Weekly Insight
The Foiling of Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot
Remember, remember! the fifth of November.
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
...
“Verso L ’Alto” – A Meditation on the Hidden Sanctity of Pier Giorgio Frassati
The Italian Alps — that formidable stretch of Europe’s great mountain arc — rise in dramatic splendour above the landscape that so enduringly shaped St. Pier Giorgio Frassati’s life of prayer and adventure. The...
Charles Borromeo Leads the True Reformation
The memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) commemorates one of the great pillars - along with Saint Robert Bellarmine, Philip Neri and countless others - of what is unfortunately known as the ' Catholic...
Supreme Oaths and Doctor Newman
On this day in 1534, King Henry VIII promulgated his Oath of Supremacy which made the Tudor king the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England, called Anglicans Ecclesia bestowing upon...
Martin of Porres’ Heroic Charity
Some of the saints signify sanctity in a way that goes beyond the norm, if ‘norm’ can be applied to a thing like sanctity, which itself is characterized by going beyond the normal requirement...
The Dies Irae: Day of Wrath, but Also of Mercy
The Dies Irae - 'Day of Wrath' - is a 13th century sequence preparing us for the final judgement, composed perhaps by the Franciscan Friar Thomas of Celano, or the Dominican Friar Latino Malabranca...
Te Deum Laudamus!
The Te Deum is an ancient song of praise to God and all His saints, that may go back as far as Saint Ambrose (+397), to whose composition it has been attributed, even if...
All the Myriads Upon Myriads of Saints
A blessed solemnity of All Saints to all our readers, a feast that goes back to its official institution by Pope Gregory III (731 – 741) as a commemoration of all the countless martyrs...
All Saints, All Souls, All Hope
The month of November begins with the celebration of the glorious Feast of All Saints and the sacred liturgy directs our gaze to the Heavenly Jerusalem, our ultimate destiny. We were created by God...
Pope Benedict and All the Saints
HOLY MASS ON THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Vatican Basilica
Wednesday, 1 November 2006
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our Eucharistic celebration began with the exhortation: "Let us all rejoice in the Lord". The...
Saint Alphonus Rodriguez
One year after Martin Luther supposedly pinned his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg (they were likely mailed to his superiors, but legends abound), Alphonsus Rodriguez (1532 - 1617)...
The Bishops of Ontario Prepare for the Second Vatican Council
This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council and also the sixty-third anniversary of the opening of the Council on October 11, 1962, the Feast of Our Lady’s...
Luther’s Fateful All Hallowed Eve
(Here is a re-post of a reflection on this 'All Hallow's Eve' anniversary of the generally accepted date for the formal start of the 'Reformation', when legend has it that Luther nailed his 95...
Saints Simon, Jude and Desperate Causes
All of the Apostles have a feast day, and on this third last day of October, in the crisp days of fall, we celebrate Saints Simon and Jude, the latter, in particular, being invoked as the...
Pope Benedict and Saints Simon and Jude
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Saint Peter’s Square
Wednesday, 11 October 2006
Simon and Jude
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, let us examine two of the Twelve Apostles: Simon the Cananaean and Jude Thaddaeus (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot)....
