Wednesday’s Woman: St. Hildegard of Bingen

The Basics: Born 1098 in Germany; died September 17, 1179 in Germany; equivalent canonization on May 10, 2012, and declaration as a Doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI; feast day, September 17. Woman religious, writer, musician, mystic. The Story: Hildegard joined a convent at an early age, and had had visions… Continue reading Wednesday’s Woman: St. Hildegard of Bingen

Returning Catholics FAQs: About Non-Catholic Christians

On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.… Continue reading Returning Catholics FAQs: About Non-Catholic Christians

Being the Gospel

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there. “I can do what I wanna do, be who I wanna be … I don’t have to be me ‘til Monday,” the old country song by Steve Azar says. Ah! We… Continue reading Being the Gospel

Wednesday’s Women: The Lay Women of the Great Martyrdom of Nagasaki

The Basics: Their ages varied, and most were born in Japan; died September 10, 1622, in Japan; beatified in 1867 by Pope Pius IX; feast day, September 10. Mothers, wives, laywomen, tertiaries. The Story: There were more than fifty of them, missionaries and Japanese natives, on the hill that day outside Nagaski. More than half were beheaded;… Continue reading Wednesday’s Women: The Lay Women of the Great Martyrdom of Nagasaki