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Spirituality
St. John the Baptist: ‘Graced by God’
John isn’t exactly a funny name to us but when St. John the Baptist was born, his relatives were scratching their heads over it. “Where did that come from? Nobody else in the family has that name.” “Elizabeth dear, shouldn’t the boy be…
A guide to growing in gratitude
If you are like me, it is easy to forget how “God provides” if you are too focused on others’ blessings. We live in a culture that incessantly prompts us to want more and more of what others have – and INSTANTLY! Temptations are thrown in…
KEY FIGURES OF THE REFORMATION – STS. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA & FRANCIS XAVIER
by Fr. Dwight Longenecker At the beginning of the 16th century, the kingdoms in Spain were at war. A young nobleman named Inigo Lopez de Loyola was excited by the romance and bravery of battle. Longing to do great deeds, he played…
KEY FIGURES OF THE REFORMATION – ELIZABETH I
By Fr. Dwight Longernecker Very few historical figures have been as hated and admired as England’s Queen Elizabeth I. On the one hand, she is portrayed as “Gloriana” — Good Queen Bess or the “Virgin Queen.” She is the noble and virtuous…
KEY FIGURES OF THE REFORMATION — ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
Five hundred years ago, the Church and the world plummeted into crisis. The Protestant Revolution split Europe into warring factions. In the wake of Martin Luther’s preaching, Germany erupted in a revolt among the peasants that…
KEY FIGURES OF THE REFORMATION – ST. THOMAS MORE
By Fr. Dwight Longenecker high drama of King Henry VIII’s love life has provided material for a seemingly endless stream of books, novels, films, and television series. Henry VIII’s six marriages were swept up in the hurricane of…
KEY FIGURES OF THE REFORMATION: PIUS V, THE PIOUS WARRIOR
By Fr. Dwight Longenecker By the middle of the sixteenth century Catholics in Europe must have thought the entire world was falling apart. Nations that had been Catholic for a thousand years had broken away from the Church. Protestants and…
KEY FIGURES OF THE REFORMATION – HENRY IV OF FRANCE
By Fr. Dwight Longenecker By the middle of the sixteenth century Europe was torn apart by the religious divisions caused by the Protestant Reform. Religion and politics were tangled in a web of power politics, family dynamics, personal…
Evidence for the Resurrection
Did Jesus really rise from the dead — or was it just a lovely story devised by his disciples to keep his teachings alive? St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain” (1 Corinthians 15:17). If it…
Was it worth it?
This is the tale of two holy lives and two ... not so holy ones. Sts. Theodulus and Agathopodes (died 303, feast day April 5) were members of the clergy in the church at Thessalonica (aka Salonica) in Greece. The bustling city was part of…
