The Narthex

In adulthood I learned that neither my father nor my mother believed in the afterlife, much to my dismay and surprise. It happened while videoing their responses to some questions I prepared with the aim of sharing their wisdom derived from the Great Depression and war years. Within an hour,…

We have all known people, or have read of people, who have adopted children or served as foster parents, often as foster parents of large numbers of children. Have you heard the story of Catholic Ruthanne “Dolly” Donahue? She was a mother of three in the 1970s when a hungry…

The preacher of the Pontifical Household, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, said this in his fourth Lenten homily (2016), on the subject of “Marriage and Family” and the holiness of married couples/parents:

In the Christian community, consecrated people and married people are able to “edify one another.” Spouses are…

A COVID vaccine soon will be available to me, as I’m nearly 79. My married brother and I recently discussed this. He is 77, has grandkids, and must business travel on commercial airplanes, so he would have to get the shot. I live like a hermit, and the only traveling…

My parents had seven children. They were married for 61 years, until my mother’s death. I often think about what I say was “their great love.” She would often tell us children that she loved “every hair on your father’s head.” And he would cry in front of me when…

Let's add a few more descriptions of “bystanders” who, when met with a life-and-death situation, attempted a rescue, often fatal for themselves. On May 6, 2016, Catholic Malcolm “Mike” Winffel was walking through a shopping mall’s parking lot with a co-worker, Carl Unger, on their way to lunch “when they…

I recently saw evergreen trees piled high behind the Senior Center. A trash worker forgot to unlock the trash trailer bins. I stood beside the trees, breathing in the refreshing forest fragrance that conjured up happy Christmases past. It pulled me back to my childhood and the lighted tree in…

Everyday people who were bystanders to emergency have demonstrated the ultimate in self-sacrifice. In this kind of activity, some live, some die. Many people during the Holocaust saved strangers. The State of Israel has recognized over 27,000 Gentiles who did so and are deemed “Righteous Among the Nations” at Yad…

I previously cited individuals who tended patients with incurable, communicable diseases: Joseph Dutton who worked with St. Damien of Molokai, Dr. and Mrs. Harry Blaber, and Dr. Martin Salia who died in 2014. Others who risk death for the sake of another include fire and police personnel. On March 24,…

I visited her right after church on Christmas Sunday. It was still morning when I knocked on her door for my weekly visit. Della ushered me in. She had the tea cups already set out, alongside a plate of her favorite pastry. She indicated I should sit, as she reached…

Let's take a look at individuals who have risked death for the sake of another. Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci, secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, wrote a long essay that recounted the history of the development of the Apostolic Letter On Offer of Life, a document quoted…

It is written: He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. Donald Trump has spent the last four years running his presidential administration as an extension of his wrestling career. He has blustered and play-acted his way through the duties of the office, and trafficked in late-night…

In Part XVII, I brought up the issue of prominence and clarified that by identifying prominent people, I do not mean to imply that prominence is a criterion for canonization. Prominence is why a larger public knows about them. This allows us to have a conversation about whether they, and…

Valuable stashes from antiquity, like the Frome Hoard comprised of 52,503 ancient Roman coins found in Somerset, England, in 2010, have one common feature. All were buried with obvious intent to retrieve them at some future date. Maybe the threat of a wartime invasion, a revolution, or an economic collapse…

We expect holy laywomen and laymen to be living the Beatitudes. Let us continue our discussion of examples of this. Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake Under this heading, I want to address the gift of long-suffering and the witness of “martyr-confessors.” One of the 12 Fruits…