58 results total, viewing 1 - 10
St. Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297)
Feast day: Feb. 22
In his biography of St. Margaret, Francois Mauriac, the French author and Nobel Laureate, tells us that as a child Margaret possessed a …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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2/15/12
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127 views
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St. Sebastian (died c. 300)
Feast day: January 20
The first Christians saw a connection between the courage and endurance of the martyrs and the courage and endurance of athletes. In his …
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By Thomas J. Craughwell
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1/11/12
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590 views
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If you attend the traditional Latin Mass (also known as the extraordinary form), or attend a Mass where the priest prays the first eucharistic prayer (also known as the Roman Canon), you will hear …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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12/15/11
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673 views
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There are two reasons why St. René Goupil is the patron of anesthesiologists: first, because he had been a student of medicine in France, and second, in tribute to the terrible sufferings he endured …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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10/12/11
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760 views
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Even among saints there is a hierarchy in which martyrs and mystics seem to get the lion’s share of attention. It’s only natural — we’re drawn to the drama and heroism of martyrdom and the …
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8/5/11
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1144 views
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“Whoever wonders wants to see, / Let him invoke St. Anthony.”
Yes, that’s a wretched bit of doggerel, but it is accurate. For nearly 800 years St. Anthony of Padua has enjoyed an …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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6/1/11
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812 views
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At the risk of outraging my fellow Irishmen, I must say candidly that St. Patrick was not Irish. He was a Briton, born in a town called Bannaventa near the Irish Sea and close to the border of …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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3/17/11
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993 views
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In the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Health of the sick” is one of the many titles under which we invoke Our Lady. In 1992, inspired by this title, Pope John Paul II established the feast …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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2/9/11
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1120 views
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Military service was a thorny issue for some of the early Christians. Some held that based on what Christ said to St. Peter, “All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52), …
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By Thomas J. Craughwell
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10/28/10
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695 views
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St. Rocco’s story dates from the time when the Black Death first ravaged Europe. The epidemic arrived in October 1347 when a ship full of sick and dying sailors docked in Messina, Italy. Physicians …
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By Thomas Craughwell
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8/5/10
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1201 views
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