Category: Did you know?

Vikings on Crusade

The success of the First Crusade (1095-1101) brought with it the creation of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, with Lord Godfrey of Bouillon as its first monarch. After Godfrey’s death, the barons invited his brother, Baldwin of Edessa, to rule, … Continue reading

A Prophetical Word

The word jeremiad, meaning “a prolonged lamentation or complaint,” also, “a cautionary or angry harangue” (Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary), has its origin in the name of the Prophet Jeremias (Jeremiah). The word comes to us from the French jérémiade, which, in … Continue reading

When in Rome . . .

Everyone’s heard the expression, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Few, however, know that the adage owes its origin to two doctors of the Church: St. Ambrose and Saint Augustine. In the thirty-sixth of his catalogued Epistles, St. … Continue reading

Scruple

The word scruple is defined by Webster’s as “an ethical consideration or principle that inhibits action.” The word came into English via the Middle English word scriple, from the Latin scrupulus , a unit of weight. Scrupulus was, in turn, … Continue reading

The Accounting Franciscan

Leave it to a poor man to figure out how to handle money properly. The man with the august title, “Father of Accounting,” was a Franciscan Friar named Luca Pacioli (1445-1517). Born of poor parents in Sansepulcro, Tuscany, he entered … Continue reading

The Miracle of the Red Thread

The Talmud, which is well known to contain many blasphemies against Our Lord and Our Lady, is an odd mixture of authentic Israelite tradition and the damnable “tradition of men . . . making void the word of God” which … Continue reading

Two Saints in Washington DC?

We have two saints in Washington DC.  Well, not exactly. What we do have is the statue of two blesseds in the Capitol building. Who might they be, you may wonder? Blessed Junipero Serra, founder of the California missions, is … Continue reading

Russia’s Catholic Tsar

Just before he died in 1825, Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, was converted to the Catholic Faith. A Catholic aide-de-camp of the Tsar, General Michaud, had heard a vague rumor of Alexander’s death while he was in Rome at the … Continue reading