Weekly Insight
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
The celebration of the beheading of Saint John the Baptist - an expeditious entrance into heaven - is sort of a bookend to the summer; you may recall that June 24th, just after the...
The Interior Furnace: Reclaiming our Burning Love for Jesus and Mary
In our modern, fast paced world, there is a dangerous tendency to turn our Catholic faith into a cold, dry routine. We easily look for comfortable safety zones, treating our daily prayers and religious...
Augustine’s Long Pilgrimage to Truth
A blessed feast of the great Saint Augustine (354-430), bishop and doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest theologians in her history. His voluminous works - his autobiography, sermons, commentaries, letters, -...
Pope Benedict and Augustine
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Saint Augustine of Hippo (1)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
After the great Christmas festivities, I would like to return to the meditations on the Fathers of the Church...
The Persevering Prayer of Monica
Monica is the patron saint of mothers - not least, those who pray for the conversion of their children, an integral part of the maternal vocation, as many a mother will admit. Even for...
The Black Madonna: Our Lady of Częstochowa
This feast of the 'Queen of Poland' is a national holiday in that great nation, with thousands of pilgrims flocking to her shrine at Jazna Gora, where the precious image of Our Lady of Częstochowa...
Celebrating Our Baptismal Day
On this day, I was baptized in Saint Patrick's church, in Dumbarton, Scotland, on the commemoration of King Saint Louis IX and Saint Joseph Calasanz, at least in the revised calendar. I recommend that...
Saint Louis IX: A Most Christian King
(Here is a reprise of Kaleb Hammond's reflection on the great medieaval king, whom we celebrate today)
 St. Louis IX (1214-1270) has been considered by many to be the greatest king of medieval Christendom. As...
Saint Joseph Calasanz, a Teacher for Teachers
We would be remiss if we did not at least remark on this day on the great and sadly forgotten Saint Joseph Calasanz (+1648), a zealous priest, pastor, reformer and educator, who more or...
Good King Louis, Ruling, and Ruled, by Truth
The indomitable Cardinal Sarah exhorted in an article in CWR, to French scouts, on pilgrimage to Vezelay in France, that they should emulate the noble virtues of King Saint Louis IX, providing a...
Saint Bartholomew, aka Nathaniel, In Whom There Was No Guile
A blessed feast of Saint Bartholomew, to one and all! Like many of the Apostles, we don't know all that much about the life of today's saint. Our Tradition identifies Bartholomew with the 'Nathaniel'...
Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
It is an unfortunate accident of history – insofar as we may speak of accidents, when all things are guided in their providential design by a good and provident God – that today’s feast...
Pope Benedict and Saint Bartholomew
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 4 October 2006
Bartholomew
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In the series on the Apostles called by Jesus during his earthly life, today it is the Apostle Bartholomew who attracts our attention. In...
Petrine Papal Primacy
In light of today's readings on this Sunday, and Christ bestowing the papal office on Saint Peter, here is the text of Pastor Aeternus, the dogmatic constitution from the First Vatican Council (1879) defining...
The Enigmatic and Ecstatic Life of Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima (+1617), whose birth name was Isabel, was called 'Rose' when a servant saw her face mystically transformed into the beautiful flower soon after she was born. Sure enough, Isabel-Rose would go...
