Pope St. Damasus, St. Basil the Great and the Meletian Schism
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Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame T
he killing and dying it was all done in vain
Oh Willy McBride it all happened again and again, and again, and again, and again...
I always listen to Dropkick Murphys and other Irish music around St. Patrick’s Day, but this year, with everything happening in Ukraine and Russia, this song hit different. I am no pacifist but the cost of war is always high and after the “War to End All Wars” (World War I) it was particularly high. It is said that Pope St. Pius X died of a broken heart as a result of the Great War, which his successor Benedict XV called the “collective suicide of civilized Europe.” The war was pushed as a noble crusade to “end all wars” and “make the world safe for democracy” but it was at its core a land and power grab by imperialist powers that needlessly cost countless lives. The British Empire, in particular, used colonial populations as glorified canon fodder and thus included the Irish ??
I am no pacifist. I believe the words of Scripture that “there is a time for war and a time for peace.” Wars must be just and, honestly, the only side of this conflict that looks just in this is Ukraine and even that’s complicated. There are no good outcomes for the conflict. If we do nothing, Ukraine is likely to be overrun and if we do get involved we face the prospect of a nuclear World War III against Russia and China.
Today is the second day of the Novena of the Annunciation, which many are praying for the intention that the upcoming consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be carried out “according to the intentions of Our Lady of Fatima” and that peace will prevail. Let us join our prayers to theirs.
Our Lady of Fatima, ora pro nobis!
Sts. Vladimir and Olga of Kyiv, orate pro nobis!
St. Patrick, ora pro nobis!
Thomas J. McIntyre is husband of 10 years to Nancy-Leigh and father to their daughters: Kateri Therese (9) and Alice Clare (4). They are members of St. Margaret of Scotland parish in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he serves as a Lector and Sacristan and is the Deputy Grand Knight of Knights of Columbus Council 3028. Thomas has been a teacher in Louisiana for nine years and currently teaches A.P. U.S. Government and Politics, A.P. U.S. History and A.P. Human Georgraphy to the students of Iowa High School and Sam Houston High School. He has also worked as visiting lecturer in American and World History at McNeese State University.
Thomas holds a Master of Arts in Teaching-Secondary Social Studies (2020) from McNeese and both a Master (2015) and Bachelor of Arts (2012) in History from Georgia Southern University. His research for his MA in History focused on the role played by the Catholic Church in various eras and periods of History. He wrote his Master's Thesis on Pope St. Damasus I (A.D. 366-384) and his assertion of and expansion of papal primacy following the Arian Crisis, which he hopes to one day turn into a book. In addition to Catholic365, he has written several articles for Excelsior: the Voyage Comics Blog, some of which were included in the books Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle Earth and Unexpectedly Catholic: Seeds of the Gospel in 20 Popular Stories
Social media links: https://www.facebook.com/doubtingThomas81 (Facebook), https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mcintyre753/ (Linked In)
