The Miracle of the Sun

More than a century ago on this very day in the town of Fátima, Portugal, a miracle occurred. This remarkable event occurred at the height of the Great War, and an estimated 70,000 people witnessed it. It is known as the “Miracle of the Sun”. Avelino de Almeida, writing for Portugal’s popular pro-government and anti-clerical newspaper O Século, said: Before […]

» Read more

Our Lady of the Pillar

On October 12, AD 40, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the Apostle Saint James near the town of Caesaraugusta in the Roman Province of Hispania, in what is now Zaragoza, Spain. He was discouraged. His mission in Hispania was largely a failure, with few converts and only a handful of ordained men to preach the Gospel here, at the […]

» Read more

Lepanto

by G.K. Chesterton White founts falling in the Courts of the sun,And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run;There is laughter like the fountains in that face of all men feared,It stirs the forest darkness, the darkness of his beard;It curls the blood-red crescent, the crescent of his lips;For the inmost sea of all the earth is shaken […]

» Read more

Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary

On this day in 1571, the naval forces of a Holy League, consisting of several maritime Catholic countries, met the main Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto. In later years, the anniversary of this day was celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory and later, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Back in high school, a group […]

» Read more

We Don’t Talk: Saint Bruno and Silence

Stat crux dum volvitur orbis – “The Cross is steady while the world turns” (motto of the Carthusian Order) Saint Bruno (d. 1101), whose feast day is today, famously founded the contemplative Carthusian Order. The Carthusians are hermits living in a cloistered quasi-community, famously adhering to a vow of silence, and who to this day celebrate their own distinctive liturgical rite. Source, […]

» Read more

Drowning in Divine Mercy?

By coincidence, today is the feast day of both the saint who gave the Divine Mercy devotion to the world, and of one of the disciples of Saint Benedict. Interestingly, neither of these feasts are on the universal calendar. Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska (1905 – 1938) was a Polish nun who received a vision of Christ […]

» Read more

Saint Francis of Assisi: Not Just a Birdbath

Saint Francis of Asissi

Just about everybody knows Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) Not Saint Francis I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at […]

» Read more

Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome should be the patron saint of grumpy old men. Born in the Roman province of Dalmatia in modern Slovenia, he studied in Rome starting in about the year 360. During a journey to Syria in 373, he fell ill and had a vision that caused him to devote the rest of his long life to the service of […]

» Read more

Happy Michaelmas, One and All!

Today is the “Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels” or, in the old calendar, the “Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel”. Whatever you call it, the most common name is Michaelmas. It is one of several harvest festivals celebrated throughout Christian Europe. So happy Michaelmas! In England this is one of the “quarter days”, which […]

» Read more

Publication!

On today’s memorial of Our Lady, Untier of Knots, I’m pleased to announce the long-delayed publication of my Altar Server Manual. It is available in both a regular (server) edition as well as an expanded Trainer Edition. They are available in book shops and Amazon. “Altar servers should be properly trained and properly formed. This manual provides altar servers with […]

» Read more

Anniversary of the Last Day of Holy Rosary

This is an annual post, updated only slightly. Much of the language reflects my thoughts and feelings of the day, taken from my journaled notes. Over the past two years, my feelings have mellowed and matured somewhat. It is, however, good to recollect the day. Depart from me, I will weep bitterly; labour not to comfort me. (Antiphon 1 of […]

» Read more
1 23 24 25 26 27 138