ST. HOSPITIUS shut himself up in the ruins of an old tower near Villafranca, one league from Nice in Provence. He girded himself with a heavy iron chain and lived on bread and dates only. During Lent he redoubled his austerities, and, in order to conform his life more closely to that of the anchorites [...]
Between 1915 and 1937, St. Christopher Magallanes, and 21 other Mexican priests – as well as three lay companions — were martyred by the anticlerical Mexican government. They supported either covertly or spiritually or even sometimes directly the Cristero Revolt, an attempt in the late 1920’s by Christians to win back religious freedom in a [...]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today we contemplate and re-live in the liturgy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit sent by the risen Christ upon his Church; an event of grace which filled the Upper Room in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the world. But what happened on that day, so distant from us and yet [...]
IN 1408 St. Vincent Ferrer once suddenly interrupted his sermon to declare that there was among his hearers a young Franciscan who would be one day a greater preacher than himself, and would be set before him in honor by the Church. This unknown friar was Bernardino. Of noble birth, he had spent his youth [...]
Fifty days after Easter the apostles and disciples of Jesus were assembled in an upper chamber, engaged in prayer, according to the recommendation of the divine Master. They awaited the accomplishment of the promise He had made to them, of sending them a Comforting Spirit, the Paraclete, Who should teach them all things. Lo! a [...]
ST. VENANTIUS was born at Camerino in Italy, and at the age of fifteen was seized as a Christian and carried before a judge. As it was found impossible to shake his constancy either by threats or promises, he was condemned to be scourged, but was miraculously saved by an angel. He was then burnt [...]
St. John held the office of Vicar of Christ from 523-526 when he was martyred at the behest of Theodoric. His official journey to Constantinople was successful in making peace at a time when Arianism had again reared its heretical head, and had created dissension between the Latin and Greek churches. The Byzantine Emperor, Justin, [...]
FROM a child Paschal seems to have been marked out for the service of God; and amidst his daily labors he found time to instruct and evangelize the rude herdsmen who kept their flocks on the hills of Aragon, Spain. At the rage of twenty-four he entered the Franciscan Order, in which, however, he remained, [...]
ST. JOHN was born, in answer to prayer, 1330, of poor parents, at Nepomuc in Bohemia. In gratitude they consecrated him to God; and his holy life as a priest led to his appointment as chaplain to the court of the Emperor Wenceslas, where he converted numbers by his preaching and example. Amongst those who [...]
“We are living in an age when we are rather sceptical regarding truth,” the Holy Father said to the over 75,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on May 15th. “Benedict XVI spoke many times about relativism, that is, the tendency to believe that there is nothing definitive and to think that truth comes from [...]
ISIDORE was born c. 560 of a ducal family, at Carthagena in Spain. His two brothers, Leander, Archbishop of Seville, Fulgentius, Bishop of Ecija, and his sister Florentina, are Saints. As a boy he despaired at his ill success in study, and ran away from school. Resting in his flight at a roadside spring, he [...]
IN the Decian persecution the blood of the Christians flowed at Lampsacus, a city of Asia Minor. St. Peter was the first who was led before the proconsul and condemned to die for the name of Christ. Young though he was, he went joyfully to his torments. He was bound to a wheel by iron [...]
Pentecost Sunday Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23) Experiencing More Deeply the Power of the Holy Spirit They were all astounded and bewildered.” (Acts 2:12) If there’s one truth we should take as our anchor on this great feast day, it’s this: Pentecost is [...]
IN the beginning of the fourth century great levies of troops were made throughout Egypt for the service of the Roman emperor. Among the recruits was Pachomius, a young heathen, then in his twenty-first year. On his way down the Nile he passed a village, whose inhabitants gave him food and money. Marvelling at this [...]
AFTER our blessed Lord’s Ascension His disciples met together, with Mary His mother and the eleven apostles, in an upper room at Jerusalem. The little company numbered no more than one hundred and twenty souls. They were waiting for the promised coining of the Holy Ghost, and they persevered in prayer. Meanwhile there was a [...]
Our Lady of Fatima is a title for the Virgin Mary due to her apparitions to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal on the thirteenth day of six consecutive months in 1917, beginning on May 13. The three children were Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Many miracles have been associated with [...]
St. Robert Bellarmine, of whom Pope Clement VIII said: “The Church of God had not his equal in learning,” was born of a noble family at Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy, in 1542. He lived until 1621, and it was a full life conspicuous for exemplary piety. He suffered from delicate health all his life. Before [...]
ST. EPIPHANIUS was born about the year 310, in Palestine. In his youth he began the study of the Holy Scriptures, embraced a monastic life, and went into Egypt to perfect himself in the exercises of that state, in the deserts of that country. He returned to Palestine about the year 333, and built a [...]
Part of fresco in the Scrovegni chapel, Padua, Italy, by Giotto di Bondone, c. 1305.
St. Lucia Filippini, of the Roman nobillity, was born in 1672 and baptized on the day of her birth. She received Holy Communion at a very early age, and when twelve years old was made a catechist of the children of the parish. She is the Foundress of the Institute of the Maestre Pie Filippini [...]
ANTONINUS, or Little Antony, as he was called from his small stature, was born at Florence in 1389. After a childhood of singular holiness, he begged to be admitted into the Dominican house at Fiesole; but the Superior, to test his sincerity and perseverance, told him he must first learn by heart the book of [...]
Missionary priest, born at Tremeloo, Belgium, 3 January 1840; died at Molokai, Hawaii, 15 April 1889. His father, a small farmer, sent him to a college at Braine-le-Comte, to prepare for a commercial profession; but as a result of a mission given by the Redemptorists in 1858, Joseph decided to become a religious. He entered [...]
GREGORY was born of saintly parents in c. 329, and was the chosen friend of St. Basil. They studied together at Athens, turned at the same time from the fairest worldly prospects, and for some years lived together in seclusion, self-discipline, and toil. Gregory was raised, almost by force, to the priesthood; and was in [...]
