Trip to Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Day 3, Part 1)

"We are the soldiers under God's command
We hold His two-edged sword within our hands
We're not ashamed to stand up for what's right
We win without sin, it's not by our might"


Stryper-"Soldiers Under Command"


I awoke on Sunday morning at the same early hour as the day before, eager to go back downtown and see if I could find a Catholic Church to attend Mass at, and before that have a light breakfast. So, it was back to the trusty old Metro station to head to a parish that I had located on the internet. The Notre Dame basilica was out, as I was unsure if it was still an active parish, or just a museum or a tourist attraction.


OK, for any of you whom are offended by religious commentary, I suggest you stop reading now, or just wait until the next blog post. However, if you are not, please keep reading as you might find my opinion thought provoking. So please, indulge me if you will...


For years, the Catholic Church was a strong pillar in the life of Quebec, especially the French-Canadian population of the province. With the Quiet Revolution and the rise of secularism that came along with it, the Church's standing in Quebecer society began to wane, to the point where a city that did have many active Catholic parishes in it, now only has a handful. As a Catholic who considers himself fairly devout, I find it troubling to see that the Church's influence in Canadian society has waned. I am not talking about political matters, just the hearts and minds of everyday people. I do pray that hearts and minds will be changed and converted so we will see a revival of faith in the people of Quebec and the rest of Canada. This is just one man's opinion. I am sure anyone I know who is a Catholic living in Canada would be happy to counter my opinion, as it is just a small observation from the perspective of a visitor. I'm no expert.


Anyway, since it was early enough before the morning Mass, I had plenty of time to get breakfast at a nearby Tim Horton's. Oh yes, I did. My breakfast sandwich was quite good and the iced cappuccino was excellent.

Since I had plenty of time to kill before the Mass, I went for a little walk in the neighborhood near the church I would be attending. I am a terrible photographer but decided to try and take some photos just for artistic purposes.

Yeah, I'm not a great photographer. Plus, for some odd reason, I found the French language Stop signs an interesting photo subject. Why? I guess because I never saw street signs in a foreign language before I came here.


After walking around for awhile, I decided to sit and relax in the garden at the steps of the church. It was so peaceful that I took a short nap. I truly felt no danger like I would normally in a city, because this was Canada and I knew no one was going to be walking around carrying a gun or doing a drive-by shooting. It was probably the safest I ever felt in a large city. For comparison, there were 286 homicides in New York City in 2017, which for a city in the USA, is considered low (Source: New York Times). In Philadelphia, there were 320 in 2016 (Source: city-data.com). How many murders were in Montreal in 2017? 24. (Source: Montreal Gazette) Do the math. That's 262 less than New York City and 296 less than Philadelphia. Yes, one murder is too many, but I feel much safer in a city where the murder rate is not in the triple digits. I want to research what the City of Montreal is doing to achieve such a low murder rate, apart from the national laws on gun control, because that only shows a part of the story.


Hey, I said I would make observations as well as just write about my experiences. This wasn't just a pleasure trip, it was a trip to learn.


I digress. I went to Mass that morning at St. Patrick's Basilica. What a gorgeous church this was, especially on the inside. The art and the woodwork was breathtakingly exquisite.

In the United States, we honestly have no idea of what makes a beautiful church anymore. We build so many nowadays to look like plain buildings or community centers, not houses of worship meant to glorify God. We have "McChurches" that are built to a price and look almost indistinguishable from the next building, other than some arc in the roof or a plain steeple. Bring back the quaint country church and the glorious cathedrals of years past, not the mass produced variety that has blighted our landscape since the 1950's. Sorry all, but I get spoiled by the beauty of cathedrals like this!


The Mass itself was very beautiful, and the homily, which was a call to Canadian Catholics to make themselves available to serve their community, was very powerful. The Mass was also fairly well attended, much to my pleasant surprise. I loved hearing about the good work the parish does in the local community, so I gave them a $20 donation in the collection plate. Pray for the parish community of St. Patrick's Basilica in Montreal, and that they continue to do their best to serve the people of this great city.


To be continued...