Verso l’Alto- Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

In the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, one is never far from mountains. The district owes its name to a contraction of an Italian phrase, “ai piedi del monte”-”at the base of  the mountain.”  (1) Turin is nestled against the northern bank of the Po River, whose headwaters are in the Pian del Re on [...]

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Canadian Martyrs Part 3- Washed in the Blood of the Lamb

‘Huron Carol’ is performed and arranged by Heather Dale — www.HeatherDale.com (from her CD “This Endris Night”). Used with permission.
News of gruesome deaths of Jesuits in Canada failed to deter still more priests and donnés alike from recognizing Jesus’ summons to apostleship: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he [...]

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Canadian Martyrs Part 2- No Reward but Paradise

Hope dawned brightly over Huronia as the Jesuit missions gained stability. Ste.-Marie, the hub of the missionary efforts in New France, had been established in 1639, (53) and the evangelism of the likes of Fathers Jean de Brébeuf, Antoine Daniel, and Charles Garnier had begun to bear fruit. With the Hurons still reeling from disease, [...]

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Canadian Martyrs Part 1- A Holy and Sacred Temple

One of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one who knows.’ Then the elder said to me, ‘These are the ones who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made [...]

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‘To Win Them All for Christ’- Blessed Laura Montoya Upegui

Colombia is blessed with abundant natural richness and diversity. Over one tenth of all known species of organisms in the world are found there. She is the only South American nation with both Pacific and Caribbean coastline. Also, three major ranges of the Andes mountains merge into a single continental backbone in southwestern Colombia, but [...]

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Ste. Thérèse of Lisieux Part 3- Entering into Life

Happy New Year 2008! In this third and final section to conclude my series of articles on the life of Ste. Thérèse of Lisieux, my hope is to convey her virtue, her love, and her holiness that are all amazing, but also to show her humanity that is real and moving. As I wrote the [...]

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Ste. Thérèse of Lisieux Part 2- I Just Love Him

The first part of this series of articles on Ste. Thérèse of Lisieux began with details of the early years of Louis Martin and of Zélie Guérin, the parents of Ste. Thérèse.
Sadly, Zélie died after a prolonged battle with breast cancer in 1877, at the age of 46 years. Following his wife’s passing, Louis moved [...]

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Ste. Thérèse of Lisieux Part 1- Her Family

In my most recent post, on the first 17 verses from Luke 7, I focused on at least two major themes: on healing whose fullness comes through Jesus Christ, and on the role of a prophet.
Since then I have started yet another philosophy course, entitled Greek Philosophy in the Christian Tradition, and once again my [...]

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The Universal Brother- Blessed Charles de Foucauld

«Mon Père, je remets mon esprit entre vos mains.» (“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”) (Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:6)
Blessed Charles de Foucauld led into his prayer of abandonment, which I included in my previous post, with this quotation from Scripture that is a very appropriate summary of Charles’ own life. Charles de Foucauld [...]

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