Today, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross. The feast was celebrated in Rome before the end of the 7th century. Its purpose is to commemorate the recovering of that portion of the Holy Cross which was preserved at Jerusalem, and which had fallen into the hands of the Persians. Emperor […]
Today we celebrate the optional memorial of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. Saint Nicholas of Tolentino was born in 1245 in Sant’Angelo in Pontano. His name was taken from St. Nicholas of Myra, at whose shrine his parents prayed to have a child. Nicholas became a monk at 18, and seven years later, he was ordained […]
Today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Peter Claver Saint Peter Claver was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary born in Verdú (Catalonia, Spain) who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint of slaves, the Republic of Colombia, and ministry to African Americans. After he had completed his studies, Claver entered the […]
Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The canon of scripture does not record Mary’s birth. The earliest known account of Mary’s birth is found in the Protoevangelium of James (5:2), an apocryphal text from the late second century, with her parents known as Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. […]
In a joint message for the 2021 Season of Creation, Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury stress the importance of cooperation and valuing sustainability over short-term advantages as essential parts of our common response to the threat of climate change and environmental degradation. By Benedict Mayaki, SJ “For more than […]
By Fr. Ron Rolheiser Posted September 6, 2021 Recently at a workshop, a woman shared her anxiety about the death of her brother. Her older brother had died from the Covid virus before there were vaccines for it, and had died because he had dangerously exposed himself to catching the virus. However, he had exposed […]