“I will adjust my graces to the spirit of the Rule [of your religious order], and I want you to give it priority over everything else.” ∼ revelation of Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) is well known as the nun whose revelations helped popularize devotion to the Sacred Heart … Read more
On February 5, 1597, by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the regent and de facto military ruler of Japan, 26 Christians were crucified in the port town of Nagasaki. Six Franciscan missionaries (from Spain, Mexico, and India), three Japanese Jesuits, and seventeen Japanese laymen comprised the group, known as the First Martyrs of Japan and commemorated … Read more
In all your affairs, rely wholly on God’s providence, through which alone you must look for success. Nevertheless, strive quietly on your part to cooperate with its designs…. Imitate little children who with one hand hold fast to their father while with the other they gather strawberries or blackberries from the hedges. — St. Francis … Read more
“Why are so many people drawn to St. Francis de Sales after their first contact? It is because his spirit is a short, sure, and successful way to find the Lord. In his spirit, you find medicine for your worries and salve for you injuries: the peace that every heart seeks.” So wrote Bl. Louis … Read more
“The good God gave me a father and mother more worthy of Heaven than of earth.” So wrote St. Thérèse of Lisieux of her parents, Bl. Louis and Zélie Martin, who married at midnight on July 13, 1858 and whose feast is celebrated on July 12. In considering the parents, we tend to look first … Read more
In October 1646, the French crown placed a failing University of Paris college, the Collège du Plessis, under the administration of the illustrious Collège de la Sorbonne, newly enriched by Cardinal Richelieu. The old Plessis, facing financial difficulties and near total collapse, needed complete reorganization and new leadership if it were to survive. Appointed principal … Read more
In October 1601, Christophe, Baron de Rabutin-Chantal, went out from his château near Dijon, France, for a short hunting trip. As he rode with his cousin, neighbor, and friend, Charles d’Anlezy, the latter’s shotgun fired accidentally, giving Christophe a mortal wound under which he suffered for nine days. Christophe’s wife—born Jeanne Françoise Frémyot in 1572 … Read more