After a wasted youth, Romuald saw his father kill a relative in a duel over property. In horror he fled to a monastery near Ravenna in Italy. After three years some of the monks found him to be uncomfortably holy and eased him out.

He spent the next 30 years going ...

St. Romuald
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 | Psalm 112:1-4, 9 | Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

"He Who supplies seed for the sower and bread for the eater will provide in abundance; He will multiply the seed you sow and increase your generous yield." —2 Corinthians 9:10

The Lord loves us so much that He wants us to reap a great harvest. The Lord has revealed much to us about harvesting. If we listen, we will reap many great harvests. To reap the harvest of salvation and justice, we must:

• sow bountifully ... More

Matt can be considered the patron of men and women struggling with alcoholism.

Matt was born in Dublin, where his father worked on the docks and had a difficult time supporting his family. After a few years of schooling, Matt obtained work as a messenger for some liquor merchants; there he ...

2 Corinthians 8:1-9 | Psalm 146:2, 5-9 | Matthew 5:43-48

"I am...simply testing your generous love against the concern which others show." —2 Corinthians 8:8

St. Paul organized a collection among the churches of Asia Minor for the starving Christians of Jerusalem. When visiting these churches, Paul publicized the generosity of the poor Macedonian church to spur his hearers to also give generously ... More

Have you told yourself a thousand times you were going to read the Bible? Do you fall asleep when you try? Are your bewildered by the Bible, feel lost, and confused? Have you stuffed yourself with the things of the world and become spiritually anorexic so as to have little appetite for the Bible? Then this is the pamphlet for you.

Even as a young man, Joseph loved to attend Mass and was known for his humility and fervor in prayer. After his ordination he was assigned to a seminary in Turin. There he worked especially against the spirit of Jansenism, an excessive preoccupation with sin and damnation. Joseph used the works ...

2 Corinthians 6:1-10 | Psalm 98:1-4 | Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said: "You have heard the commandment, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' But what I say to you is: offer no resistance to injury." —Matthew 5:38-39

In one of his talks, Pope John Paul II remarked that there seemed to have been fewer healings at Lourdes, the major healing center of the world. He thought that this might have indicated fewer healings in general throughout the world. The pope ... More

Are you aware of unusual patterns in your family for generations? Very pronounced patterns of evil may indicate the need for healing the family tree.

Born into a family of some wealth, John Francis was so impressed by his Jesuit educators that he himself wished to enter the Society of Jesus. He did so at age 18. Despite his rigorous academic schedule he spent many hours in chapel, often to the dismay of fellow seminarians who ...

11th Sunday Ordinary Time
2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13 | Galatians 2:16, 19-21 | Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11 | Luke 7:36—8:3

"Little is forgiven the one whose love is small." —Luke 7:47

All great saints seem to have so many sins, not because they're great sinners, but because they're great lovers. We all commit many sins, but some are aware of it, while others are not. Love makes a person sin-sensitive. The more we love God, ... More

An unexpected encounter with St. Francis of Assisi in 1213 was to forever change—and enrich—the life of Count Orlando of Chiusi.

On the day a festival was being organized for a huge throng, St. Francis, already well known for his sanctity, delivered a dramatic address on the dangers of worldly pleasures. ...

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 | Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12 | Matthew 5:33-37

"The love of Christ impels us who have reached the conviction that since one died for all, all died." —2 Corinthians 5:14

We Christians have reached the conviction that, because of Jesus' death and our appropriation of His death by Baptism and faith, we have died. We "have been crucified with Christ" (Gal 2:19). "After all," we "have died!" (Col 3:3) Because we are ... More

Born in Igolomia near Kraków as the eldest of four children in a wealthy family, he was christened Adam. During the 1864 revolt against Czar Alexander III, Adam’s wounds forced the amputation of his left leg.

His great talent for painting led to studies in Warsaw, Munich and Paris. Adam returned to ...

2 Corinthians 4:7-15 | Psalm 116:10-11, 15-18 | Matthew 5:27-32

"If your right eye is your trouble, gouge it out and throw it away! Better to lose part of your body than to have it all cast into Gehenna." —Matthew 5:29

Here we are at the beginning of summer. Men and women are walking around half-clothed, hoping to get a tan, adoring the sun-god rather than the Son of God. It's almost impossible to find a movie or even a TV program without nudity displayed. On ... More

The gospel call to leave everything and follow Christ was the rule of Anthony’s life. Over and over again God called him to something new in his plan. Every time Anthony responded with renewed zeal and self-sacrificing to serve his Lord Jesus more completely.

St. Anthony of Padua
2 Corinthians 3:15—4:1, 3-6 | Psalm 85:9-14 | Matthew 5:20-26

"All of us, gazing on the Lord's glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into His very image by the Lord Who is the Spirit." —2 Corinthians 3:18

The biblical word "glory" can be translated as "weight," for example, a covering heavy enough to be felt. The Israelites sang of the Lord: "He has covered Himself in glory" (Ex 15:1, JB).

As we bask in the Lord's glory and worship Him "with ... More

Jolenta was the daughter of Bela IV, King of Hungary. Her sister, St. Kunigunde, was married to the Duke of Poland. Jolenta was sent to Poland where her sister was to supervise her education. Eventually married to Boleslaus, the Duke of Greater Poland, Jolenta was able to use her material means ...

2 Corinthians 3:4-11 | Psalm 99:5-9 | Matthew 5:17-19

"This great confidence in God is ours, through Christ." —2 Corinthians 3:4

The Corinthian church, which Paul had founded, questioned Paul's qualifications for ministry (see 2 Cor 2:16, 3:6). Yet Paul had "great" (2 Cor 3:4), "full" (2 Cor 3:12; 5:8), and continuous confidence (see 2 Cor 5:6). He did not maintain he had ... More

Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus, comes as close as anyone outside the Twelve to being a full-fledged apostle. He was closely associated with St. Paul (he introduced Paul to Peter and the other apostles) and served as a kind of mediator between the former persecutor and the still suspicious Jewish Christians. ...