For the Faith of Andrea Doria at Lepanto

—Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary  

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed reading history. Usually, I wasn't reading the history that I was supposed to be reading in the classroom.  I really didn't do that well in school until I served two hitches in the Marines and then decided to get out and go to college. Grade school and high school? Homework, schmomework!

Breaking: Minor Miracle(s) at Casa del Weathers

So there I was, just reading the morning paper after breakfast while sipping a cup of coffee when my daughter and my youngest son came tumbling down the stairs to share with me some miraculous news. My daughter's report went something like this:

Because of a Marine in Charge of Justice and Peace

Originally published on February 10, 2010.

Before I was a Catholic, yet seriously considering  the idea of becoming one, my wife made a suggestion to me.  My daughter was preparing for her First Communion and while the children were being prepared, there was someone speaking to the parents in the parish hall in the interim.  My wife said he was a very good speaker and that I might enjoy what this person had to say. I was dubious, to say the least.

Thanks to Nicholas Kristof For These Courageous Thoughts

Floored. And pleasantly surprised. That what I was when I read the latest editorial by Nicolas Kristof in the New York Times. His Tweet was as follows,

Many evangelicals do great work, and it's reverse intolerance to mock their faith.

Have a look at the article:

For Miracles Like This at the 24 Hours of LeMans

It's another Gearhead Feastday folks: the 24 Hours of LeMans. About an hour into the race, there was a horrific crash between Allan McNish's Audi TDI (yeah, the fastest cars are diesels) and a Ferrari from the Sports Car class. Thanks be to God that no one was seriously hurt.

But take a look at the video and ask yourself this: how did this Audi not continue on it's path over the wall and into the spectators? Actually, the car was over the tire wall. How did it seemingly defy the laws of physics and fall harmlessly back onto the warning track?

No—I don't see Iron Man standing there to push it away from the trajectory it was following. Do you? Take a look,

For All the Miracles: The Road To Emmaus and After

Guest post by Giovanni Papini (published in 1921)

After the solemn interval of the Passover, plain, ordinary everyday life began again for all men.

Two friends of Jesus, among those who were in the house with the Disciples, were to go that morning on an errand to Emmaus, a hamlet about two hours journey from Jerusalem. They left as soon as Simon and John had returned from the sepulcher.

Because St. Francis of Assisi Spent Lent Like This Once

-Feast of St. Aengus 

A few days ago, I shared some stories on Christian saints who survived for long periods of time on the the Eucharist alone. Below is a similar story on how St. Francis of Assisi spent Lent one year, eating only a small portion of his provisions. 

This story comes to us from The Little Flowers of St. Francis. Who wrote these stories? Who compiled them? Are they literally true? I don't know the answers to any of those questions. But I do know this: there is great freedom in poverty, to be able to drop everything and become a hermit for 40 days.  And great blessings for the faithful penitent. 

Because Yes, You Can Go Without Food For A Day (Or Two)

The Season of Lent has begun and Catholics are required to fast today (Ash Wednesday) as well as on Good Friday. We are, however, allowed to break the Lenten fasts on Sundays throughout the season. And you don't have to fast if you are ill, nursing, below 10 years old, etc.

So although 40 days of sacrifice seems like a lot, fasting from food for only two days is a walk in the park compared to what the saints listed below did. Because I found the following examples of saints who survived for long periods of time on the Eucharist...alone.

For All the Saints: Paul of the Shipwreck

I first posted this on this day last year. But it is such a great story, about St. Paul, and written by an inspired eyewitness, St. Luke, that it is worth another look.

How can something good come from something tragic? This is a mystery to us all. We see the devastation and the loss of life, and we wonder, Why Lord? Can anything good come from natural disasters? It’s the riddle of our lives as bit players on the stage when we all believe we are the lead role in the play.

For All the Saints: Joseph of Leonissa

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph of Leonissa (Feb. 4, 1612). He was from a small town in Italy that, at the time, lay within the borders of the Papal States. At the age of seventeen, he became a Capuchin friar. I hadn't planned on posting on this saintly fellow, but I found something that I believe I am supposed to share with you. I can't explain it really, I just feel drawn to share an account that involves Joseph.

But first, a little background. He is best known for heading to Constantinople to minister to the Christian galley slaves of the Sultan there. He didn't do that on a lark, either. He studied the Turks, and Islam, before heading on this mission.

Because of Fully Baked Thoughts Like These by Algar Thorold

—Feast of Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen 

I've been pretty quiet as the year 2010 wound down and the New Year approached. Here is one of the reasons why: I have been searching for treasures that I can share with you.

My final post of 2010 was on resolving to choose, or more accurately, resolving to being open to being chosen by, a patron saint for the New Year. I hope many of you took me up on that resolution because the witness of the saints is one of the reasons that continually answers the question of the title of this blog.

Because "And You Shall Name Him יהושע"

Feast of St. Ischyrion 

Yesterday Monsignor Charles Pope ran a post on some of the Paradoxes of Christmas. Some very interesting observations are listed there.

In Archbishop Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ, he mentions several of the paradoxes listed by the good Monsignor. Such as Bethlehem means House of Bread, and that Our Lord, the Bread of Life lay in a manger, which is a feed trough for livestock.

Like my post on Monday, when I said that Jesus was from the wrong side of the tracks, Bishop Sheen points to the fact that to the world, He was a nobody from nowhere. Really, a Messiah from the sticks of Galilee? How gauche. And from what I've read (see list below), even the Messiah's name was pretty common. Everybody hoped their son would, you know, be the One.

"Martin of Tours" a Poem by Charles L. O'Donnell, C.S.C.

—Feast of St. Martin of Tours 

On this feast day of St. Martin of Tours, I came upon this delightful poem penned by Father Charles L. O'Donnell. It is an account of Martin's charitable act of giving a beggar half of his cloak. As it turned out, Martin would have a dream that the beggar was in fact Our Lord.

Because Joseph of Cupertino Could Fly

—Feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino

The world is held in thrall by Stephen Hawking's declaration that there is no need for a Creator for the universe to have been formed. The giant has spoken, succinctly, and confidently. If you are like me, you haven't read his new book, but you saw the interview with Larry King.

One of my take-away's from the interview? Stephen Hawking gushing over his experience of being weightless. He got to take a flight on one of those NASA planes that climbs parabolically so at the "top", for a short while, zero-G is achieved. He evidently was thrilled to be weightless.

Because I Believe in Miracles

Feast of St. Peter Claver

When I was startled into wondering if I could become a Catholic, one thing really stood out to me as a proof of the legitimacy of the Church—the miracles. The Catholic Church believes in miracles without flinching. They even have a standard operating procedure in place to prove or disapprove miracles.

Because St. Anthony Helped Me Find John C.H. Wu

Anyone remember Webster's first post on minor miracles? Something a little more than a coincidence led me to John C. H. Wu and I'm not ashamed to go "on the record" and say that. While browsing the shelves of my local public library, I came upon this little volume called St. Anthony's Treasury. It's a wee little book of prayers that is about the size of a pocket New Testament, like the ones the Gideon's publish.

Catholic prayer books in the public library? That's a minor miracle in itself, right? I know it was a gift from a patron. How? Because in pencil on the top right-hand corner of the blank page facing the inside cover is written carefully the word "gift." The library, see, doesn't have the money to purchase every published book under the sun. Especially not little Catholic prayer books like this one.

Because of Catholics like Hubert of Aquitane

Wait a second, isn't that what is on the label of a bottle of Jägermeister  liquer? What does that remotely have to do with being Catholic, you say? Well, let me introduce you to another Catholic saint, and all around swell guy, named Hubert of Aquitane. This is a rendition of the vision he saw while deer hunting. And yes, its on the label of a bottle of Jägermeister too.

Confessor, thirty-first Bishop of Maastricht, first Bishop of Liège, and Apostle of the Ardennes, born about 656; died at Fura (the modern Tervueren), Brabant, 30 May, 727 or 728.

Yawn, right? Yep, just another run-of-the-mill perfect saint story. Where do they come up with these guys, central casting? What happened to all the regular guy saints, like St. Peter and the rest of the crew?

Maastrict—that's in the Netherlands. Isn't that the hometown of some important treaty? Yeah, that's right. In 1992 when the European Union was formed. But that is way after Hubert's time, and nowhere near as interesting as his story.

Because of Minor Miracles III (zzzzz)

At the beginning of January, I started a series of posts about this blog, how it began and evolved. I wrote three pieces about it, this one, this one, and this one. Then I went to sleep. Maybe you did too. But with Allison joining Frank and me this weekend, and with a new format up and running (spiffy, no?), I think this blog has finally reached a form to stick with for a while. So let me wrap this up.

Because of Maria Esperanza Medrano Bianchini, Servant of God

Guest post by Allison 
A woman with roses that grow out of her chest. Who carries the aroma of roses, without wearing perfume. Whose hands bleed during Holy Week and who sees visions of the Virgin Mary in Venezuela. No, these are not reports from the Weekly World News. This is the story of Maria Esperanza, who died in Long Beach Island, New Jersey in 2004 and who the Church now is investigating for sainthood.

Because of Lourdes

I will never escape Lourdes. My heart will always be a captive of this village on the north skirts of the Pyrenees. I have not seen Lourdes since 1974, my second and last visit, so far. But I’m quite sure there will be a third time. Because of the first time.

I was not a Catholic then. I was not even a practicing Christian.