Note: Originally entitled, “Ven. Emperor Karl I of Austria and Empress Zita,” this article was written well before Pope John Paul II’s October 3, 2004 beatification of Emperor Karl. In his canonization homily Pope John Paul said this of the new Beatus: … Continue reading
Category: Articles
American Wonderworker, The Life and Miracles of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
October in New Orleans. The Crescent City is getting its first annual breath of relief from the seemingly endless summer. Though the calendar says fall has started, September is still really summer in this city on the Mississippi. It’s 1867, … Continue reading
Saint Jerome, Doctor of Biblical Studies
Saint Jerome (c. 341-420) is both a Father and a Doctor of the Church; and he has, through the centuries, been a great light and inspiration to the whole world. We are convinced that we need him now more than … Continue reading
Saint Thomas More: His Times and Ours
No layman of equal status from Medieval Times until this very day presents such an epitome of tradition and progress with such sanity and balance as the sixteenth century saint and martyr, Thomas More. Is this then to be another … Continue reading
Saint Maria Goretti, Martyr of Purity
“In a time that has increasingly stressed education as an indispensable need, she knew neither how to read nor how to write; but she knew better than others how to live and how to die.” —Marie Cecilia Buehrle. Her life … Continue reading
Saint Mary Magdalen, the Beautiful Penitent
In order to know what great love is, one should study the beautiful penitent, who washed the feet of Jesus with the water of her tears, and dried them with the towel of her hair. Saint Mary Magdalen’s audacity, her … Continue reading
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Our Lady especially loves little children. They are so guileless, so direct. Their faith is so simple and chaste, their hope so aspiring and inspiring, their charity so warm and sincere, that She could not help but love them above … Continue reading
Saint Miguel Pro, A Modern Martyr
Without a trace of fear or hesitancy, he walked to the wall, and tranquilly faced the firing squad. He stretched forth his hands in the form of a cross, refused a blindfold, and cried out: “With all my heart I … Continue reading
The Destruction of Jerusalem
Dom Prosper Guéranger’s masterpiece of Catholic piety and erudition, The Liturgical Year is now happily back in print. The following selection, which comes from Volume 11 (pgs. 215-249) of the fifteen-volume work, is the learned and holy Abbot’s reflections on the Gospel … Continue reading
Saint Peter, the First Pope
“They who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” (Ps. 125) To Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, these were very sacred words. It is a tradition that Saint Peter’s cheeks were furrowed by the streams of repentent tears which … Continue reading
Our Lady of Guadalupe
“Listen and let it penetrate your heart…do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and … Continue reading
Earliest Date for Feast of Christ the King
This is the earliest day that the feast of Christ the King (the last Sunday in October) can occur. The latest day on which it can fall is October 31. See also: Christ the King Revisited Related Items
Saint Isidore of Seville (636)
He was a bishop and a Doctor of the Universal Church. He was the brother of Saint Leander, Saint Fulgentius and Saint Florentina, whose feast days are respectively, February 27, January 16 and June 20. Saint Isidore succeeded his brother, … Continue reading