In the seventeenth century, French fishermen, fur traders, and explorers were landing in New France, which included not only Quebec but all the lands watered by the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. They traded and made alliances with native tribes such as the Hurons and Algonquins. More »

Holiness is not a matter of any one particular method of spirituality. It is a disposition of the heart that makes us small and humble within the arms of God, aware of our weakness, but almost rashly confident in his Fatherly goodness. ~Thérèse of Lisieux More »

All around you, wherever you live, there are quiet heroes. I’m sure you could come up with your own personal list: A mother struggling to maximize the potential of a child with autism, a husband tenderly caring for a dependent and querulous wife with Alzheimer’s disease. Or perhaps you know people whose love for Christ moves them to do something out of the ordinary—say, a gifted scientist who leaves a lucrative corporate job to teach in an inner-city school. More »

On May 11, 1873, the steamer Kilauea deposited thirty-three-year-old Father Joseph Damien de Veuster on the landing at Molokai. Bishop Maigret told the disease-ridden crowd gathered there that he had brought them "one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that . . . he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you." More »

An elderly Chinese farmer trudged slowly along the mountainous path of Chun Ta Ping, the warmth of his breath making white puffs in the frigid air. The beauty of the peaceful blanket of snow, however, could not stem the rumbles of hunger in his stomach. This winter of 1960 marked two years of a terrible famine; many in Hunan were starving. More »

The unassuming "just man" who once took the child Jesus and his mother into his care and protection now watches over the whole Body of Christ in his characteristically vigilant but background manner. As Pope Pius IX declared on December 8, 1870, St. Joseph is "Patron of the Universal Church." And though even fewer Catholics are aware of it, St. Joseph is also intimately connected with the Second Vatican Council. More »

It is late at night, almost seven hundred years ago, in the lovely central Italian region of Tuscany. Inside a small room, a young woman is speaking animatedly about God. Her hands fly back and forth, flickering in the candlelight. Opposite her, struggling to listen but barely able to remain awake, sits her confessor—a trained theologian and a saintly man. More »

In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul II singles out five saints as exceptional models of prayer. Four are well known to most Catholics. But following on the heels of Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Ignatius of Loyola comes a name that leaves many of us scratching our heads. Who is St. Seraphim of Sarov? More »