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This great preacher initiated the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception and is known as the Saint of the Stations of the Cross
By Larry Peterson Domenico Casanova was a ship captain, and he and his wife, Anna Maria Benza, lived in Port Maurice, a seaport near Genoa. On December 20, 1676, Anna gave birth to a son, and they named him Paul Jerome Casanova. Paul’s father was a devout Catholic and took the responsibility of teaching his…
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He will become the Third Saint from the Philippines: Meet Servant of God; Archbishop Teofilo Camomot
By Larry Peterson Teofilo (the name means “Lover of God”) Camomot was born on March 3, 1914, in Talisay, Cebu, which is located in the center of the Philippines. He was the third child of Luis Camomot and Angela Bastida, who would eventually have eight children together. Teofilo was baptized the day after his birth…
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Loneliness and Thanksgiving: Thoughts from a Catholic man
God is the Answer because without Him there is no Hope By Larry Peterson “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” St. Teresa of Calcutta This will be the third Thanksgiving since my wife passed away, and when you become widowed, there is an inescapable loneliness factor that enters your…
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This Saint was Hanged for the Crime of ‘Harboring a Priest’—Her final words were, “I would have harbored a thousand priests.”
By Larry Peterson Anne Heigham was born in England in 1563 during the early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Her parents were wealthy Calvinists, and Anne was the eldest daughter of William Heigham, who was the son of Roger Heigham, a protestant reformer who worked for King Henry VIII. When Anne and…
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John F. Kennedy, a Kid from the Bronx and a Moment in Time
The following was written on the 5oth anniversary of JFK’s death; November 22, 1963. It is a true story. By Larry Peterson “The president is dead.” For those of us who can remember those words from more than 50 years ago, they were seared into our brains like letters sand-blasted into a granite headstone forever:…
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‘Virgen de Los Desamparados’ aka Our Lady of the Forsaken
By Larry Peterson On Friday, February 24, 1409, Father Juan Gilberto-Jofre, a Mercedarian priest, was on his way to the Cathedral to say Mass. He heard a commotion in the street and saw a man on the ground covering his head with his arms as a gang of young people were taunting and mocking and…
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La Naval de Manila—Honoring the Great Lady of the Philippines; this devotion began in 1646
By Larry Peterson Catholics in the Philippines are profoundly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, honoring her is at the very essence of their faith. Every year, on the second Sunday of October, a grand celebration is held to honor Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila. The…
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St. Malachy’s Church; Home to The “Actor’s Chapel” an Oasis of Catholicism in the Heart of the Broadway Theater District
By Larry Peterson I was in New York City recently (my hometown), and I was blessed by being able to attend 9 A.M. Sunday Mass at St. Malachy’s Church. Located on W 49th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, this is the very heart of the Broadway theater district. This area of midtown Manhattan is…
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His business failed, his wife died, he lost three children in succession, managed to become a Jesuit Lay Brother, and ultimately was canonized a saint. Meet St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
By Larry Peterson The friar pulled open the big, oak door, and before him stood a disheveled looking man staring at him. The year was 1571, and the down and out fellow was a thirty-seven-year-old cloth merchant seeking admission to the order. The weary, hunched man was not seeking to be a priest but, instead,…
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ALL SOUL’S DAY—-It is NEVER too late to seek forgiveness
During November let’s never forget that God’s Mercy knows no Bounds; It can travel from War Criminal to Baseball Hero and to all points beyond. By Larry Peterson All Soul’s Day is more than just a day to remember and pray for our departed loved ones. It is a day we should embrace fully because…
Cradling Catholic 