From Season to Season

Marie Rose Julie Billiart was born in Picardy in 1751. An intelligent and devout child, she was forced to perform heavy manual labor to support her impoverished family. After making a private vow of chastity when she was fourteen, she worked among the poor children within her parish, teaching catechism and visiting the sick. In 1773, she witnessed the attempted murder of her father, and as a result she developed a nervous paralysis that gradually prevented her from walking and caused her severe pain. She was an invalid by the age of thirty, but from her bed she carried on an apostolate of prayer and spiritual counsel to the many men and women who sought her advice and direction. During the French Revolution she was accused of harboring priests, but she was saved from the authorities by friends who helped her escape to Compiègne. Her illness continued to worsen, and for several months she was unable to speak. Following the end of the Revolution, Julie resumed her teaching and, gat...

Shortly after he arrived at a compound for patients of Hansen’s Disease (a leper colony) in India, Doctor Paul Brand , a specialist in hands and tendons, quietly slipped into a community meeting, sitting on a mat behind the group in the courtyard. All around were smells of disease and decay, of cooking spices, and medical ointments. His eyes were drawn to the patients’ hands, most of which had missing or deformed fingers that were turned in—hands that were often called “lepers’ claws.” Some of the patients were sitting on their hands or trying to keep them hidden. When the patients realized Doctor Brand was there, they asked him to speak. So, moving to the center of the group, he began by saying, “I am a hand surgeon. So, when I meet people, I can’t help but look at their hands. [Palm readers claim] that they can look at your future by looking at your hands. I can tell your past. For instance, I can tell what your trade has been by the position of the callouses and the condition...