Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was born in Spain in 1538 to a family of high standing. As such, he was able to receive an exceptional education, which proved to scintillate his preexistent intellect and ambition. After working his way up to become a professor of law, he was ordained and eventually decided to carry out his ministry overseas in Peru.
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Latin, we hear, is dead—and a fitting statement it is, too, as applied to the tongue that should be the main language of the Church. For the Founder of this Church was also dead, but He “gloriously did rise on the third day,” and is, in fact, still living.
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The notion has taken root that since man comes “first” (in Eden and in the family), he is therefore “better.” This conflation of primacy with superiority has been present for quite some time, and it has resulted in many of the abuses of the father’s role. But wait, the reader might say, isn’t first better?
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St. Patrick is one of the most recognized names in Christianity, yet few know his full story. He was born sometime in the fifth century to a wealthy British deacon named Calpurnius, but he did not follow his father’s faith. After a rebellious youth, Patrick was captured by Irish slavers and taken back to Ireland.
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“Follow the science” is itself an unscientific expression, personifying science as a sort of cosmic Boy Scout troop leader or perhaps a soldier taking the point. It suggests that we should not follow our hearts (which is just as illogical), our music, our dreams, or anything else except science personified almost as a deity.
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St. Macarius of Jerusalem was the bishop of that city during the time of the First Council of Nicea in 325. Nothing is known of his early life, but he was elevated to the rank of bishop in 312. Macarius was a strong opponent of the heretic Arius…
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The panther-like litheness of my youth (cough) long ago expanded into the, oh, prosperous look of Chaucer’s merchant, and so I have gotten into the excellent but Calvinistic habit of, well, treading along a treadmill every day.
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On a trip into the West, Katherine witnessed the misery of the Native American tribes and resolved that this population and the African American population would be her own personal mission. She became a patroness of schools and missions to these marginalized groups.
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Have you ever had the feeling that you needed to watch yourself in a special way because you were representing something? The moment we take the name “Christian,” we are proclaiming ourselves Christ’s representatives.
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Following a long-held desire to serve the poor, at age 45, Mother Ascensión and four of her sisters accepted a mission to Peru, where they trekked through jungle and mountains to Porto Maldonado, the first European women to make the journey.
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Janani Luwum was born in Uganda in 1923. He grew up to be a school teacher, then converted to Christianity in 1948. The following year he attended a seminary school, then returned to his home in Acoli to teach others about his faith.
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Not much is known about the early life of Scholastica, twin sister of St. Benedict. St. Gregory the Great, in his biography of St. Benedict, states that she was dedicated to Jesus at a young age.
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Barns are good. In our times of destruction and violence, the idea of raising a barn is a vote for civilization…
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Lawrence of Canterbury was one of the early missionaries sent to Britain from Rome along with St. Augustine of Canterbury. After Augustine’s death around 604, Lawrence succeeded him as Archbishop of Canterbury.
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One of the satellite channels programmed a weekend of Audie Murphy cowboy movies. In my youth these were a Saturday afternoon staple down at the Palace Theatre, of happy memory, and I was pleased to revisit Destry (1954).
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Saint John Chrysostom is a figure in ecclesial history with a stunning breadth of influence. As a writer, preacher, and archbishop, his life was scored with a generative fervor in bolstering and guiding the church.
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…tyrants don’t want people thinking for themselves. Books are dangerous to bullies, whether they are Hitler, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Vlad the Bad Putin, Chairman Xi, or the Ms. Grundy down the street.
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When you say “Gothic” nowadays, most people tend to think of a style of literature, or music, or aesthetic, or more rarely, architecture. These things, however, have little to do with the historical Goths.
Historians often separate Goths in two subgroups: Visigoths (western Goths) and Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) but this is only for convenience’s sake. The Goths themselves recognized no such distinction, nor did the Romans at the time.
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Little is known about Pope Fabian, including when he was born. He became Pope in 236AD, following the death of Pope Anterus. The early Church historian Eusebius relates that Fabian was not one of the original candidates for the office, but a dove descended upon him during the election process and those present decided this was a sign from the Holy Spirit and thus duly elected him.
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“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” While this command does imply that we should not think about that which is opposite to the characteristics listed here, Paul gave this command in this way for a reason.
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LogoSophia Magazine 