Mary is identified in relation to her native village, Magdala, located near the Sea of Galilee, rather than in relation to a man such as her father, husband, or son, as is the case with many women who appear in the gospels and was the custom of the times. This way of identifying her suggests that she was a single woman following Jesus out of her own conviction. Continue »

If you’ve ever been tempted to think that you’re not cut out for sanctity, consider the case of Camillus of Lellis. Here is a saint—the patron of hospitals, health care workers, and the sick— whose burning love for God effected a widespread reform of patient care. Continue »

When I was growing up, my mother introduced our family to the tradition of praying Psalm 91 every evening—and it’s a good thing she did. I memorized it, and it has guided and protected me throughout my life. Continue »

Sometimes, the voice of a saint echoes clearly to us down through the centuries. As a young adult, I found myself struggling, in the ordinary way of young people, with feeling alienated from God. In a fit of teenage rebellion, I had told God to get out of my life and leave me alone. Now, entangled in patterns of sin that I was powerless to unravel, I needed God’s help but didn’t know how to get it. I didn’t even know if it was possible. Continue »

St. Anthony of Padua was a great Franciscan preacher from the Middle Ages, but he is most remembered as the finder of lost or stolen objects. Even today stories are told by people who recover lost articles following prayer for the intercession of St. Anthony. Continue »

Nothing ever happened to Matt Talbot, an ordinary Irish laborer of no great learning, no riches, no remarkable accomplishments. Continue »