Last Sunday July 8, 2018 my wife and I attended the 10 a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary parish in Toronto. The celebrant was Fr. Daniel Callam, CSB who heard my confession after the Mass. Fr. Callam is a graduate of the University of Toronto. He earned a Master's degree in Mathematics. However he achieved much learning in pursuing his academic and pastoral work. With a doctorate in theology from Oxford University he is currently a Professor of Theology who teaches regularly at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas in the United States.
I had developed a great relationship with Fr. Callam since he was Pastor at Holy Rosary in 2009 and 2010. His open mind, and highly-developed sense of Catholic Tradition position him as a Thomist philosopher who is able to distinguish and critique today's age of post-modernism. His book "A Catholic Goes to the Movies" was published last year. I recall my conversation with Fr. Callam about the Christian philosopher René Girard and correspondence with him of what I believe was a "Development in the Doctrine of Salvation" that I found in an article by the late Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles in First Things here.
When I asked Fr. Callam to hear my confession, he listened patiently. He did not rush to give me absolution but became more interested as it turned to a dialogue on my life since I was conceived in my mother's womb. I told him how from an early age I like to imitate the priest and how I got more involved in youth and Church matters as the late saintly Bishop Paul Antaki invited me to meetings and conferences...As I mentioned my sins, he listened more. However, as I mentioned my suffering since 1986, he told me about suffering of others. I know many old persons who are suffering in silence. I believe this is why sick people and old ones who look for God get closer to Church and attempt to be in communion with the Savior. The Lord disciplines the ones whom He loves as a father the son in whom he delights...
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