Just another writer

  • Today’s saint picture: Blessed Ulma family

    Today’s saint picture: Blessed Ulma family

    Married saints are unfortunately rare in the Catholic church and married saints who actually had sex, let alone children, are even rarer, but the Ulma family form one of the rare correctives to this. Józef and his wife Wiktoria and their family hid Jews from the Holocaust in their home until they were all summarily…

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  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Holy Virgin Martyrs (St Maria Goretti)

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Holy Virgin Martyrs (St Maria Goretti)

    Today, being the feast of Saint Maria Goretti, I trekked to the parish of Holy Virgin Martyrs formed by the merger of the legacy parishes of Saint Maria Goretti and Saint Beatrice. The parish uses the former Saint Beatrice church for worship under the combined patronage of both saints. The Mass was generally fine, with…

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  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Edna

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Edna

    Since today was the feast day of St Edna, I trekked up to Arlington Heights for a vigil Mass at St Edna parish. The Mass was reasonably well attended for a vigil Mass and had music provided by a cantor, pianist and bass guitarist. A covered drum kit behind them gave evidence that this is…

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  • A visit with my younger self: 14 August 1988

    A visit with my younger self: 14 August 1988

    My summer is coming to a close with thie entry in my journal: Fragment: Girl riding (driving?) car looks into the car next to her—there a young boy gives her some sort of lusty look. She turns away embarrassed. Idea for story: the lies people tell about themselves and what they reveal about their personalities,…

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  • Today’s Saint Picture: Blessed Catherine Jarrige

    Today’s Saint Picture: Blessed Catherine Jarrige

    Among today’s saints are two venerable Dominican tertiaries, and I decided to go with Catherine Jarrige because she showed a bit of a sense of humor and mischeif in her life. In the years after the French revolution, she worked to protect clergy who were unwilling to swear an oath of allegiance to the new…

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  • Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Thomas the Apostle

    Catholic nerd pilgrimage: Saint Thomas the Apostle

    Today is the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, so I headed down to Hyde Park. Unfortunately, traffic was such that I ended up arriving fifteen minutes late which had me arrive in the middle of the consecration.  Hyde Park is a notably integrated and liberal neighborhood in Chicago, anchored by the University of Chicago.…

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  • Today’s Saint Picture: Saint Bernardino Realino

    Today’s Saint Picture: Saint Bernardino Realino

    I decided to go with Saint Bernardino Realino for today’s saint since (a) I’m partial to the Jesuits and (2) he turned from a career as a lawyer to caring for the poor which seems pretty cool.

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  • Today’s Saint Picture: Blessed Antonio Rosmini

    Today’s Saint Picture: Blessed Antonio Rosmini

    Antonio Rosmini is a bit of an interesting figure—his writing was initially put on the index of prohibited books and yet he ultimately was not only removed from the index (although there was and is dispute over whether his removal meant that his writing was ok, or just not heretical enough to be on the…

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  • Today‘s saint picture: Saint Mary, mother of John Mark

    Today‘s saint picture: Saint Mary, mother of John Mark

    Nearly every named woman in the new testament, it seems, was named Mary and today’s saint is one of the more obscure of these, Mary the mother of John Mark (generally associated with the Mark who wrote the Gospel of) who gets a single mention in Acts, subtle enough that most people wouldn’t remember her…

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