A priest, writing in a 1958 issue of the Catholic Herald, recounts the surprising history behind St. Thérèse’s autobiography, Story of a Soul. It is well-known that St. Thérèse asked her religious superior to make whatever changes and editorial corrections she thought necessary to her autobiography. While her sister, Mother Agnes, certainly had the noblest Read more
Sister Doris is a quiet sensation hidden behind monastery walls. She’s been turning water into beer at Mallersdorf, a 12th-century abbey in the Bavarian highlands, for more than 40 years. She’s a certified master brewer. She’s also a Franciscan nun. The local beer culture notwithstanding, Sister Doris is living proof that women are destined for Read more
The late Tim Richardson was a funny man, big in the local theater-music-entertainment world, and his eulogy was delivered – I kid you not — in the form of stand-up comedy. Prowling the front of a cavernous church with a wireless microphone, a local comedian and radio personality had mourners laughing uproariously with his remembrances of Read more
Andy Crouch, writing in Christianity Today says Christians are free to use marijuana (where legalised). He goes on to say that “it would be foolish to use that freedom.” Crouch bases his opinion on St Paul’s teaching “So all things are permitted. But not all things are helpful” (1 Cor. 6:12) Christianity Today which has been Read more
Gossiping about colleagues, friends and strangers should no longer be looked upon as a naughty indulgence, according to a new book by a New Zealand scholar. Talking about someone when they are not present is not only an enjoyable pastime, but the positive power of gossip helps form important observations about people and societies, says When Read more
Robin Williams threw his swaying power behind a number of causes, including the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Comic Relief, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Livestrong Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, among others. It was the way he used his craft to help people in need that many will miss most. Read Read more
Stuart Kettell raises money for the Macmillan Cancer Support, a group that offers patients help with every aspect of their lives after diagnosis. He has now completed his eighth charity fundraising event by climbing up Wales’ highest mountain, Mount Snowdon, all 3,560 feet of it , on his hands and knees while pushing a brussel sprout with his Read more
It’s a lot more fun than going to Confession. A Roman Catholic priest in southern Spain has parishioners banging down his church doors, all so they can praise God and dance the flamenco. Jose Planas Moreno, or Father Pepe, as he is known, brings flocks of congregants to the Nuestra Senora del Carmen church in Read more
Father Philip King Turner, the parish priest of Reefton, a small township on New Zealand’s West Coast, passed away recently. In the months before his death Phil made his own coffin out plain pine timber. He also organised most aspects of his funeral including arranging to have his coffin taken to the graveside on the back of Read more
If you find the Mass boring, that’s more your problem says the Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan. He says we find lots of important and necessary activities boring. “We may find a lot of very important activities in life ‘boring’: visits to the dentist can be that way; kidney patients tell me dialysis Read more