Weekly Insight
Pope Benedict and Saint Barnabas
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Wednesday, 31 January 2007
Barnabas, Silas (also called Silvanus), and Apollos
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Continuing our journey among the protagonists who were the first to spread Christianity, today let us turn our attention to...
From Temple to Body: The Mystery of Christ and His Church
The Holy Catholic Church is a mystery of faith, a reality both visible and spiritual, founded by Jesus Christ and handed down through the apostles. This truth was safeguarded in the early councils of...
Ephraim’s Mission of Beauty
In the Church universal, we celebrate the life of Saint Ephraim, often called the 'Syrian', who is also venerated amongst the Orthodox (on January 28th), and whose pre-Vatican II date was June 18th. Ephraim...
Pope Benedict and Saint Ephraim the Deacon
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Saint Ephrem
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Common opinion today supposes Christianity to be a European religion which subsequently exported the culture of this Continent to other countries. But...
Saint Columbkille: An Irishman Brings Catholicism to Scotland
If you will forgive a little parochialism, today is the feast of Saint Columbkille (521-597), also called Columba, who is not celebrated in the universal calendar, but happens to be the patron my own...
Our Lady Seat of Wisdom and of Combermere
A blessed āfeastā of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom,Ā Sedes Sapientiae. Thi ancient and venerable title of the Virgin Mary is celebrated on June 8th as the Chora tou Achoretou, the ācontainer of the uncontainableā,...
John Paul II and Corpus Christi
Here is the Corpus Christi homily of Pope Saint John Paul II from 2002. I was in Rome that year, my first-ever visit to the Eternal City (I've since returned twice). I was obliviously...
Corpus Christi: The Gift of the Holy Eucharist
(Here in Canada, Corpus Christi is transferred to the following Sunday, even if, as mentioned, the traditional day is the Thursday after Pentecost. We were a bit delayed in posting this previous but classic...
Corpus Christi and the Poetry of Thomas Aquinas
(In Canada,Ā the Solemnity is transferred to the next Sunday. In the universal Church, and various traditional rites and communities, it is celebrated on the proper day, the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. So here be...
Ave Verum – William Byrd’s Secret Treasure
On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi here in Canada, here is William Byrd's rendition of the Ave Verum, composed in the first years of the 17th century, published in 1605, during the time of...
Holy Norbert and Heroic Normandy
Saint Norbert (+1134) of Xanten was a zealous bishop and founder, who was at the forefront of the ecclesial reform named after Pope Gregory VII, a pope often referred to by his previous name,...
June is for the Sacred Heart of Jesus
God sent his only begotten son into the world, fully human and fully divine, possessing a fully human heart with valves and ventricles just like yours and mine. This heart, created by God, has written on it a deep desire to be in communion with Him. Thatās the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Bill C-9 and Fighting the Good Fight of the Faith
With the passage of Bill C-9 by the Senate yesterday, we're now closer than ever here in Canada to the dystopias predicted by Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury' Fahrenheit 451, where books are banned and...
Pope Benedict and Saint Boniface
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter's Square
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Saint Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, we shall reflect on a great eighth-century missionary who spread Christianity in Central Europe, indeed also in...
Saint Boniface: Laying the Axe to the Root of Evil
Saint Boniface, bishop, missionary and martyr was hacked to death by a band of Frisian idol-worshippers on this June 5th in 754, along with 52 of his companions. There must have been quite a...
