Ever wonder how an illiterate peasant girl was able to successfully command the French army? A girl who never had left her hometown, knew nothing of politics, military history or geography? One gift St. Joan had was a “seeing eye,” which meant she could discern the souls of others.Take, for example, her bold decision to recruit the knight Étienne de Vignolles, a crude, profane military leader, to work with her during the Hundred Years’ War campaigns of 1429. ( His... Read more
A few years ago, when I started thinking seriously about salvation, I was struck by how very Catholic my beliefs are. Like all Christians, I believe Christ’s cruxifiction makes salvation possible. I’m not a Universalist: I don’t believe that just because Christ died for our sins that all of humanity, no matter our beliefs or behavior, will be granted eternal life. I’m not a Calvinist: I don’t believe that only a select few are predestined to be saved and that... Read more
Imagine that you woke up to the news this morning that a former President of the United States, say Jimmy Carter for example, has just held a press conference saying that he has entered the Abbey at Gethsemane to become a Cistercian monk. Would you be flabbergasted? Amazed? Incredulous? Or would you be intrigued? That’s how I felt when I learned the news that I am going to share with you today. (more…) Read more
Guest Post by Terry Fenwick I met Terry by way of Francis Beckwith’s Facebook page. Pretty soon, we were “friends” too. Shortly thereafter, we were trading e-mails back and forth and I learned that she was a Catholic convert from the class of 2004. She, and her late husband, Tom, came into full communion with the Church in 2004. She shared this piece she had written for her parish bulletin with me . I don’t know much, but I knew... Read more
Joan of Arc’s public ministry began and ended the year she was 17. She had grown up in a loving family who provided her with concrete examples of Christian charity. Historical records describe the D’Arc family as “willing to open their home to strangers and to share what they could with them. People remembered how Joan would willingly give up her bed to these strangers while she herself slept by the hearth.” To leave her childhood home (pictured above, with... Read more
Early on, before I officially started upon the path to becoming a Catholic, I read Thomas Merton’s autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain. I had already read Blaise Pascal’s Pensées, and Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ by the time I rolled around to Merton. In baseball terms, it was a strike-out for the side— the side of the Church, that is. Here is the play-by-play. Blaise was the first pitch, thrown to the inside corner of the plate, and caught... Read more
Centuries ago, the unlikely transformation of an illiterate peasant girl into a brave military leader and a defender of the faith began in her father’s garden. “When I was thirteen years old, I had a Voice from God to help me govern my conduct. And the first time I was very fearful. And came this Voice, about the hour of noon, in the summer-time, in my father’s garden; I had not fasted on the eve preceding that day.” Four years... Read more
Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a medieval monk, writer and a gifted preacher. This Doctor of the Church was born in Burgundy in 1090. I heard about him earlier this year over breakfast with a dear friend who is a medieval historian and an expert on the Crusades. The only St. Bernard I remember hearing about prior to that conversation was a dog. That breed is named after a different St. Bernard. There is... Read more
Given my recent enthusiasm for St. Joan of Arc, Frank suggested I pray a novena to her, asking her to intercede for my private intentions. Who better to ask to pray for us than St. Joan? She was a courageous warrior for Christ, country and family during a tumultuous time in her native land. Filled with the Holy Spirit, this peasant girl from the French countryside never stopped believing that the voices and visions that began coming to her when... Read more
Something remarkable happened this summer. Our home became a gathering spot for neighbors and friends. The ability of my husband and me to welcome them and the joy our visitors bring to us are gifts from the Holy Spirit and signs of Christ’s welcoming grace. I last remember folks stopping by like this when our two boys were toddlers – generally the visitors were stay-at-home moms or dads would drop by for a play date, adult conversation or a simple... Read more
Why I Am Catholic
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