St. Bruno was a school rector and professor, a priest and monk, and founder of an enduring religious order. Bruno was born c. 1030 at Cologne (modern-day Germany) to the prominent Hartenfaust family. Cologne in the Middle Ages was a hub of Catholic culture, scholarship, and monasticism. Little is known...
“Did you commit sin? Enter the church and repent for your sin; for here is the physician, not the judge; here one is not investigated, one receives remission of sins.” St. John Chrysostom (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church) “The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works,...
“Lord, eternal King of glory, receive me hanging from the wood of this sweet cross. Thou Who art my God, Whom I have seen, do not permit them to loosen me from the cross. Do this for me, O Lord, for I know the virtue of Thy holy cross.” St....
Blessed Dina Bélanger was a French-Canadian religious sister and mystic, known as “The Little Flower of Canada”. Dina was born in 1897 to devout Catholic parents Olivier and Séraphia Bélanger. The family lived in the city of Québec in the Province of Québec, Canada. The Bélangers were not only devout,...
St. Mary of Jesus Crucified was a Carmelite religious and mystic. Mariam Baouardy was born to George Baouardy and his wife Mariam in 1846 at Abellin in what was Ottoman Syria, near the ancient town of Nazareth. They were Melkite Greek Catholics. Her parents had lost twelve sons in infancy,...
“Give me Yourself, O my God. Surrender Yourself to me, for I love You. And if that is not enough, let me love You more ardently.” St. Augustine of Hippo (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church) “Don’t you go drawing back from your God; love your God. You’re always saying...
St. Junípero Serra was a Franciscan priest, professor, and an intrepid missionary known as “The Apostle of California”. He was born to farmers Antonio and Margarita Serra, who named him Miguel in 1713. The family farm was on the island of Majorca off the coast of Spain. As a child,...
“Prayer is the light of the spirit. Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good.…I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods, but continuous throughout the day and night. Our spirit should be quick to reach...
St. Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad was a convert, religious sister and a foundress. Mary Elizabeth was born in 1870 in the village of Faglavik, Sweden. She was the fifth of thirteen children born to Augusto Hesselblad and his wife Cajsa and she went by the name Elizabeth. She was baptized into...
The Wisdom of the Saints….about the dignity of the human person (part 2) “’Let Us make man to Our own image and likeness.’ He did not say this of the Heavens or of the stars, but of man – not, indeed as regards man’s body, but as regards his soul,...