During the last fortnight, when I should have been thinking about what to put in this Ad Rem, I became bogged down in some academic and administrative matters that zapped my writing time. (Exam week and grading papers among these! … Continue reading
Category: Lives of the Saints
11 Martyrs of Nowogrodek Poland
Father Z’s blog: I am moved to post this. It is as if I was dragged for some reason back to my keyboard tonight, after having tried to turn in. A couple of clicks – you know how one thing … Continue reading
Saint Thomas Becket vs the Demon
Ignitum Today, Father Carlos Martins: Want to hear a real demon story, one for which I can personally vouch? A good priest friend of mine — let’s call him Fr. George — is an exorcist. When he performs an exorcism on someone … Continue reading
Great Summary of St. Ignatius of Antioch and Early Church + 107
Catholic Answers, Kenneth D. Whitehead: Some time around the year A.D. 107, a short, sharp persecution of the Church of Christ resulted in the arrest of the bishop of Antioch in Syria. His name was Ignatius. According to one of the … Continue reading
A Boston Catholic Irishman on Saint Patrick and His Enemies
Perhaps nowhere else in Christendom can an entire nation and its vast diaspora of descendants trace their Catholic Faith and culture — and their prospects for eternal salvation — to a single saint. Our debt of gratitude to Saint Patrick … Continue reading
The Touching Story of Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko
This beloved and unassuming young priest of Poland was a true hero of that tortured land during the Soviet Communist occupation. Now a Blessed, Father Jerzy (pronounced YEH-Zhe) was beloved by everyone in his homeland, believers and non-believers alike, because … Continue reading
Death of Padre Pio
Hour of Our Death: “Never in my life have I suffered so,” said Padre Pio. He could only walk with help. He slept only a few minutes at a time because his asthma and bronchitis kept him coughing. The priest … Continue reading
The Intrepid Foundress Sister Mary MacKillop, Excommunicated Whistleblower, Now a Saint
The Anglicanorum Coetibus Society, Dr. Foster Lerner: EIGHT years ago, Mary MacKillop, also known as Mary of the Cross, was made Australia’s first canonized Saint by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17th, 2010. Mary’s parents emigrated from Scotland to Australia while … Continue reading
The Truth About Padre Pio
“Did You Know That Padre Pio’s Stigmata Was Self-Inflicted? My ‘Pastor’ Friend Says It Was.” I have a friend who left the Church many years ago and is now a pastor of a small Pentecostal community in my home town. … Continue reading
16 Martyrs of the Persecution of the Church in Spain Beatified
Vatican Press Office: The following is the homily pronounced by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during Mass this morning in the Basilica of the Sagrada Família, Barcelona, for the beatification of … Continue reading
Send Me Back to Purgatory: Story of a Miracle of Saint Stanislaus
Tradition in Action, Hugh O’Reilly: Peter Miles, raised from the dead by St. Stanislaus of Krakow, Poland, preferred to return to Purgatory rather than to live again upon earth. The celebrated miracle of this resurrection happened in 1070 and is related … Continue reading
‘Joining a Man’s Heart to a Woman’s Thought’: More Edification from the Machabees
From the Matins readings in yesterday’s Divine Office, here is the faith-filled, courageous, and unsentimental exhortation of an unnamed Jewish mother1 to her seven sons to die as martyrs. So much to learn and admire here! To me, this woman, … Continue reading
Eleazar the Old Scribe, ‘an Example of Virtue and Fortitude’
When disedifying and disheartening bad news abounds, as it has abounded lately, the obligation incumbent upon us to elevate our minds above the mundane and evil becomes all the more pressing. So it was with joy and relief that I … Continue reading
Thomas More, a Saint Who Fought for Papal Authority Under a Series of Scandalous Popes
Patheos, Fr. Matthew P. Schneider: Sometimes we might see corruption in the Church: often we hear accusations but we don’t know if they are true. Where can we look for how to act? May I suggest St. Thomas More. Read … Continue reading
Romanian Martyr Veronica Antal Beatified, Another Maria Goretti
Aleteia, Larry Peterson: The oldest of four children, Veronica Antal was born December 7, 1935, in the town of Botesti located in the northeastern part of Romania. As was the custom, baby Veronica was baptized the next day on the … Continue reading
