Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
Inspired by Truth, Enlightening Minds for the Church in Canada and Throughout the World
(This year, I have the great grace of being in Assisi on the feast of this great Franciscan saint – more to say on that. For now, some words on Bonaventure, the ‘second founder’ of the Franciscan Order, which continues to do great things for God). Some of the ‘Doctors of the Church’ have epithets,[…]
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 Kateri Tekakwitha, please see here). Camillus was born in what is now Abruzzo, in Naples, in 1550. His father was[…]
MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER TO THE CAMILLIAN FAMILY ON THE 450TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR FOUNDER’S BIRTH To Fr Angelo Brusco Superior General of the Order of Clerics Regular Servants of the Sick (Camillians) The joy that accompanies the celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation has a special resonance for the Camillian[…]
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 re-founded Roman Empire, Otto I (+973). Henry was from Bavaria – whence Josef Ratzinger would also hail a millennium on –[…]
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 Scotland) by the forces of the Dutch and Protestant William of Orange (named after a region in Holland). William’s wife was[…]
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 begin with words that St Gregory the Great wrote about St Benedict: “The man of[…]
A blessed feast of Saint Benedict (+543), as we commemorate the monk credited with saving what we know as ‘civilization’. As a student in the decadence of sixth century fin de siècle Rome, Benedict found he could no longer live amongst the enervating and debilitating milieu of his fellow scholars, their carousing and worldliness –[…]
From the time of Muhammad on, Islam has conquered lands by force of arms. The great warrior Charles Martel stopped the Muslim invasion of France in the 8th century. His grandson, Charlemagne, having gained his own reputation as a fighter, was able to hold off invasions of Muslims from the south and Vikings from the[…]
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 prayer to the Father after the Last Supper, seems to rise from the host of saints and blesseds whom the[…]
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 government, during the so-called ‘Boxer Rebellion’, ordered the execution of 45 Christian men, women and children, and so is celebrated as[…]
