An Advent homily by Fr. Pat McNulty from Madonna House:
Faith: A Subjunctive Mood
It was about 3 a.m. when I pulled my car into the checkpoint at Canadian Customs and Immigration. Though there were trucks in their own lane, mine was the only car around.
The middle-aged man in the booth requested my ID and then asked, “Where are you going?”
“To Madonna House, a Roman Catholic community in Combermere, Ontario.”
“What’s the purpose of your visit?”
“I’m a priest and I’m going there for a retreat.”
“Odd day-um qui lay-tiff-i-cot,” he said.
“I beg your pardon.”
“Ad deum qui laetificat…”
“Oh, ahhhh… Juventutem meum,” I answered.
The man smiled, gave me back my ID and said, “Better brush up on your Latin, Father. Welcome to Canada. Have a nice day.”
That was, of course, a long time ago, back when every Catholic boy who had ever served at Mass knew that Latin phrase. Those were the first words out of his mouth after Mass began at the foot of the altar.
You can read the rest here.
Witnesses to Hope 