“The teaching of Saint John Damascene thus finds its place in the tradition of the universal Church, whose sacramental doctrine foresees that material elements taken from nature can become vehicles of grace by virtue of the invocation (epiclesis) of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by the confession of the true faith.” (General Audience, 6 May, 2009,…
And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. —Apocalypse 12:7,8 And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness.…
Who doesn’t love a circus? The acrobats. The clowns. The trapeze artists. And the inhabitants of San Juan de los Lagos in the state of Jalisco were no exception. They were abuzz with excitement. The circus was coming to town! The year was 1623. A family of trapeze artists had just arrived in town, en…
“We so heartily approve the magnificent tribute of praise bestowed upon this most divine genius that We consider that Thomas should be called not only the Angelic, but also the Common or Universal Doctor of the Church; for the Church has adopted his philosophy for her own.” (Studiorum Ducem, 29 June, 1923, Pope Pius XI)…
Twelve-year-old Charlotte Toguchi had to make a decision. Which should she choose? The Liberty cotton or the Swiss? The periwinkle blue or the coral? The stripes or the tiny flamingo print? Her art teacher had convinced her that she had a special aptitude for color, so she felt confident in choosing the fabric for her…
“St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, glory of the Eastern Church and celebrated champion of the Virgin Mother of God, has always been held by the Church in the highest esteem, and We welcome the opportunity of recalling his merits in this brief Letter…He was, as Our saintly Predecessor Agatho proclaimed, ‘a defender of the truth’…
“The writings of Francis de Sales, filled with celestial doctrine are a bright light in the Church, pointing out to souls an easy and safe way to arrive at the perfection of a Christian life.” (Breviarium Romanum, 29 January, lect. VI.) Born: 1567 Died: 1622 Beatified: 1661 by Pope Alexander VII Canonized: 1665 by…
On May 30, 1990, a grievously depressed teenager hurled himself from the balcony of his apartment in Mexico City, plunging 30’ to the pavement below. He suffered life-threatening head injuries and the doctors gave him a zero chance of survival. Hoping against hope, his family prayed urgently to Juan Diego for a miracle. Ten days…
by Joan Windham Our contributor Dr. Kwasniewski suggested that we publish this chapter from Sixty Saints for Boys by Joan Windham, in honor of the feast of the great saint of Tours, the first confessor to be liturgically honored in the history of the Church. We express our thanks to Angelico Press for allowing us…
As could be expected in any age, no matter how rotten the circumstances, the Lord continues to raise up men and women who have the traits of holiness. Two well-known examples are Blessed Chiara Badano (1971–1990) and Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991–2006). Does the fact that they lived exclusively within the sphere of the Novus Ordo…
It’s hard to be a Catholic today. Every time you turn on the news it seems that there’s another statue being defaced or a crucifix being vandalized or a church being set ablaze. Just the other day, a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was smashed to the ground in broad daylight in a Brooklyn,…
