For if he could die in body, could she not die with him in spirit? He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since his. (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, +1153)
Month: September 2025
Felicitationes ad Leonem, Papam
We here at Catholic Insight would like to extend our heartiest, if a bit belated, birthday greetings to Pope Leo XIV, who turned 70 on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, a propitious day to come into this world. As the Psalmist says (90/91:10), we have those number of years in our span,[…]
Mater Dolorosa, Mother of Sorrows
A blessed memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows to all. This feast was first celebrated in the year 1233 – in the youth of that greatest of centuries, when Thomas Aquinas was but a young lad of eight, given as an Oblate to the Benedictines of Montecassino. It was the newly-founded Servite Order in Florence,[…]
We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. (Saint Andrew of Crete, +8th c.)
Vexilla Regis Prodeunt!
A blessed Feast of the Triumph of the Cross to one and all of our readers! For added devotion and splendour to this celebration of Christ’s victory over death by the Cross, here are three versions of the ancient hymn, Vexilla Regis Prodeunt, composed by Venantius Fortunatus (+609), bishop of Poitiers. First, the poetry of[…]
Pope Saint John Paul II Reflects on the Salvific Cross
(An excerpt from a homily preached by Pope Saint John Paul II in Lesotho, in 1988): In the Gospel of this feast we are witnesses of a unusual conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. The conversation takes place at night because Nicodemus, a prominent Jew, went to talk with Christ under the cover of darkness. Christ leads this[…]
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee, for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
Triumph of the Holy Cross
We should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, through whom we are saved and delivered (Entrance Antiphon, Cf. Gal 6:14). Today’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, one of the Church’s oldest, celebrates the triumph of God’s humility over man’s pride “for the[…]
The Fifth Apparition of Fatima
On September 13th, 1917, Our Lady appeared for the fifth time to the three children at Cova de Iria in Fatima. Tens of thousands showed up, clogging the streets and byways, in the hope of catching a glimpse, or even just to ‘be there’. The message of the Virgin Mary was simple, and full of[…]
John Chrysostom: The Man with the Golden Mouth
Saint John Chrysostom (+407) was a model bishop, a doctor of the Church, an ascetic and contemplative monk who wanted only to retreat from the turmoil of life in the Eastern empire, and live a life devoted entirely to God. He was chosen first as a priest in Antioch, where he became renowned for his[…]