Eleven of the twelve Apostles betrayed, denied, or abandoned the Lord Jesus in His moment of deepest need – Calvary. Mary, His mother, stood by Him until the bitter end. According to John’s Gospel (19:25-27), Our Lady stood by the Cross of Jesus during the entire length of His suffering. Tradition adds that she [...]
“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 [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Have you ever found yourself so transfixed by the beauty of something that you become totally absorbed in it, or found yourself listening to a single piece of music over and over because it speaks so deeply to your heart and soul? That is what happens to me each time I listen to the [...]
Sometimes people have a certain intuition, a premonition, of their own imminent deaths. This may take the form of a vague sense of the approaching end, or a specific sign, but some seem to know it in a way that transcends natural knowledge. It is a distinct type of spiritual knowledge beckoning one’s attention [...]
The life of the magnificent young jazz/blues artist, Eva Cassidy, was sadly cut short by melanoma in 1996 at the age of 33. Her rendition of “Over the Rainbow” was recorded just nine months before her death, when she was battling the illness that would soon take her life. That fact makes this brilliant [...]
Switzerland is like a hidden jewel in the middle of Europe, a mountainous land with a highly secretive banking system and a tradition of remaining neutral during wars. The Swiss culture has given the world exquisite chocolates, precision watches, cuckoo clocks, the Swiss Army knife, and even the modern marvel of Velcro! What an [...]