In prayer, more is accomplished by listening than by talking. (Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, +1641)
Year: 2025
Jane Frances de Chantal and her Visitation
Jane Frances Fremiot (+1641) was a beautiful, refined young woman from Burgundy, betrothed to the handsome Baron de Chantal at 21 years old – a veritable Austen-esque marriage of true minds, in a French mode; and a happy union it was, until the Baron was killed by an harquebus in a tragic hunting accident, leaving[…]
Our labor here is brief, but the reward is eternal. Do not be disturbed by the clamor of the world, which passes like a shadow. Do not let false delights of a deceptive world deceive you. (Saint Clare of Assisi, +1253)
Pope Benedict and Saint Clare of Assisi
BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Paul VI Hall Wednesday, 15 September 2010 [Video] Saint Clare of Assisi Dear Brothers and Sisters, One of the best loved Saints is without a doubt St Clare of Assisi who lived in the 13th century and was a contemporary of St Francis. Her testimony shows us how indebted the Church[…]
Pope Benedict and Saint Lawrence
PASTORAL VISIT TO THE BASILICA OF SAINT LAWRENCE OUTSIDE THE WALLS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 1750th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY DEACON HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI First Sunday of Advent, 30 November 2008 Dear brothers and sisters, the thought of Christ’s presence and his return at the end of time[…]
Nineteenth Sunday: Consolation and Exhortation
‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’ (Lk. 12:32). ⧾ These are perhaps among the most consoling words recorded in Sacred Scripture. And in every age, including ours, they are addressed to a little flock. What is this little flock, if not those who have both[…]
The Divine Comedy of Saint Lawrence
Today’s Saint Lawrence (+258) lives on in the legend of his own divine comedy, a Spaniard from Valencia, chosen in the very bloom of his early maturity by the intelligent and saintly Pope Sixtus II to be Archdeacon of Rome, in charge of distributing the wealth of the Church. It is said that Lawrence’s parents[…]
Spes Aedificandi: Saint Edith Stein, Martyr and Co-Patroness of Europe
On this August 9th, we commemorate Saint Edith Stein, whose name in religion was Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Just over a quarter of a century ago, on the eve of the new millennium, Pope Saint John Paul II, on October 1st, 1999, the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, proclaimed Saints Bridget of Sweden,[…]
The Poison Pen of Christopher Hitchens
Someone will protest: “Why are you writing a piece on the atheist Christopher Hitchens? He’s dead, and isn’t he yesterday’s news?” But this is not altogether true. Hitchens is, I think, still very much alive in the hearts and minds of many atheists, and the proof of this is in how often you might hear,[…]
Saint Dominic’s Battle for Truth
Saint Dominic (+1221) was one of those souls destined from birth to do great things – as, we may suppose, all saints are in some way. But all the contemporary accounts attest to his burning desire for God from the earliest age: His mother, Jane of Aza (eventually canonized by Pope Leo XII in 1828)[…]