For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”
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Saint Sharbel Makhlouf was a Lebanese Maronite Rite monk, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches who follow a slightly different liturgy and canon law. We in the Latin or Roman Rite often forget that we have sisters and brothers in the East. Saint Sharbel is a good reminder of the wider Church.
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Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
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A reading from th the Song of Songs SGS 3:1-4B
The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves– I sought…
Saint Camillus de Lellis was rejected by the Capuchins because of an ongoing medical condition. Against the advice of a friend, he founded a religious community on his own to care for the sick. These men proved to be invaluable during the plague, caring for the worst of its victims.
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Applications are now open for Philip Lee Phillips Society Fellowship at the Library of Congress. Scholars of the history of cartography, Geographic Information Science (GIS), digital humanities or related fields are encouraged to apply for this fellowship utilizing the collections of the Geography and Map Division.
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This post features selected maps that were created under the auspices of the Federal Writers’ Project.
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We celebrate two great saints today, Saints Peter and Paul. Saint Peter is often considered the Apostle to the Jews and Saint Paul to the Gentiles (based, most probably, on his extensive travels among the Gentiles). Together they witnessed to the budding of Christianity, and both laid down their lives for the faith.
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Saint Cyril of Alexandria was instrumental in the Church’s doctrinal statement that there is one person but two natures in Christ. The practical implication of this teaching is that we believe that Jesus is truly God and truly human.
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Saint John Fisher’s name is usually associated with Saint Thomas More and their difficulty with King Henry VIII. A bishop and cardinal, John Fisher refused to agree with Henry’s divorce and remarriage, as well as the idea that the king, rather than the pope, was the head of the Church in England. He was imprisoned and eventually martyred.
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At a time when rigorist ideas were rampant in the seminaries of Italy, Saint Joseph Cafasso proved to be a moderate, leading the students to the best of Catholic thought without going to extremes. He also encouraged them to join the Secular Franciscans and develop a love for the Eucharist.
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Known for his long hours of prayer and notable ability to communicate, John Francis Regis served the people of France during a “dry” period, when the faith and the Church seemed in decline. He conducted missions to counteract the malaise.
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Saint Albert Chmielowski was a talented painter and a Secular Franciscan. In mid-life, he founded the Brothers of the Third Order of Saint Francis, Servants to the Poor, who worked with the poor and homeless. Known also as the Albertine Brothers, this community was renowned for depending completely on alms.
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An insight into early 18th century trade in the East-Indies focusing on the English East Indies Company and the 1721-1723 trade voyage of the ship Townsend revealed through the maps of British cartographer Herman Moll.
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Maps showing cod and beavers in an 18th-century atlas project imperial power and economic might.
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Saint Joachima was a wife, mother, widow, and founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity. Used to taking care of others, she experienced total dependency on others toward the end of her life.
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Saint Ephrem was ordained a deacon, but refused ordination to the priesthood. He was a teacher, defender of the faith, and a prolific writer. He refuted many heresies of his day, often through the lyrics of hymns that he wrote.
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Published in 1978, Paul Avrich’s “An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre” was the first substantial biography of Voltairine de Cleyre (1866-1912), an influential member of the American labor movement at the turn of the 20th century. Donated to the Library of Congress in 1986, the biography refers to de Cleyre as “one of the most interesting if neglected figures in the history of American radicalism.”
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First reading from the book of the Prophet Hosea Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9
Thus says the LORD: When Israel was a child I loved him, out of…
Today’s feast is about both two women and two men. The Blessed Virgin Mary goes to visit Elizabeth to assist her in her final days of pregnancy. But as she greets Elizabeth, the babe in Elizabeth’s womb—John the Baptist—leaps for joy at the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb. Great mysteries of life are at play here.
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Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot, egresses the Apollo 10 spacecraft during recovery operations in the South Pacific. U.S. Navy underwater demolition team swimmers assisted in the recovery operations. Already in the life raft were astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (left), commander; and John W. Young, command module pilot. The three crewmen were picked up by helicopter and flown to the prime recovery ship, USS Princeton.
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For many years after his student days, Saint Philip Neri lived as a layman engaged in prayer and apostolic works in Rome. During this time, he attracted many to join him—poor and rich. After ordination, he became a noted confessor and eventually founded the Oratory, a religious institute, with some of his followers.
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Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi is known as the “ecstatic saint” because of her unusual gifts from God. To safeguard the authenticity of her visions, her confessor had her dictate them to fellow sisters. The result was five volumes encompassing ecstasies, letters, and inspirational sayings. But her life was not all sweetness; she also battled with temptations.
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A reading from the Letter of James Jas 4:13-17
Beloved: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,…
Nighttime, ground-level view of the Apollo 10 space vehicle on Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center. This photograph of the 363-feet tall Apollo/Saturn V stack was taken during pull back of the mobile service structure. The Apollo 10 crew was astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan.
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A reading from the Book of Genesis Gn 3:9-15, 20
After Adam had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to him and asked him, “Where…
Saint Paschal Baylon was born into the Golden Age of the Church in Spain: the 16th century. He worked as a shepherd where he had ample time for prayer and mortification.
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First reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 2:1-11
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there…
Saint John I served as pope for about three years before he died of maltreatment at the hands of the emperor’s men. He had to face the Arian controversy and negotiate with the eastern part of the empire concerning the treatment of heretics.
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A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 25:13b-21
King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea on a visit to Festus. Since they spent several days…
A married man known for his love of prayer, Saint Isidore the Farmer is one of the five saints of Spain. Saint Isidore worked on the estate of a wealthy landowner and thus attained the title of farmer.
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A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 22:30; 23:6-11
Wishing to determine the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the commander…
Acts of the Apostles records that Saint Matthias was selected by the early Church to replace Judas Iscariot in the ranks of the apostles. We know little more about him except that he was a witness to Jesus from his baptism to his ascension.
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A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 20:28-38
At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:15-17, 20-26
Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters (there was a group of…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 19:1-8
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus…
First reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 18:23-28
After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country…
Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
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Saint John of Avila had some pretty impressive friends—Francis Borgia, Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila—to name just a few. These saints, along with John, were all part of a reform of the Church in Spain. Little did they know at the time the holiness of their group.
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Fascinating maps at various scales tell the story of the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, a pivotal moment in the Civil War and the contested fight for control of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.
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A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 18:9-18
One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, “Do not…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 18:1-8
Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
After Paul’s escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 16:22-34
The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas, and the magistrates had them…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 16:11-15
We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to…