In 1923 an important business meeting was held in Chicago, and among those attending were nine of the world’s most successful money-makers: the presidents of the largest independent steel company, utility company, and gas company; the greatest wheat...
Once there was a young man—we’ll call him William—who was determined to make himself a successful businessman, regardless of the cost. He established his own small company, and because, in addition to the 60+ hours he worked each week, he was always...
The longest-serving Pope in the Church’s almost 2000-year history was Pius IX, who reigned for almost 32 years, from 1846-1878. It was he who solemnly defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: namely, that Mary was conceived in her mother’s...
At first glance it almost seems Jesus was being a bit harsh or unsympathetic to the man who said to Him, “Let me go first and bury my father.” What the Gospel doesn’t tell us, however, is that the man’s father probably wasn’t anywhere close to...
One of my favorite saints is Catherine of Siena, who lived in 14th century Italy. The youngest of 25 children, she refused to marry, as her parents wished, and instead entered the Dominican Order. Catherine became known for her great holiness and...
A very wise and intelligent Jewish university professor and scripture scholar [Pinchas Lapide] once wrote a book about the meaning of Easter Sunday. Though he himself was a devout, Orthodox Jew, he had great sympathy and admiration for Catholicism;...
In 1999, a thirteen-year-old American girl named Dria Davis successfully escaped from the nation of Saudi Arabia, where she was being held a prisoner by her Muslim father. Fourteen years earlier her parents had married in Florida: a Cuban-American...
Once upon a time a young woman gave birth to her first child, a beautiful baby boy, just one month after her husband had died in a tragic accident. The neighbors were all very concerned for the mother and child, and held a baby shower, bringing a...
There was a parish that had a Rosary Altar Society, and some of the members were young, stay-at-home moms. One day the group had a luncheon and meeting at the home of one of the officers, and several women brought their small children with them...
A Catholic priest in Texas named Father Paul served as a prison chaplain, and one year on Easter Sunday he said Mass for the Catholic inmates there. One of the prisoners there—we’ll call him Kevin—had been incarcerated for sixteen years, but was...
Fr Joseph Esper