The Old Year and The New Year – COMMITTING TO TRUTH

Benedict, Vox Ecclesiae (“Benedict, Voice of the Church”), the 265th Bishop Of Rome, held the motto Cooperatores Veritatis, (Coworkers in Truth) until his death four years ago on December 31, 2022

Only God is omniscient. We work to do the best we can to understand God’s truth in a house and in houses where there are many mansions.

On the first of January , 2020, Cardinal George Pell made a both calm and impassioned plea for truth from the church in his prison journal:

“Christians have as much right to participate in public life and discussion as any other group, and we need to be active and vocal. To be cowed into silence would be shameful, and to be drowned in political correctness would be worse.”

The traditional Latin mass of January 1 almost defines goodness or the Latin Virtus (originally manliness) as raising the voice.

Psallat altitúdo cœli, Psallant
omnes ángeli * Quidquid est vírtutis
unquam Psallant in laudem Dei *
Nulla linguárum siléscat Vox et omnis
cónsonet: Sæculórum sǽculis (Let the height of heaven sing;
sing all angels; whatever has life, sing
and praise God. No tongue shall be
silent; sing, every voice: for ever and
ever.)

Let us sing.

The Truth.

As best we can,

Geoff Fox, December 31-January 1, 2025-2026, Melbourne, Australia

The Holy Innocents

The above depiction of the massacre of the innocents was painted by Rubens.

Today is the feast of The Holy Innocents, the babies and infants recorded by Mathew as murdered by order of Herod because of his fear of the Newborn King.

Six years ago today George Pell wrote in his prison journal: “The church, like Jesus, cannot avoid the clash between good and evil, love and hate, faith and darkness.”

Yesterday, a beautiful flower in front of the Mary Grotto at St Aloysius Church reminded me of Cardinal Pell’s singular and complex greatness.

I wrote these words:

Apud Tormenta Cotidiana Spes Nostra Vehemens Consanat …….

Among daily torments, our strong, savage hope heals ………

Cardinal Pell asked to have these words on his tomb: “Vehementer amavit Dominum et Ecclesiam (Vehemently he loved the Lord and the Church)”

The depiction below of the massacre of the innocents was probably painted by Thomas Schmid.

Geoff Fox, December 28, 2025, Melbourne, Australia