From Season to Season

I will now praise the godly, our ancestors, in their own time, The abounding glory of the Most High’s portion, his own part, since the days of old. —Sirach 44:1-2 Knowing our family stories from the past is an important part of understanding who we are today. This is as true of the Church, as it is of your own family. Although we most often think of the saints as the figures of our “family” history who left the most important mark on the Church, it’s important to realize that the life of every Christian forms an essential part of our family’s story. Among those we hold most dear are those saints honored as “Doctors of the Church.” This select group of 36 saints includes some of the greatest minds in the Church’s history, such as Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Hildegarde of Bingen, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Francis de Sales, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. But this list also includes saints who are less-known but whose contributions to our understan...

I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. —Galatians 2:19b-20 When I was growing up, my grandparents kept a rather large medal of Saint Christopher in the glove compartment of their car. Like countless Christians over the centuries, they had a notion that Christopher was the “saint of travelers” and that it was good to have him around, but that seemed to be as far as their devotion to Saint Christopher extended. I imagine that, among those honored as part of the “great cloud of witnesses” (cf. Hebrews 12:1), Christopher is probably one of the least understood saints, especially in these decades after the Second Vatican Council. His story was once well-known… Once upon a time, a thief and robber—and a giant—Christopher (or Reprobus as he was originally named) was a fierce man who dedicated his life to seekin...

"I clasp the newspaper to my heart like a Bible. I weep over the tragedy of human life. My candle flickers in the darkness of the night. I am trying for an hour of vigil for my dear broken world. God, my life is here before you like clay, but I don't feel very pliable. I feel angry. This morning with Psalm 102 I prayed, 'The children of those who serve you shall dwell secure.' I smiled a cynical smile. I like to take the Scriptures seriously, but God, we both know this isn't true. In the shadows of this night I try to make some sense of this Psalm message. So many people who serve you do not dwell secure, and neither do their children. I glance again at the paper. I see the poverty, the wars, the enslavements of the human person. I see, in may instances, the injustice people have to suffer simply because they are trying to serve you. I see the immense helplessness that so many people experience in the face of unjust systems. I see people getting rich from other p...

My newest article for Aleteia​ celebrates Our Lady of Einsiedeln, whose feast is celebrated on July 16 : "It is significant that St. Luke tells us of Mary turning to prayer in times of great change, challenge, and possibility. She was sustained by the public, liturgical prayer of her Jewish faith, but beyond that, we are also given glimpses into Mary’s faith through her openness to what God was asking of her and her moments of prayer themselves." To read the full article, click here .

Paul chose Silas and departed after being commended by the brothers to the Lord. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia bringing strength to the churches. — Acts 15:40-41 I didn’t always have the name “Silas.” In fact, for the first 25 years of my life, I wasn’t even aware that there was a saint by the name of Silas. The only Silases I knew of were George Elliot’s Silas Marner and Dan Brown’s menacing monk in the DaVinci Code . However, as I was preparing to make my first vows as a Benedictine monk in 2004, I was faced with the challenge of discerning three names to present to the abbot, one of which he would choose to be my religious name. I had settled on my first choice, but was completely undecided about choices two and three. A week or so before I had to present my selections, I came across the website of an Anglican parish in London: Saint Silas the Martyr. I was struck by two things. First, I’d never heard of Saint Silas and, second, I really liked the name. And so I...

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the L ord has anointed me; He sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the L ord and a day of vindication by our God. —Isaiah 61:1-2   Bernardino Luigi Realino was born in Carpi, Italy, in 1530. The son of a wealthy and influential family, he attended the academy in Modena, Italy, and went on to study the arts and medicine in Bologna. After finishing his studies, he considered becoming a physician. Instead, he chose to study canon and civil law (apparently, at the request of a lady he had fallen in love with and who thought he would have made a good lawyer). For his part, Bernardino recognized that his legal studies would give him a solid foundation for a career in government or public administration. After completing his doctorate in 1556, he became an auditor and general superint...