Parenting Lessons from the Saints
Down-to-Earth Help for Raising Our Children
About twelve years ago, St. Joseph came into my life in a new way. Not long before, I had taken the plunge from singlehood to married life, jumping into the deep end of the pool by marrying a widower with six children. Continue »
From Slave to Saint
The Story of St. Josephine Bakhita
The girl was walking in the fields some ways off from her home, when two strangers appeared and asked her to pick them some fruit. Brought up to show courtesy to adults, the nine-year-old hurried to obey. Not until she was in the forest did she realize it was a trick. Continue »
A Samurai’s Noble Death
Saint Paul Miki (1564-1597)
Paul Miki saw sparkling Nagasaki harbor coming into view. The 600-mile journey from the Japanese capital of Kyoto through the cold and snow was nearly over. Continue »
The Mystery of Conversion.
Our Choice and God’s Grace.
Special things happen when people gather to celebrate the Sabbath. On one particular day around the year a.d. 50, a group of women gathered by the river outside their city of Philippi to observe the Sabbath. Continue »
Paul of Tarsus
A Life of St. Paul
The story and legacy of St. Paul loom so large, both in the New Testament and in the history of the church, that we can sometimes lose sight of the man in the midst of the story. Even Paul’s most famous moment—his sudden conversion to Christianity—is wrapped in mystery. Writing about it himself, Paul simply says: Continue »
You Have Written Well of Me
The Story of St. Thomas Aquinas
It is an early winter day in Naples, over seven hundred years ago. Two men in the distinctive black and white robes of the Dominican order make their way to a small chapel. One is a large man with sharp, intelligent eyes. His clothing is frayed and poorly fitted. The other man is younger, an obviously attentive friend. Continue »
A Magnet for Christ
Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
If there had been a bestseller book list in 1609, Introduction to the Devout Life would have been at the top. Perhaps it was unusual even in the seventeenth century for a spiritual book to become so popular, but there was a reason that this one—written by the well-loved Bishop of Geneva, Francis de Sales—hit a chord with so many. Continue »
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 »