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Catholic Heroes . . . St. Andrew

December 14, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes . . . St. Andrew

By DEB PIROCH St. Andrew is the “Protokletos” or “First Called.”Andrew means “manly” or “courageous one” and he was an apostle, a martyr, and a brother to St. Peter. Born on the Sea of Galilee and a fisherman like his brother, he was less than 40 kilometers from Nazareth. Jesus would discover the brothers there, along with Philip, and call them to be “fishers of men.”On Andrew’s recent feast day of November 30, Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wis., in a YouTube spot pointed out Andrew’s great humility. It was Andrew who brought the knowledge of Christ as the Messiah to his brother, Peter, and then humbly stepped back, not feeling the need to interject himself or assume any importance…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes . . . St. Pantaleon

December 7, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes . . . St. Pantaleon

By DEB PIROCH I didn’t discover St. Pantaleon until I was in my late twenties. St. Pantaleon’s Romanesque church was situated about a 10-minute walk along quiet, cobblestoned streets not far from my little apartment in Cologne. My first full-time broadcasting position was in Germany and somehow, when it was time to find a church for Mass, I looked at a map and sought this one out. And returned there, again and again. The priest was good and orthodox, which already then was not that common, and by simple repetition I learned the German responses to the Mass.Today I know that this is one of Cologne’s oldest churches in the entire city. Built on the remains of a Roman villa,…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Damien Of Molokai

November 30, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Damien Of Molokai

By DEB PIROCH Born the seventh child to Belgian farming parents, young Joseph de Veuster — later St. Damien — was first called to the priesthood after a mission given by the Redemptorists in 1858, when he was 18. Having been told to stop school because he was needed on the home farm, Joseph, like his two older sisters and a brother, likewise wished to enter the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Given his lack of education, he was at first not seen as a choice candidate. But having prayed hard and being assisted in Latin study by his brother, his superiors soon saw his promise.After a novitiate in Paris, and more studies in Louvain in…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Margaret Of Castello

November 23, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Margaret Of Castello

By DEB PIROCH “Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matt. 13:44-45).The other famous biblical reference to pearls is in The Gospel According to St. Matthew. Christ says: “Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you” (Matt. 7:6). Both recall our saint this week, dear Margaret of Castello.In Hebrew, the name “Margaret” happens to mean “pearl.” Indeed, this saint was just such a jewel as belonged in Heaven, but her…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Hildegard von Bingen

November 16, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Hildegard von Bingen

By DEB PIROCH O leafy branch,standing in your nobilityas the dawn breaks forth:now rejoice and be gladand deign to set us frail onesfree from evil habitsand stretch forth your handand lift us up — St. Hildegard. She was a German saint, a mystic, an abbess, a poet and composer. Her writings included the first morality play, illustrated medieval manuscripts of her visions, and hundreds of pages of letters and music: These represent one of the largest surviving remnants of writings of anyone of the medieval period. Today she is also one of only four women doctors of the Church.Hildegard (1098-1179) was born the tenth child of Hildebert and Mechtild, members of the nobility. But, as she later would write, as…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Arnulf, Bishop Of Soissons

November 9, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Arnulf, Bishop Of Soissons

By DEB PIROCH “For man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world” — St. Arnold, bishop of Metz.A forgotten feast near the time of the Assumption is another saint of long ago, St. Arnulf, patron saint of brewers and hop pickers. This Belgian saint is still fondly remembered in his native country and elsewhere for his services to mankind and to beer, respectively, as we shall hear below.During the eleventh century our saint, the son of Fulbert, was born in Brabant, Belgium. A career soldier who served with distinction under two French kings, he afterward chose to retire to live a life of prayer and asceticism as a hermit. After approximately three years, a group of clergy and…Continue Reading

Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

November 2, 2021 saints Comments Off on Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

By DEB PIROCH He could not remember an age when he didn’t want to be a priest.Peter John Sheen was a first generation American, born of Irish parents. One of four brothers, he joked of his lack of aptitude for farming. Despite his given name, he was commonly known as “Fulton,” which was his mother’s maiden name. His hometown had the unlikely name of El Paso, Ill. Fulton’s mind must have been in the clouds, because he excelled at his studies, achieving the coveted spot of high school valedictorian.The future author of somewhere between 60-70 books left home and started his new life by entering St. Paul’s Seminary in Minnesota, being ordained a priest in 1919. From his Ordination till…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Benedict Of Nursia

October 26, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Benedict Of Nursia

By DEB PIROCH Benedict (480-547) was born only about fifty years after the last of the “games” at the Colosseum, where human and animal sacrifice gave sport. Rome had fallen and violence reigned as barbarian hordes overran the once-ordered empire. But one day, the Christian world would fill the vacuum. Benedict of Nursia would revolutionize religious life around the globe for over 1,500 years, and the rebuilt St. Peter’s would pilfer stones from the once triumphant Colosseum.Born Roman, Benedict had a twin, St. Scholastica. Once older, he was sent to Rome to study, but he grew disenchanted and was shocked by the licentiousness of life there. Before the age of 20 he left, withdrawing first to the town of Enfide,…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Katharine Drexel

October 19, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Katharine Drexel

By DEB PIROCH Picture this: You grew up in a loving, Catholic household. You never knew your mother, who died just weeks after your birth. But you saw your father devote half an hour every evening to prayer in the house chapel. Your stepmother was devout and loving as well, and she was in your life since you were age two. Weekly, she threw open the doors to the poor and, with your father, gave food, clothing, and other help to those in need. Yours was a privileged home, which knew how to share what you had with those less fortunate. (This wasn’t socialism; it’s a corporal work of mercy.)As a young lady, at age 21 you made your social…Continue Reading

Catholic Heroes… St. Lawrence

October 12, 2021 saints Comments Off on Catholic Heroes… St. Lawrence

By DEB PIROCH This week’s column is particularly dedicated to all the cooks preparing for the Thanksgiving feast, less than two months away. In searching out recipes, one could do worse than remember the patron saint of cooks: St. Lawrence.St. Lawrence, despite having died as long ago as 258 AD, is among the most remembered of the saints, for his sense of humor, as well as his sanctity. For those who might like to assert he didn’t exist, we have very early accounts of his existence, as well as churches and basilicas, which offer proof. Often, we also turn to a contemporary for the closest biography of the saint, but as we find none in existence, we turn next to…Continue Reading