Author: Eric Sammons

St. Helen and Holy Relics
Holy relics are a distinctive feature of Catholicism. Would you expect to see the bones of some ancient martyr on display at your local Evangelical church? To most non-Catholics, holy relics are just plain weird. Sadly, veneration of holy relics …

St. Catherine of Genoa and Purgatory
We recently celebrated All Souls Day, in which we prayed for all the faithful departed to be released from purgatory and brought into the presence of God in Heaven. Yet belief in purgatory has fallen on hard times in recent …

Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel
Epistle: Apocalypse 1:1-15 Gospel: Matthew 18:1-10 O God, Who assign according to a wondrous order the duties of Angels and men, mercifully grant that our life on earth be guarded by those who continually stand in Your presence and minister to You …

The Franciscan Protomartyrs and Interreligious Dialogue
The Franciscan order was founded at the height of the Crusading era. Political and religious leaders were consumed with a noble cause: to recover the Holy Land that had been taken centuries earlier by Muslim forces. St. Francis, however, had …

North American Martyrs and the Importance of Baptism
The religious impact of the discovery of the New World in the late 15th century cannot be overestimated. Although Catholic Europeans were aware of areas of the world that were not Christian (they had been involved in centuries of crusades …

Elizabeth Ann Seton and the Latin Mass
Note: This article is the first in a new series titled, “Saints & Tradition,” which will look at the ways in which the traditional practice of the Catholic faith has impacted the lives of the Saints. In 1804, Elizabeth Ann …

Scripture & Tradition: Sunday after the Ascension
Epistle: 1 Peter 4:7-11 Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:1-4 Almighty and everlasting God, make us ever bear a devout affection toward Thee, and with a sincere heart to serve Thy majesty. – From the Collect for the Sunday after the Ascension …

Accepted, Not Elected: The Curious Case of Pope Boniface II
In the near future: Pope Francis’s health has taken a turn for the worse. He knows he has only a few weeks to live. In an effort to perpetuate his agenda after his death, he declares Cardinal Tagle as his …

Scripture & Tradition: Fifth Sunday after Easter
Epistle: James 1:22-27 Gospel: John 16:23-30 O God, from Whom all good things do come, grant unto us, Thy suppliant people, that by Thine inspiration, we may think what is right, and under Thy guidance perform the same. – From …

Scripture & Tradition: Fourth Sunday after Easter
Epistle: 1 Peter 2:11-19 Gospel: John 16:16-22 O God, Who makest the faithful to be of one mind and will: grant to Thy people to love that which Thou dost command and to desire that which Thou dost promise, that …