During the reign of Marcus Aurelius the infidels invaded the Holy Land and destroyed all the monuments, public or private, together with the coffins they found entombed. One coffin, however, escaped this sacrilegious treatment. The infidel iconoclasts could neither break it open nor harm it; and in their rage they cast it into the sea. … Read more
Saint Bernard was a Cistercian monk. He founded a religious Order that was a branch of the Order of Saint Benedict, destined to practice greater austerity and have a tougher life than required by the toughest rules of the monks of his time. He believed—how rightly!—that through suffering, man atones for his own sins and … Read more
It was his Christian faith that made Louis IX so great a prince. “You that are the judges of the earth, think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in simplicity of heart.”1 Eternal Wisdom, in giving this precept to kings, rejoiced with divine foreknowledge among the lilies of France, where this great saint … Read more
The Catholic calendar reads for the feast of Saint Michael: Saint Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host fought the rebel angels in the heavenly battle. He continues to lead the battle to free us from the devil. Our guardian angels depend on him. He is the custodian angel of the Church and the one who … Read more
We will now read an excerpt on Saint Leutfridus, taken from the book: Physiognomy of the Saints, by Ernesto Hello. Extraordinarily holy, but little known, Saint Leutfridus is an example for our mediocre days. He was born of a good family in seventh century Neustria (present-day France). He left his family to become a Benedictine … Read more
He Chose the Greater Chivalry Series on the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Modern society obsessively avoids suffering, risk and danger. It secures everything with seatbelts and safety rails, air conditions the summer heat, prints warnings on coffee cups and advises that that safety glasses should be used while working with hammers. Certainly such precautions have prevented misfortune. However, since heroism and excellence are born from confronting rather … Read more
Recently, several books enumerating the apparitions of Our Lady were published in Italy. When I had the opportunity to take a look at them on a recent trip to Rome, I was surprised. While in one epoch, there were numerous apparitions, in another they were very rare; in one epoch the Holy Virgin appeared to … Read more
A few miles from the city of Rome, lies Genazzano — a city rich in history and blessed with the presence of a miraculous painting of the Blessed Virgin that has an amazing story. The origins of Genazzano date back to the times of the Roman emperors. Because of its proximity to Rome, the city … Read more
By contrast with the catastrophic loss of Spain, the chroniclers tell us that through Divine Providence liberty was restored to the Christian people and the Asturian kingdom was brought into being. This reportedly occurred when the majority of the Goths of royal blood came to the Asturias and elected as king Pelayo (719-737), son of … Read more
