This photo is of the Hill of Crosses in Šiauliai, Lithuania. The first time I saw footage of this place, I knew I had to visit. From that moment on, I longed to make a pilgrimage to the site where more than 100,000 crosses have been placed on the hill. Continue reading “On the Way to the Cross”
Today marks the anniversary of the fascinating conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne that occurred on Thursday, January 20, 1842. I have been learning his story gradually, throughout my travels to Rome and Jerusalem. Continue reading “On the anniversary the Virgin Mary Appeared to a Jewish Atheist who became a Catholic priest”
This evening I read for my first time John Henry Newman’s Sermon 15 on “The Principle of Continuity between the Jewish and Christian Churches.” Continue reading “Newman: “The Jewish Church and the Christian Church are one””
Without question, among the 100+ summer schools/programs/conferences, etc. that I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED, the Tertio Millennio Seminar ranks among the top five.
The three-week, fully-funded seminar centred on Catholic social teaching takes place annually in Poland. The seminar includes: basking in the beauty of Poland’s churches, grappling with the difficult history of the twentieth century, learning from stellar American professors and Polish Dominicans, meeting phenomenal Catholic young adults from across North America and central Europe, praying, singing, and learning in a convivial setting, enjoying amazing meals, meeting many persons who knew John Paul II, and so much more. Continue reading “Apply: Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society”
I arrived to Toronto to visit my Protestant friend for the week. She greeted me wishing me a happy new year and asking how I’d spent it.
“Well,” I explained, “At the conference from which I just came, we venerated a relic of St. Francis Xavier’s right arm, the arm with which he baptized 100,000 people.” Her first question was not “Why do Catholics venerate relics?” but rather “So, how did his arm come off?”
Last Christmas, I was searching for a book to take with me on Christmas holidays. I asked God, the Divine Librarian, to help me choose one. Since I was going to France, a book that had been on my shelf but that I had not yet read caught my eye when I read the back cover. That book was, From the Kippah to the Cross, the conversion story of Jean-Marie Élie Setbon. Continue reading “Shabbat for Christians”
