Two Tables, One Banquet
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Scripture, and the Eucharist
One day around 1780, an Episcopalian stepmother opened her King James Bible and introduced her stepdaughter to Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . .” Though the two were not close and the woman was preoccupied with many cares, the moment was extraordinarily significant. Continue »
Guardian of His Flock
Saint Thomas Becket (1118 - 1170)
After six years in exile in France, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was back in England and headed once more for his cathedral. His flock rejoiced at his homecoming, lining the road before him with their cloaks and crying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Continue »
St. Stephen, First Martyr
December 26 &mdash Feast Day
When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew 10:19-20) Continue »
Pregnancy and Birth
An excerpt from Mary and the Christian Life
The gospels tell us nothing about Mary's pregnancy except for its very beginning and its end. But without straying into pious fantasy or fiction, and since nothing indicates that hers was in any way not a normal pregnancy, it's not inappropriate to meditate on the not-so-simple truth of the Word made Flesh growing among us. Continue »
St. Andrew the Apostle
November 30, Feast of St. Andrew
Andrew's heart burned with love for Jesus, to the point that he was honored to share in the same death on the cross. Do you desire to love Jesus more intensely? Continue »
The Undercover Priest
Blessed Miguel Augustín Pro (1891-1927)
In February 1927, with one stroke of the pen, Mexican President General Plutarco Elias Calles turned every priest in his country into an outlaw. He ordered them to leave their posts, wherever they were, and to report immediately to Mexico City. When they refused to obey, they faced arrest, imprisonment, and even death. Most went into hiding. Continue »
Blessed Is She Who Believed
Excerpt fromTreasuring the Mysteries of Christ with Mary
Men may work from sun to sun," says the old proverb, "but a woman's work is never done." Has there ever been a woman who lived out these words more than the Virgin Mary? Continue »
I Can Only Adore the Designs of God
The Life of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
Kaskasia, Michigamea, Cahokia—strange-sounding Indian names peppered the priest's conversation as he sat in the Duchesnes' study in France and told of his work in far away North America. As young Philippine listened to Father Jean-Baptist Aubert, a new desire began to burn in her heart: to be a missionary among the Native Americans. Continue »
A Moment of Ecumenical Grace
The Story of the "Four Immortal Chaplains"
Early on the morning of February 3, 1943, survivors from the torpedoed U.S. troopship Dorchester shivered in lifeboats as they watched their ship slide slowly into the nerve-deadening cold of the North Atlantic. Peering through darkness occasionally lit by waving flashlights, they perceived four figures standing close together in a circle on deck. Continue »
Solemnity of All Saints
A Meditation
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4) Continue »