Hardwired For a Miracle
TO CREATE A MIRACLEThe mystery, substance and grinding work of helping to move along the canonization of a saint in the Catholic Church can be exemplified by Sr. Josephine, a cloistered Carmelite nun whose monastery is tucked away in a small Illinois town. Six months...
The Rhythm of the Saints
READING THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS In the many weeks spent researching the life of Venerable Aloysius Schwartz, founder of World Villages for Children and the Sisters of Mary, I had, of course, discovered countless compelling aspects of his personality and priesthood: he...
Are we Bystanders or Heroes?
WHEN A HELLISH SCENE UNFOLDED BEFORE THEM, A TRAIN FULL OF PASSENGERS STOOD STILL Every so often a news story from the culture slips past the inundation of daily news feeds and manages to paralyze us. This particular story, which broke earlier this week in...
Two Paths of an ALS Diagnosis
RESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR Fr. Al with child wheelchair On a startling autumn morning in 1989, a doctor asked Fr. Aloysius Schwartz (founder of World Villages for Children) to sit down, looked him in the eye, and shared the hard news: the 59-year-old American...