The news would have seemed unthinkable a decade ago, but it seems that here we are, in the Year of Our Lord 2022, once more facing the scourge of polio. Officials have said that it is possible that hundreds of people in the state have gotten polio and don’t know it. Read more…
Lots of people don’t realize that though she was beloved since her own time and popularly declared a saint, it wasn’t until 2012, when Pope Benedict XVI prepared to name her a Doctor of the Church (only the fourth female so recognized) that Hildegard was formally proclaimed a saint. Announcing Read more…
The Archdiocese of New Orleans gives us gives us this lovely portrait of Venerable Pierre Toussaint, whose cause for sainthood has been languishing for too long.I recall telling my son, when he was in the third grade, that Toussaint might “soon be a saint.” My son is 35 years old Read more…
It was a great pleasure to be asked to blurb the latest edition in Ave Maria Press’ “30 Days With a Great Spiritual Teacher” series of small devotionals. This one, Set Aside Every Fear, features the writings of Catherine of Siena, and her words worked powerfully on me, and so Read more…
If this feels “long” to you, you can get the shorter version here In general when on social media, I have tried to have a care, and to say what I mean with sincerity and clarity, and I’ve been told that I manage to do so with some success, most Read more…
I realize I don’t blog much these days — perhaps it’s true that blogs are dead — but it feels like I should at least make some effort, here, before the thing withers and fades like the grass that is all flesh… So… couple things… 1) My husband has advised Read more…
Today’s feastday brings us to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, or “Mother Seton” as she is also known. Over at the site for her National Shrine, I argue that he is very much someone we moderns can turn to for spiritual companionship in 2019: How relatable is St. Elizabeth Ann to Read more…
To be perfectly honest, I approached writing my first piece for Word on Fire Ministries with a bit of trepidation — the old fear and trembling — both because I wanted to do right by this saint, and because it’s my first piece for Word on Fire Ministries, and I Read more…