Teresa’s True Concept of What a Friend We Have in Jesus

On this, the 'ides' of October, the fifteenth, mid-month, we celebrate the great mystic and doctor of the Church, Teresa of Avila (+1582) who,...

Sweden’s Charitable Bibliophile Bridget

Long before Sweden was known for ABBA and IKEA  – two exports not to everyone’s taste, even if billion-dollar brands – along with a...

Our Lady of Sheshan and the World Day of Prayer for the Church in...

In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared May 24thas the world day of prayer for the Church in China, composing a special prayer through the...

Instaurare Omnia in Christo

Saint Pius X (+1914), born Guiseppe Sarto, was a peasant, he was the first such in centuries, the custom being that popes were chosen...

Coins, Climate and Contraception

As the Pope departs from Canada, after visiting the national shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupré, we pray through the intercession of the good...

Saint Fidelis’ Greatest Sermon

Today is the feast of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, (+1622) whose original name was Mark Rey: 'Sigmaringen' was his birthplace in what is now...

Obsessed with Death

In his 1987 novel, The Thanatos Syndrome, physician-turned-author Walker Percy imagines a town whose inhabitants are reverting to simianism, that is, becoming more ape-like,...

Hollywood’s Sense of Sin

In a radio address on October 26, 1946, with the horrors of World War II still fresh (if such be the term) in the...

Judas and Spy Wednesday

Today is Spy Wednesday in our tradition, the day on which Judas Iscariot decided to hand over Our Lord for thirty pieces of silver...

Barnabites, Civil Wars and Confusing Synods

Saint Anthony Zaccaria (+1539), from noble lineage in late-renaissance Italy, first studied medicine, then for the priesthood, adopting a life of great discipline and...