By Luke Towns … I handed my pastor the plush octopus and told him, “This is the best animal in the basket.” It was after I returned to my seat that a random thought popped into my head seemingly out of nowhere. “I want my spiritual life to be like an octopus.”
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By Sarah Levesque … St. Bernadette was born Marie-Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844. She was considered a sickly child, and had asthma. Whether due to ailments or other difficulty learning, Bernadette was unable to read, write, or learn her catechism lessons properly as a child, which delayed her First Communion. At the age of fourteen, over the course of six months, she had eighteen visions of Mary, Mother of God…
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By Cordelia Fitzgerald … First, “I will not serve!” echoed through the heavens, but the second great rebellion was silent, the fruit in the mouth of Eve speaking louder than words. Yet stronger than these rang the simple statement of a Virgin: “Be it done to me according to thy word.”
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By Caroline Liberatore … Edmund Campion is notably remembered and celebrated yearly with a feast day on December 1st. Although there are many components of his later life which we annually recall and commemorate, his entire life was remarkable upon examination.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The arc from Thanksgiving to Christmas is when the thoughtful cook will seek out MeeMaw’s cookbook to verify seasonal specialties: Waldorf salad, corn casserole, turkey fried or baked or broiled, ham fried or baked or boiled, and those old traditional dishes special to each family.
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By T.K. Wilson … Beginning in the 1600s, the Catholic Church was violently persecuted by the Vietnamese government, but that did not stop the church from growing. One of the main heroes of the Vietnamese church was Andrew Dung-Lac.
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By Sarah Levesque … Gregory of Tours was likely born in the Merovingian kingdom (now France) around the year 539. He had many important relations, which likely eventually helped secure his appointment to the bishopric. Be that as it may, Gregory was appointed bishop of Tours during the reign of King Sigebert and Queen Brunhild of East Francia in 573.
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By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … But about the nickel: last week I found a 1948 nickel in my pocket change. That I count pocket change at all dates me because almost no one else does so. This nickel and I both appeared in 1948 and both are a bit worn but still here.
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Faithful Friday: Martin Luther by Ian Wilson … Perhaps the most controversial figure in Western Christianity, Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony. His father had become prosperous in the copper industry, and made enough to give young Martin a good education.
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In the early 9th century, Princess Anna Vsevolodna was born into prominent status as the daughter of Kievan Great Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich and granddaughter of the Byzantine Emperor.
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St. Narcissus’ origins are lost to history, but he was born at the end of the first century and was appointed as the thirtieth bishop of Jerusalem around 180AD. He was known for his many virtues and his dedication to his office. During his episcopacy, there was a year that the church ran out of lamp oil.
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By T.K. Wilson … There was a dear old lady, who could never remember my name, yet she loved my brother and I, and she called me Little Snow White because of my long dark hair (not black, but very close) and pale complexion. It wouldn’t be until I was an adult that I would bear that nickname as a true badge of honor.
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An obscure man from an obscure parish who was content to be forgotten, John Ball was born in Cassington, Oxfordshire, in October 1585.
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Theodore de Beze was born on June 24, 1519, in Vezelay, France. He studied to be a lawyer then set up practice in Paris, where he also wrote poetry. At one point he became very ill and, once he recovered, he sought out the famous reformation leader John Calvin, who was living in Geneva, Switzerland. There, Beza became a professor of Greek, then he travelled Europe preaching the Protestant cause.
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By T.K. Wilson (Rated G) I’ve been noticing a trend in Western cartoons, the trend of the “misunderstood” villain. You know the ones, the ones who have such sad reasons for being bad you feel like they’re almost justified in their actions. Almost. There’s a difference here between a character like Mr. Freeze, who was […]
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The Battle of Lepanto was, in many ways, the pivotal moment of this ongoing strife. There was much at stake, particularly as the number of Christian hostages had accumulated astronomically over the years.
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By T.K. Wilson … When we find a benevolent Faerie King in stories or literature, he is usually presiding over a bountiful feast in the midst of endless summer. Like our friend the Beast, he makes the stranger welcome and gives him the finest of everything, even favorites of the guest.
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“Good King Wenceslaus” is largely remembered today in the old Christmas carol that actually takes place on the second day of Christmas – December 26th, St. Stephen’s Day. In the song, Wenceslaus is revered as kind, gracious, courageous, and persevering. The real Wenceslaus, a prince of Bohemia, was born around the year 903AD to Duke Wratislaw (son of the devout Princess Ludmilla) and his wife Dragomir.
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One of the most influential figures in both high-church Anglicanism and Catholicism, John Henry Newman was born in the city of London in the year 1801. His father, John, was a banker. The eldest of six, Newman was brought up a Calvinist and eventually went to Trinity College to complete his education as an Anglican priest.
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By Cordelia Fitzgerald … Writing is really such a vulnerable sport! Up until the advent of records, a passing, but regrettable, utterance from an unfortunate individual would probably be forgotten. Alternatively, it could be passed from mouth to mouth, but would probably die out within a generation or two. Enter writing.
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LogoSophia Magazine 