Young Patrick had a choice. He could have prided himself on his accomplishments, like the praying Pharisee in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:9-14). After all, he had shown great courage and survived a terrible ordeal: Kidnapped by slave traders as a teenager, Patrick made a daring escape and returned safe and sound to his home and family. He rightfully could have enjoyed fame as a local hero, resting on his laurels and turning his back on the harrowing experiences of his youth. Continue »

If chronic poor health had not prevented her, Elisabeth Leseur, a French woman who died in 1914 at the age of forty-eight, would have devoted time and talents to service of the needy. Continue »

What is a prophet? A strident voice denouncing injustice? A wild-eyed visionary calling sinners to repentance? These images hardly fit Katharine Drexel, a refined, wealthy woman who disliked being in the public eye and felt strongly attracted to hidden prayer. And yet, like the biblical prophets of old, this self-effacing heiress became a voice in the wilderness and a countercultural witness to the gospel call to justice. Continue »

The story you are about to read is the earliest known account of a Christian martyrdom. Written about AD 156, within a year of the event it describes, it is an authentic eyewitness report of the heroic death of an elderly man named Polycarp. Continue »

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 »

Although a priest and never married, St. John Bosco (1815–1888) was a naturally gifted parent. For nearly a half-century of ministry in Turin, Italy, Don Bosco was a wonderful dad to hundreds of homeless boys. Continue »