The Church has always proclaimed the Cross of Christ as the mystical center of everything that exists. It is the truth of everything in the created world, the purification of the sins of all mankind, and the force of grace that conquers all evil. The Cross is easy to find, though not easy to [...]
Roman Catholics venerate the extraordinary 4th century poet and writer known as St. Ephrem the Syrian. St. Ephrem is a canonized saint in both the Roman Catholic and the Syriac Orthodox Church and was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Ephrem served as a deacon in his homeland [...]
“The prosperity of a nation is everyone’s responsibility.” ~Chinese proverb Those who have received the email newsletter of the same title are already familiar with the story of Mr. Chen. Those who have not read the newsletter can access the file in the Email Newsletter Archives of this site. If you’d like to read [...]
If you were to consult a dictionary for terms like “heroism”, “perseverance”, “loving fidelity” and “longsuffering goodness”, you would likely come across a reference to a little Chinese mother known as Mamma Martina (her Christian name). A retired Italian missionary, who personally knew Mamma Martina, worked in a parish I used to visit some [...]
Harry Clarke was his name. He was an absolute master at creating wonder with bits of colored glass and light. Even surpassing Louis Comfort Tiffany, who I consider one of the best of our age, Clarke may hold the title for the greatest stained glass artist of all time. He certainly can lay claim [...]
“Color is to the eye what music is to the ear.” ~ Louis Comfort Tiffany The name Tiffany usually calls to mind fine jewelry, which is thanks to Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), whose enterprising work established what today we know as Tiffany & Co. Historian Paul Johnson said that Charles Lewis, originally a merchant [...]
A few years ago I had the privilege of standing in the sacristy of a Ukrainian church watching a priest friend of mine prepare for Mass. The wonderful liturgies of the Church’s eastern rites (the Byzantine, Maronite, Ukrainian and others) express a richness and complexity of worship that contrasts with the simplicity of the [...]
The first recorded piece of human art is believed to be a tiny, 30,000-year-old sculpture of a goddess found in Australia (called the Venus of Willendorf). The extraordinary Lascaux caves in southern France give us a record of Stone Age man (15,000 years ago) telling of his hunting exploits in remarkable cave drawings. From [...]
His name was Verrocchio (sounds like Pinocchio). That’s the short answer to our title question. Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488) was a Florentine master of arts and the tutor to the young Leonardo da Vinci. The longer description of Verrocchio is quite engaging. He was a man who had an enormous influence on the world [...]
Do angels intervene in sacraments? We know from our earliest instructions in the faith that angels exist and are concerned about our welfare. Anyone who has learned the traditional Guardian Angel Prayer (“Angel of God”) knows that they are sent “to light, to guard, to rule and guide” us throughout life. (See the text [...]