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 [...]
It is impossible to know from external appearances what kinds of interior burdens people carry with them throughout life. In fact, if we knew the inside story of most people’s lives, we would gain a deep reverence for them and a respect for their perseverance through the difficulties that only they have experienced and [...]
The 19th century poet Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) gave the world a great gift in her masterful poem about the birth of Christ, “In the Bleak Midwinter”. Certain verses of the poem are immediately familiar to most Christians through its celebrated musical setting by Gustav Holst (1874-1934). Both poet and composer were English-born despite their [...]
The life story of the German Franciscan priest, Fr. Gereon Goldmann, is one for the ages. Some of his tales of miraculous escapes from certain death, victory in the face of overwhelming odds, and the power of faith and prayer are so extraordinary that one must see them in the perspective of a whole [...]
Living in a politically and socially divided country, it is not easy to look with compassion on our enemies. According to the logic of the present cancel culture, enemies are to be destroyed, reviled and defeated, not forgiven…unless your soul is as pure as that of Maria Goretti. Then, your attitude toward your enemies [...]
During the Advent season, we bring you an inspirational piece of Renaissance music that is based on a quote from St. John’s gospel. Nearly five hundred years old, this hymn has a timeless beauty that will be a gift to our world for as long as there are voices to sing it. But first [...]
The title of this article is a quote from a favorite book of mine by Fr. Thomas Dubay, entitled The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and Theology Meet (Ignatius Press: 1999). In it he discusses the vast wonder of the created world. He, more than anyone I’ve read, sees the natural world as a [...]