nbsp We seldom remember when or where we learned life rsquo s truly useful lessons Plato suggested that this is because deep down the soul has always known these truths though that teaching of Plato didn rsquo t seem familiar to me the first time I heard it Perhaps we simply remember the be

Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Narendra Nath Datta, better known as Swami Vivekananda (January 12, 1863-July 4, 1902). The Swami was one of the original disciples of the Hindu saint and mystic Ramakrishna (1836-1886).

He was a soldier of fortune who became a mercenary for the usual reasons: fame, fortune, females. As the youngest son of minor Spanish nobility, there was small prospect of these at home, and his industry and bravery were paying off, when a French canon ball tore open his left calf and broke his right shin. I igo was confined to bed for months, his leg clumsily set, re-broken, and set again. A protruding limb was sawn off. His leg had to be stretched with weights. He passed his long convalescence reading books, either on chivalry or the saints. To his surprise, he began to enjoy the latter, to draw meaning and hope from them. They led to a much deeper Catholicism than Ignatius of Loyola had previously known.

The spiritual journey of every Christian is a journey of conversion that involves inward maturing, openness to the spirit and a developed prayer life. For Walter Ciszek, S.J., a small, stocky Polish-American, this spiritual journey was tested in the fire of Moscow’s dreaded Lubyanka prison, wh

How did Walter Ciszek, S.J., find “the abundant grace” to make his unlikely pilgrimage?