A History of Pilgrimage part 1
In our busy world many people are searching to find balance between their inner spiritual lives and their outer material ones. Pilgrimage is one way to energize our search for deeper meaning and purpose in our lives. Through pilgrimage, the spirit is renewed and our general outlook becomes uplifted, changing the way we look at […]
A Legacy of Virtues part 2
The lives of the saints capture us because they are full of examples of heroism. From the beginning of their conversions, locked up in cells or dungeons, to their being stripped away from their families, to traveling far and wide (sometimes appearing in two places at the same time), to preaching to people on the […]
Blessed Margaret of Castello
Citta di Castello in Umbria – Sixteenth-century walls circumscribe and embrace this city of the Upper Tiber Valley, and give it a charming urban character. Located east of Arezzo and north of Perugia, the city is well known for its quaint commercial areas. Though originally a thriving pre-Roman town, its glory now is found in […]
St. Catherine of Bologna
Under the rule of the Byzantines, Lombards, and Franks, Bologna became a free municipality in the eleventh century. Around this same time period, the city became the cultural center of Europe with the establishment of the University of Bologna. The center of Bologna is the Piazza Maggiore where students, locals and tourists all gather, taking […]
What are Saints?
Saints are not just “holier than thou” people whom the pope has recognized and who have survived the scrutiny process of canonization; they are people who have significantly touched and affected their neighbors or their communities as they met the unique challenges of their time to live in the presence of God and, as Christians, […]
A Legacy of Virtues part 1
The saints understood all the parts in the process of conversion by experiencing all parts themselves. Most calls to a deepening, more real and truthful union with God require change and a stripping away to the bare essentials of the gospel of Christ. Most of the saints in Traveling with the Saints in Italy shared […]
St. Margaret of Scotland: In Scotland
King Malcolm met Margaret when her ship docked at what is now called St. Margaret’s Hope near North Queensferry. Malcolm fell in love with the beautiful lady. Margaret eventually agreed to marry him out of duty and because he could speak English. They were married at a church that would later become Dunfermline Abbey. Dunfermline […]
Italy: Cradle for Saints
Even though Italy has a history of integration, the people of Italy also identify themselves with the place of their birth, whether it be region or city. This sense of identity can be understood by looking at earlier civilizations. The Hebrews, for instance, believed that God was tied to their country Israel. Thus, when they […]
St. Thomas Aquinas
Latium (Lazio) – The region of Latium is in central Italy on the western side of the peninsula. The area is best known for the capital city of Rome, but it is very diverse both geographically and culturally. The western border is formed by the Tyrrhenian Sea that gives way to the flat coastal plains. […]
How to Pray Ceaselessly Stage 3: Fighting Distractions
“By the grace of God I am a Christian, by my deeds a great sinner, and by my calling a homeless wanderer of humblest origin, roaming from place to place.” – opening words in Chapter 1 of The Way of a Pilgrim And so the elder found the instruction of the Venerable Nicephorus the Solitary and […]