Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation, Hail to the Chief! We salute you, one and all. Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation, In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call. Yours is the aim … Continue reading
Author Archives: Charles A. Coulombe
January Thoughts
Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; … Continue reading
The Old Year Dies
Full knee-deep lies the winter snow, And the winter winds are wearily sighing: Toll ye the church bell sad and slow, And tread softly and speak low, For the old year lies a-dying. Old year you must not die; You … Continue reading
Yuletide Self-Defence
Ye modern throng, whose tinsel joys reveal The strain’d and labour’d ecstasies you feel; Whose empty pastimes hold a spurious bliss, And feebly copy brighter days than this: Your clumsy games suspend, and pause to hear Of genuine mirth, and … Continue reading
Having a Real Thanksgiving
As the Halloween decorations in American stores make way for those of Christmas (although in many such places the two have already co-existed happily in different aisles), here and there yet remain retail locales — especially such as sell turkeys … Continue reading
Dead and Gone?
Halloween’s Jack O’Lanterns may be gone, and the last Trick-or-Treater long since consumed his last bit of candy. But the “thinness of the veil between the worlds” of which innumerable writers speak at this time of year — and with … Continue reading
Living in the Kingdom of Christ
May heads of nations fear thy name And spread thy honor through their lands, Our nation’s laws, our arts proclaim The beauty of thy just commands. Let kings the crown and scepter hold As pledge of their supremacy; And thou … Continue reading
Into the October Country
… that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and mid-nights stay. That country composed in the … Continue reading
Remembering the Angels
Once in a saintly passion I cried with desperate grief, “O Lord, my heart is black with guile, Of sinners I am chief.” Then stooped my guardian angel And whispered from behind, “Vanity, my little man, You’re nothing of the … Continue reading
The Magic Time of Year
I like the hunting of the hare; It brings me, day to day, The memory of old days as fair, With dead men past away. To these, as homeward still I ply And pass the churchyard gate Where all are … Continue reading
Kingdom of the Immaculate
August is of course the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the centrepiece of which in the traditional calendar is the feast of the Immaculate Heart, placed by Pius XII on the Octave Day of the Assumption (August 22) … Continue reading
The Transfiguration and Our Lives
August 6, the feast of the Transfiguration, is one that comes and goes very quickly in the excitement of the Summer — so much so, that it is often overlooked. But it has a number of important lessons that we … Continue reading
Why King Arthur Still Matters
Hic jacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus. “Here lies Arthur, King Once, and King in the Future.” July is the month of the Precious Blood, and, as always, that focus of devotion brings to mind the Holy Grail — as … Continue reading
A Yankee Doodle Dandy?
A very odd thing happened to me the other day in Prague. Now Prague – like the other cities of the former Austria-Hungary – is a city I love to visit and never feel homesick in. Indeed, apart from missing … Continue reading
The Lights Shine in Darkness
Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a bright star twinkle for a while. The … Continue reading
