We must fear God through love, not love God through fear.Jean Pierre Camus, The Spirit of St. Francis De Sales Read more

Today in 1786, the first Mass was celebrated at St. Peter’s Church on Barclay Street in Manahttan. This was the first Catholic Church in New York City and the first in New York State. In 1800 it opened the first Catholic school in New York State. St. Elizabeth Seton was received into the Church at St. Peter’s, and Venerable Pierre Toussaint was a parishioner. In 1965, St. Peter’s was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The church... Read more

Today marks the death of General John Joseph Coppinger, an Irish-American soldier who served in both the Papal Army and the Union Army. Born in Cork, Ireland, he joined the 1,400 Irishmen who answered Pope Blessed Pius IX’s call for volunteers to defend the Papal States. He served in Italy from 1860 to 1861 and was decorated for bravery on several occasions. In 1861 he went to America to join the Union Army, along with several other Irish volunteers such... Read more

Let nothing disturb thee, Nothing affright thee; All things are passing; God never changeth; Patient endurance Attaineth to all things; Who God possesseth In nothing is wanting; Alone God Sufficeth. St. Teresa of Avila Read more

Seen here in this pre-1874 photograph are three president sof the University of Notre Dame. On the left is Father William Corby (1828-1897), Civil War Chaplain and President of Notre Dame twice (1866-1872, 1877-1881). In the middle is Father Edward Sorin (1819-1893), founder of Notre Dame and first President. On the right is Auguste Lemonnier, C.S.C. (1849-1874), President of Notre Dame from 1872-1874. Read more

Today in 1859 marks the first known collegiate baseball game played under modern rules with a a nine-man squad, between St. John’s College (now Fordham University) and St. Francis Xavier College (now Xavier High School). Fordham defeated Xavier, 33-11. Read more

Léon Bloy (Notre-Dame-de-Sanilhac, Dordogne, July 11, 1846 – Bourg-la-Reine, November 3, 1917) was a French novelist, essayist, pamphleteer and poet. His works reflect a deepening devotion to the Roman Catholic Church and most generally a tremendous craving for the Absolute. His devotion to religion resulted in a complete dependence on charity; he acquired his nickname (“the ungrateful beggar”) as a result of the many letters requesting financial aid from friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers, all the while carrying on with... Read more

Did you know that Mark Twain wrote a book on Joan of Arc, and that he considered it his best book? It was published first in serial form in 1895 and as a book in 1896. The full title is Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte. De Conte is a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc’s page Louis de Contes, and provides narrative unity to the story. He is presented as an individual who... Read more

As baseball season comes to an end, we will be concluding this feature of McNamara’s Blog. In this 1940’s photo, Brooklyn Bishop Thomas E. Molloy proceeds into Ebbetts Field for a Holy Name rally. Rallies of this kind attracted crowds of up to 100,000 annually. Read more

The Christian’s God is not a God Who is simply author of mathematical truths and of the order of the elements; that is the lot of the heathen and of the Epicureans. He is not merely a God Who employs His providence and well-being of men, in order to bestow on his worshippers a long and prosperous life; that is the heritage of the Jews. But the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the Christian’s... Read more