Brother John: A Monk, A Pilgrim, and the Purpose of Life
August Turak has written a delightful little book – and by ‘little’, I mean the term in a way similar to Christ’s usage of...
Summa, Question 168: mirth.
Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologica Question 168, Article 4.
Whether there is a sin in lack of mirth?
I answer that, In human affairs whatever is against reason is a...
Martha, Mary and Ill-Fated Marriage
Our Lady of Fatima purportedly revealed to young Jacinta that many marriages are not willed by God, the truth of which may be borne...
Pope Saint Leo, the First of the Greats
Pope Saint Leo, the first pontiff to earn the title 'the Great', reigned from 440 until his death on this day in 461, was...
Saint Jerome Emiliani’s Pilgrimage to Heaven
Today, with Saint Josephine Bakhita, we also celebrate Saint Gerolamo - or Jerome - Emiliani (+1537), who ran away from his home in Venice...
Romuauld the Hermit
A brief word on Saint Romuauld (+June 19, 1025/27), before today ends, a tenth-century monk, who founded the strict Camaldolese Order, named after the...
Protomartyrs, Authority and the Tweets of Trump
I have an article published this morning on Crisis magazine, a reflection on the nature of authority. As is the custom, I will post...
Puffballs
“What can go wrong?” I asked, “the book says it is safe, and it shows a picture of the thing. Listen! It says right...
Saint Charbel’s Holy Hidden Life
God often works through hidden ways, and those who live a hidden life. Amare nesciri, as Saint Philip Neri was wont to say, 'love...
Peter Claver’s Untiring Fidelity
Saint Peter Claver (+Sept. 8, 1654), whom we celebrate on this 9th day of September, was a Jesuit priest in the first missionary fervour...