Made in Montreal

Thursday, April 21, 2011

This life we live

26 March 2011

What a strange and wonderful journey we are on. It is a narrative—a journey from birth to death—in which we are the protagonist in our own life's story. This life has to do with our integrity as people, with our love for others, with our sense of humour; with the drama of our existence, with insight into the complexity of existence. In this narrative there is character development, a protagonist, an antagonist, a foil, and psychological and spiritual depth found in symbol, archetype, imagery, setting and foreshadowing, as well as in ambiguity, irony and paradox. No wonder people love a good narrative, a good story, even a good myth; it is at the basis of existence.

Margaret Laurence writes in her novel, A Jest of God, that the more narrowly self-conscious we are the less connected we are to other people. The jest of God is just this: to be consumed with our own ego denies us an awareness of the unself-conscious beauty of life in which there is connection to other people. Rachel Cameron, the protagonist of Laurence's novel, realizes that "to be wise you must be a fool first." She learns to live with contradiction and ambiguity, and to accept the anxiety that comes with this awareness. She affirms life, she does not retreat into the past but says "yes" to new experiences and an unknown future that awaits her.

Over the years, we move relentlessly to the resolution of life's drama which is the narrative of our existence. At the end, when we die, it would be good if we could say that it's been an exciting life, a life worth living, a life in which we have fulfilled our potential and our destiny. All art is vision or it's just a repetition of the past.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Biography of Father Luke Callaghan

A photograph of Father Luke Callaghan of St. Michael's Church, Montreal;

for more information on Father Luke, go to http://www.morrisseyfamilyhistory.com/.

Father Luke Callaghan

Father Luke Callaghan was considerably younger than his two older brothers (Fr. Martin and Fr. James) who served as priests. He was born on 2 February 1865 in Montreal. He studied at the College de Montreal from 1877-1884, and then at the Grand Seminaire to 1889 where he studied philosophy and theology. After having been ordained he was chaplain at L'Hotel Dieu Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital. In 1895 he left for Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology from Urban University. In 1898 he was assistant Chancellor at the Archbishop's Palace which is situated on De La Gauchetiere and he resided at 873 De La Gauchetiere. In 1903 he served at St. Patrick's, under his brother Father Martin Callaghan. Father Luke remained at St. Patrick's until at least 1907, when he returned to Rome to continue his studies. In September 1904, Father Luke had the honour of delivering the first sermon ever given in English at Notre Dame Basilica.

In 1907 he returned to his position as Vice Chancellor at the Archbishop's Palace, residing at 471 De La Gauchetiere West.

From 1910-1931 Father Luke was the parish priest at St. Michael's Church and lived at 1634 St. Denis. Money for the building of St. Michael's Church was raised by Father Luke and came largely from Irish parishoners who moved from Griffintown to this area of Montreal, the area of St. Viateur Street, St. Denis Street, and Clarke Street. Father Luke proved to be both an excellent administrator and beloved priest. A landmark in Montreal, the impressive St. Michael's is constructed in the Byzantine style of architecture, modelled on the Basilica of Saint Sophia in Constantinople. Father Luke Callaghan died 12 April 1931 at the age of sixty-three years.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

A store at Alexis Nihon Plaza

The ghost of stores past... This former magazine store at Alexis Nihon Plaza, located across from the Bank of Montreal, closed last fall 2010; curiously, some merchandise was left behind... a kind of time capsule, frozen in space and time, the past, as it was left behind, as people left it when they walked away...