became more real. It wasn’t as strange as it used to be; after all, if this priest could be serious about his faith, and he was, then maybe there was more to it than met the eye. I was warming up to the idea,... Read more
My first exposure to Catholicism came in the form of a podcast. It was, I think, in the summer of 2005. I was fortunate enough to land a job working for my dad, saving money for my next semester of school. The company my dad worked for made point-of-sale machine and my job, working in Quality Assurance, was to inspect units before they were shipped out. It paid well but it was mind-numbing work. To pass the time I decided to... Read more
Over the past few months and years I’ve read a number of stories of Protestants becoming Catholics. Their stories—the similarities, differences, and intricacies—have deeply fascinated me. I see my own journey in a lot of them. I see reasons why I am headed on this slow road to Rome. I see reasons that make sense to me, that have appealed deeply to me, and I see reasons, too, that never even crossed my mind—and all of this I find deeply enriching.... Read more
University, or college, is an incredibly formative time of life. In university you form friendships and make decisions that last a lifetime. I was fortunate to attend an incredible university, the University of Waterloo, and live in an even more incredible residence Conrad Grebel. A small, intimate, Mennonite dorm with a reputation for its incredible student community. It lived up to my sky-high expectations and I made some incredible friendships there—and made some brilliant decisions too (beginning to date my wife, who I... Read more
We were actually at the Vatican last year, in August. After a family cruise around the Mediterranean—something my semi-retired parents surprised us with a year and a half earlier—my wife and I disembarked the cruise ship to spend an incredible five weeks touring through Southern Europe. Our road to Rome, our first stop after the cruise, was quick, but painful. Without knowing it we’d booked a train from the Italian sea-side to Rome on a Sunday, the day when, apparently, all... Read more
The Cordial Catholic
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