The Narthex

Would you say that any of the following Catholics, and their spouses, were holy? Writers The married couple Frank Sheed (1897-1982) and Maisie Ward (1889-1975) were writers and founders of a great Catholic publishing house, Sheed & Ward, in 1926. They had a son and a daughter. Other prominent lay…

Twenty years of clerical sex abuse scandals have rocked the Church. I heard that in 2002, after the Boston Globe reports, some clergy took to wearing civilian clothes in public to avoid heckling. A part of me was thankful that I had not become a brother or religious priest at…

How does it look when men and women strive for holiness at work? Let's take examples from various occupations: Entertainers/TV-Film Personalities Among prominent Catholic entertainers is convert Alec Guinness (1914-2000). (See Guinness’s first of three autobiographies, Blessings in Disguise, from 1986.) See also his portrayal as G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown…

We continue to consider how holiness has been manifested in lay people of various occupations. Hospitality & Retail Workers At least two members of religious orders transformed the task of “doorkeeper” -- porter or meet-and-greeter -- to a holy life. One is Br. André Bessette, C.S.C. (1845-1937, canonized 2010), about…

First and foremost among holy tradesmen are Jesus and St. Joseph. How did the two of them go about their work—improving their skills, finding the right wood, finding the right tools? What kind of relationships did they have with their customers—discussing the customers’ needs such as the product’s use, its…

Following up from the last post in this series: Consider, too, under the heading “surviving family members of martyrs,” the widow of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian conscientious objector (1907-1943). He refused induction into Hitler’s army and was executed. In 2007 his widow, Franziska, then age 94, and daughters Hildegard,…

I offer for your consideration three interesting groups of people: defenders of the bond; the formerly incorrigible; and surviving family members of martyrs. Defenders of the Bond In Catholic parlance, the term defender of the bond refers to the person appointed in an annulment proceeding under canon law to defend,…

In adulthood I learned that neither my father nor my mother believed in the afterlife, much to my dismay and surprise. It happened while videoing their responses to some questions I prepared with the aim of sharing their wisdom derived from the Great Depression and war years. Within an hour,…

We have all known people, or have read of people, who have adopted children or served as foster parents, often as foster parents of large numbers of children. Have you heard the story of Catholic Ruthanne “Dolly” Donahue? She was a mother of three in the 1970s when a hungry…

The preacher of the Pontifical Household, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, said this in his fourth Lenten homily (2016), on the subject of “Marriage and Family” and the holiness of married couples/parents:

In the Christian community, consecrated people and married people are able to “edify one another.” Spouses are…

A COVID vaccine soon will be available to me, as I’m nearly 79. My married brother and I recently discussed this. He is 77, has grandkids, and must business travel on commercial airplanes, so he would have to get the shot. I live like a hermit, and the only traveling…

My parents had seven children. They were married for 61 years, until my mother’s death. I often think about what I say was “their great love.” She would often tell us children that she loved “every hair on your father’s head.” And he would cry in front of me when…

Let's add a few more descriptions of “bystanders” who, when met with a life-and-death situation, attempted a rescue, often fatal for themselves. On May 6, 2016, Catholic Malcolm “Mike” Winffel was walking through a shopping mall’s parking lot with a co-worker, Carl Unger, on their way to lunch “when they…

I recently saw evergreen trees piled high behind the Senior Center. A trash worker forgot to unlock the trash trailer bins. I stood beside the trees, breathing in the refreshing forest fragrance that conjured up happy Christmases past. It pulled me back to my childhood and the lighted tree in…

Everyday people who were bystanders to emergency have demonstrated the ultimate in self-sacrifice. In this kind of activity, some live, some die. Many people during the Holocaust saved strangers. The State of Israel has recognized over 27,000 Gentiles who did so and are deemed “Righteous Among the Nations” at Yad…