The men of that [last] generation will have no deeds whatever, but there will come upon them temptation, and those who are worthy in this temptation will be higher than us and our fathers.—St. Ischyrion of Egypt, early Desert Father. Recently, I was thumbing through my friend’s Saint Andrew Daily Missal. The middle of that layman’s missal has a surprising history of the Catholic Church’s saints and martyrs. It describes the early Church saints in these shocking terms: “With very few exceptions, such as St. Gregory the Wonderworker (November 17th), St. Mary Magdalene (July 22nd), St. Martha (July 29th) and St. Petronilla (May 31st) the saints of the first four [...]

She is the only saint I have ever heard of with so many names. Perhaps it's because she was a Greek-Catholic who grew up in Arabic-speaking Palestine in the 19th century, almost got married-off in Egypt and later joined a French Carmel but took her final vows in India.  This little Palestinian from the 19th century eventually got canonized and is now known as St. Mariam Baouardy and St. Mariam of Jesus Crucified (her religious name) and The Lily of Palestine (her devotional name.) As you probably know by now, I spent July 2025 living with Eastern Catholics in the Old City Jerusalem. (See the above picture of my balcony [...]

Having come from the charismatic movement before being a traditional Catholic, I still talk to charismatic Catholics and admire some of them.  Heavily influenced by the American Pentecostal (Protestant) movement, most charismatic Catholics today have a great devotion for the Apostle Paul.  You can't fault them for this. In fact, besides the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Paul is still my favorite saint.  Thus, I want readers to see before continuing that there is clearly no problem in having tremendous devotion to the Apostle Paul (the Apostle as many later saints and Popes have dubbed him.) But some charismatic Catholics today can be heard saying things like "I love St. Paul [...]

p/c St. Anastasia, by America Needs Fatima. In the early 2000s, when I was in Rome, I went looking for a chapel of perpetual-adoration in which I could pray at night.  The only one I found was the Basilica of St. Anastasia, located between the Circus Maximus and the Palatine Hill.  Unlike the museumesque secularism that pervades most Roman Churches during the day, this quiet adoration chapel of St. Anastasia was always filled at night with faith-filled Romans, few as they might have been in that quiet chapel with a monstrance lit up flickering candles. The Basilica is still open.  However, that perpetual-adoration chapel of St. Anastasia was closed down [...]

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.—2 Tim 3:12-13. The word for "all" above in Greek is πάντες or pantes in the Latin alphabet.  Just like the English above, all obviously means everyone.  That is, every single person who desires to live a pious life in Christ will be persecuted, even if they are not looking for it.  When seen from the point of view of heaven, this is more of a promise than a threat! Notice also that imposters will go from "bad to worse." [...]

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, translated by W.H. Shewring, London, 1931. The Passion of the Saints Vibia Perpetua, was executed in the arena in Carthage on 7 March 203. The account of her martyrdom [technically a Passion] is apparently historical and has special interest as much of it was written, in Latin by Perpetua herself before her death. This makes it one of the earliest pieces of writing by a Christian woman. PROLOGUE. If ancient examples of faith kept, both testifying the grace of God and working the edification of man, have to this end been set in writing, that by their reading as though by the showing of [...]

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’—St. Matthew 11:7-10. We will look at five ways in which the holiness of St. John [...]