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
The 23rd of April is the feast of St George Martyr. Upon seeing many depictions of this great saint, hailing from the early centuries of Christianity, I am very much encouraged by his constant intercession and support in our spiritual battles we all have to face in our lives. But who was exactly this inspiring[…]
Saint Agnes of Montepulciano (+1317) is one of the ‘incorruptibles’. She was born in the picturesque cliff-top Italian city on January 28th, 1268, the same day as her fellow Dominican, Thomas Aquinas (whose birth year was likely 1225). The future Jesuit and Cardinal, Saint Robert Bellarmine was also born in Montepulciano, and the region, in[…]
Bd. Marie-Anne Blondin (+1890), whose optional memorial falls today in our fair Dominion, the day of her birth in 1809, five decades before Canada was Canada. Most Canadians, alas, have likely never heard of her, but she was one of the founders of our once-glorious and envied educational system, before it fell apart due to[…]
On this Solemnity of the Glorious Patriarch St Joseph, I would like to appreciate with you the figure of this most humble and extraordinary man of God. In order to do that I would like to present some salient passages taken from Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Patris Corde, which was issued on the 150th anniversary of[…]
March 11th is the traditional feast of Saint Sophronius (560 – 638), patriarch of Jerusalem from 634 to his death on this day in 638. As a young man, Sophronius adopted the life of an ascetic, then a monk, and eventually chosen as patriarch. He wrote voluminously – sadly, much is lost, including a collection[…]
On February 17th, we celebrate the liturgical memorial of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order, whose story goes back to the thirteen century. In medieval times one would encounter groups which were called guilds, which were essentially groupings of craftsmen of related skills and professions structured to learn, advocate and safeguard their trade. Today’s[…]
Most of us are familiar with the names John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. They defined the Spanish Golden Age of mysticism and started the Reformation movement not just for their Order (Carmelites), but for the entire religious life of the Church. But there is another great reformer born in the same milieu,[…]
Saint Catherine de Ricci (1522 – 1590) – born Alessandra Lucrezia Romola de’ Ricci – was from the same city, Florence, as her contemporary Saint Philip Neri, to whom she appeared by bilocation, one of the very few miracles in his own life to which Philip attested. As he put it, secretum meum mihi –[…]
A blessed memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, co-workers of Saint Paul, both of them ordained by him into the early episcopacy of the Church, when every bishop was a ‘missionary’, sent forth into unknown, hostile, pagan territory, meaning an almost certain martyrdom. Paul’s two letters to Timothy and one to Titus are bracing for[…]
Many of us have heard of Saint Damien of Molokai, the heroic missionary priest who gave his life working amongst the lepers in Hawaii. But there is a female version, celebrated today, Saint Marianne Cope (1838 – 1918), a religious sister, who, with six companions, also offered themselves to the same mission. Sister Marianne assisted[…]
