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 [...]
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 [...]
While doing research for a book on leadership, I came across a number of stories about the Titanic disaster in 1912 that riveted me to my seat. I had never heard of the extraordinary heroism of some of the men who went down with the ship in order to save the lives of others. [...]
One of my favorite spiritual writers is the 20th century German scholar, Romano Guardini (1885-1969). Don’t let his Italian-sounding name fool you. He was of Italian descent, but he grew up in Germany and had the penetrating intellect and organized mind of a German scholar. Guardini was a Catholic priest, a pastor, and a [...]
If you page through a traditional Catholic hymnbook you will eventually come across the name of Frederick William Faber (1814-1863) in the composer credits at the bottom of a given hymn. That would be Father Frederick Faber, English Catholic priest, convert to Catholicism, and composer of hymns extraordinaires. Fr. Faber made some of the [...]
In 1910, a newspaper column carried the following story: Jimmy, age 10, was a devoted brother to his sister, age 6. He nearly panicked when his sister fell off her bicycle and cut a large artery in her leg. The bleeding was profuse, and by the time a doctor arrived at the scene, the [...]
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 [...]