June 2018 – Cradling Catholic

St. Eustace the Hunter and the Magnificent “Stag”

By Larry Peterson At the beginning of the second century there lived in Rome man named Placidus. Placidus was the commanding general of the Roman army under Emperor Trajan. He was an outstanding soldier who was also married to a woman who loved him dearly and respected…

Venerable Maria Guadalupe Ortiz is a laywoman who will be beatified this year. Here’s her incredible story.

Opus Dei Communications Office | CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 By Larry Peterson On December 12, 1916, in Madrid, Spain, the fourth child and only daughter of Manuel Ortiz Landazuri and Eulogia Fernandez-Heredia, was born. Since it was the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, her parents named her Maria Guadalupe, bestowing a great blessing on…

Servant of God; Father Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly (Kathanar)

By Larry Peterson On April 14, 2018, Pope Francis met with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He presented the cardinal with the names of eight Catholics who have attained the designation of Servants of God. This designation is awarded to those who have attained the first pedestal on…

Brother Marcel (Nguyen Tan) Van had a spiritual sister who actually visited him; Her name was St.Therese of Lisieux

By Larry Peterson Marcel Van was born in 1928 in a small village in Northern Vietnam. It was a predominantly Catholic village, and Marcel’s mom was not only an extremely faithful woman she was also well versed in the tenets of the faith. When Marcel was barely three years old, his growing faith was…

The “Angel of Auschwitz”– Venerable Angela Maria of the Heart of Jesus

By Larry Peterson Maria Cacilia Autsch was born in Rollecken, Germany, on March 26,1900. She was the fifth of seven children and her dad, August, worked very hard as a machinist to keep his family fed. He and his wife, Amalia, were devout and knowledgeable Catholics and worked diligently to pass the faith on to…

How did “Visiting” Jesus become a Great Catholic tradition with Adoration and Benediction?

By Larry Peterson Growing up and going to Catholic school, we had religion class every day. One thing we all learned about was the “Real Presence.” There was no doubt in our minds that inside the church, Jesus was truly present “body and blood, soul and divinity. He was inside the tabernacle, and He was…