Sofia, Bulgaria -Winter winds beat down on the old man. He pulled a threadbare coat tightly around his stooped body and shook snow out of peasant sandals. Despite fierce weather, he held out a tin cup to gratefully accept coins from pedestrians, never taking a penny for himself. Even at age 100, the beggar walked … Read moreThe Beggar of Bulgaria
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization We are all familiar with the majestic St. Bernard dog, that gentle giant of the canine world. The fascinating origins of this breed go back to the year 1670, to the St. Bernard Hospice, a Benedictine monastery nestled high in the Swiss Alps. Pilgrims often traveled through the … Read moreWhere did the St. Bernard Dog Come From?
Rome, Italy, 1943. World War II rages and Rome is occupied by Nazi Germany. Italy has surrendered. Allied prisoners have been released from Italian prisons but still must elude capture by Nazi forces. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty masterminds a rescue network to save them. As the sun set over Vatican City, a Catholic priest, tall in … Read more“When he steps over that line, I will torture and kill him!”
On May 22,1958, Doctor Jerome Lejeune leaned into his outdated microscope to study chromosomes taken from the tissue of a child with a genetic anomaly. With a sharp eye, he spotted something strange. Under typical circumstances, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. This baby had as extra copy of chromosome 21. Lejeune leaned back … Read more“It was like a bomb was dropped!”
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization Wrong! It was not Orville or Wilbur Wright. It was a Jesuit priest and mathematician named Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631-1687) who first described the physics and geometry of a flying machine. In 1670 he published a book in which he described a flying ship that was lighter … Read moreWho is the Father of Aviation?
At the turn of the millennium, Eric Brende took bold action. Long concerned about the detrimental effects of technology on the human condition, he decided to test his theory. Brende was a graduate student at M.I.T. and decided to write his Master’s thesis by living with an Amish community for eighteen months. He and his … Read moreThe Unthinkable!
Rome, Italy, 1948. A young Polish priest stepped off the plane, his heart filled with excitement. A momentous week lay ahead for him. Soon he would meet Padre Pio, the humble Capuchin friar who had gained world-wide fame as a mystic and stigmatist. Little did he know that Padre Pio would reveal a secret hidden for … Read moreThe Secret Wounds of Padre Pio: Part II
One day a little boy accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to the shrine to San Pellegrino in Italy. As they entered the church, he heard a woman crying in desperate supplication to God that her deformed child be healed. Instinctively, the little boy prayed with the mother, watching as she placed her child on … Read moreThe Secret Wounds of Padre Pio: Part One
Never stand in the way of a woman on a mission, especially if she is an empress. In the year 325, St. Helena, mother of Roman emperor Constantine, arrived in Jerusalem surrounded by investigators, architects, and advisors. Holy desire burned in Helena’s heart, a desire to find the true cross on which Jesus died. For more … Read moreDiscovery of the True Cross
In 1969, a film crew arrived in Calcutta, India, prepared to shoot a documentary on Mother Teresa and her work with the destitute, often found lying in filth along city streets. Under the direction of BBC journalist Malcom Muggeridge, the crew intended to film inside a home for the destitute. One scene was to be … Read moreA Miracle of Light