Regular readers will know that I keep an eye out for anniversaries, and the coincidence of historical dates. The liturgy itself points us that way. To free us from being trapped in the present, the calendar draws our attention to saints who died on this or that day in the past, and to commemorations of the mysteries of the Lord’s life.
So a date is never just a date, but also part of the story of salvation history. Fr Dominic Allain mentioned recently in these pages that his ordination anniversary fell on June 29, the solemn feast of Peter and Paul. To be ordained on a major feast day is a blessing, but not one that I was granted. My ordination day, July 20, was set in conjunction with the 2002 World Youth Day, held in nearby Toronto. I was ordained the Saturday beforehand to coincide with the pilgrims visiting our diocese on their way to WYD. It was grand to have young pilgrims from Poland, the United Arab Emirates and Chile in our cathedral for the occasion.
