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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreSaint 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.
Read MoreFascinating 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.
Read MoreA 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…
Little biographical data is available for Blessed Michael Giedroyc, but we do know that he was physically handicapped and that this caused him great suffering during his lifetime. But, despite his difficulties, Blessed Michael coped well, due in part to his rich spiritual life.
Read MoreFirst reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter,…
Saints Philip and James share a feast day because their relics were brought to Rome together in early May. We know nothing more about either saint than what is found in the Scriptures. There we are told that they were apostles, and tradition has it that they were both martyred.
Read MoreA reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 16:1-10
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a…
A reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 1 Cor 15:1-8
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 15:7-21
After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters,…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 15:1-6
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 15:1-6
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 14:19-28
In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and won over the crowds. They stoned…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 14:5-18
There was an attempt in Iconium by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders,…
First reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 13:44-52
On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 13:26-33
When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue: “My brothers, children of the…
The following is a guest post by Donnie Summerlin, a Digital Projects Archivist at the University of Georgia Libraries in Athens, GA, and by Kerry Huller, a Digital Conversion Specialist in the Serial and Government Publications Division at the Library of Congress. The University of Georgia is the National Digital Newspaper Program awardee for the state of Georgia.
Read MoreA reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 12:24—13:5a
The word of God continued to spread and grow.
After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission, they…
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Acts 11:1-18
The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too…
First reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 4:8-12
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 9:31-42
The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. She was being built up and…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 9:1-20
Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Get up and head south on the road that…
On the afternoon of February 28, 1844, President John Tyler and roughly 400 guests were enjoying a cruise down the Potomac River on the new US Navy warship USS Princeton, when the mammoth, 13-ton naval gun on board, known as the “Peacemaker,” exploded. The disaster came close to costing the president his life, but instead it led to his marriage.
Read MoreA reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 8:1b-8
There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles Acts 7:51—8:1a
Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and…
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 6:8-15
Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
“We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God.”
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
“This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 6:22-29
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
This is an example of how Jesus corrects the attitude of the people, of the crowd, because as they were journeying they gradually strayed from that first moment, from the first spiritual consolation, and took a path that was not the right one, a path more worldly than evangelical.
This makes us understand how many times we ourselves have started out on the path of following Jesus, with the values of the Gospel, and then halfway down the road we get another idea, we see some sign or other, and we stray and conform to something more temporal, more material, more worldly – let’s say – and we lose the memory of that first enthusiasm we had when we heard Jesus speak. The Lord always makes us return to that first encounter, the first moment when He looked at us, He spoke to us and He inspired in us the desire to follow Him. This is a grace to ask of the Lord, because in life we will always have this temptation to stray because we see something else: “But that will go really well, but that’s a good idea”, and we distance ourselves. The grace to return to the first call, the first moment: to not forget, to not forget my history, when Jesus looked at me with love and said to me, “This is your path”; when Jesus, through many people, made me understand what the path of the Gospel is, and not other paths that are more worldly, with other values. To return to the first encounter. (Santa Marta, 27 April 2020)
Read MoreA diocesan priest with a great devotion to Mary, Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort attracted many people to the faith by his preaching. He lived a life of notable poverty and simplicity.
Read MoreSaint Pedro de San José Betancur was a Secular Franciscan who founded a hospital, a shelter, and a school for the poor in Guatemala City. He also founded a religious congregation for men.
Read MoreMost likely the first of the four Gospels, the Gospel of Mark is brief and pointed. Saint Mark has one goal, to present Jesus as God’s crucified messiah, and he fulfills that goal concisely. Saint Mark’s Gospel seems to have been one of the sources used by Saints Matthew and Luke for their works.
Read MoreA long life is not necessary for holiness, as Saint Teresa of Los Andes proves. Not quite 20 years old when she died, she left a legacy rich in virtue—rich enough for her to be considered a saint.
Read MoreSaint Stanislaus, the bishop of Kraków, was martyred for denouncing political and social corruption. He became the patron saint of Poland, and remains a popular saint throughout Eastern Europe.
Read More