Weekly Insight
Serving with Joy: Explorers and Seniors Unite at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
In a beautiful witness to Christian charity and youthful generosity, 60 teenage Explorers from the Federation of North American Explorers (FNE) recently hosted a special community dinner for 50 seniors from St. Thomas the...
Bastille and the Storm of a True Revolution
Today marks the anniversary of the official beginning of the French Revolution, back in 1789 with the storming of the Bastille prison. Much ado is made of this 'storming', even though there were only...
Saint Camillus de Lellis: Alea Iacta Est
A true saint for our times is the one we celebrate today - Camillus de Lellis (+1614) (we will follow the Canadian calendar, and for those American readers who would like to reflect on...
Saint Henry and Cunegunde’s Heavenly Rule
We could do with more leaders such as Saint Henry (+1024), 'Emperor of the Romans' and 'King of the Italians', the last of the 'Ottonian' line - descended from the Emperor of the recently...
Slavery, Scripture, and the Church: human dignity in Catholic historical perspective
The publication of Magnifica Humanitas (2026), the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, has renewed global discussion on the Catholic Church’s historical relationship with slavery. In the document, Pope Leo expressed deep sorrow and asked...
Orange Day and Saint Oliver Plunkett, the Last Martyr of the Protestant ‘Reformation’
July the 12th is ‘Orange’ Day, celebrated still with fervour in Northern Ireland, commemorating the defeat of the rightful Catholic king of the Stuart line, James II of England and Ireland (and VII of...
Fifteenth Sunday: Applying the Parables
Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He answered, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to...
Pope Benedict on Saint Benedict
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
St Peter's Square
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Saint Benedict of Norcia
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, I would like to speak about Benedict, the Founder of Western Monasticism and also the Patron of my Pontificate. I...
Saint Benedict’s Option
On this feast of Saint Benedict (+543), we commemorate the monk credited with saving what we know as 'civilization'. As a student in Rome in its sixth century fin de siècle, Benedict found he...
A Pilgrimage By the Saint Lawrence
The mighty Saint Lawrence River is intertwined with the history of Canada and the United States, and forms a natural border between the two countries. It's how everyone arrived in Canada before the invention...
What Benedictine Spirituality Offers the Modern Christian
As we approach the feast day of Saint Benedict of Nursia on July 11, we look ahead to the jubilee year 2029 that marks the 1500th anniversary of the Rule of Saint Benedict. Saint...
The Marvelous Martyrs of Gorkum and the Abandoned Annulled Anne of Cleves
In one of those many mysteries of providence, this day marking the martyrs of China is also the anniversary of the Martyrs of Gorkum, nineteen Catholic priests, diocesan and religious, hanged on this day...
Pope John Paul II Canonizes 119 Martyrs of China
CAPPELLA PAPALE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF 123 NEW SAINTS
HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II
Sunday 1 October 2000
1. "Your word is truth; sanctify us in your love" (Gospel Acclamation, Italian Lectionary; cf. Jn 17: 17). This invocation, an echo of Christ's...
Myriads of Martyrs for China
Through the centuries there have been untold thousands of martyrs in China, and July 9th is chosen as the day to commemorate them, for it was on this day in 1900 that the Chinese...
A Brief Meditation on Man’s Magnificence
What piece of work is a man, how noble in reason,
how infinite in faculties, in form and moving,
how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension,
how like a god! (Hamlet, Act...
