My Cousin the Saint | Justin Catanoso » Catholic

Just-in Time for Christmas

justin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:46:23 +0000

Just a reminder that My Cousin the Saint — in hard cover, paperback or e-book — makes a great gift for Christmas. It’s a timeless story about faith, family, and miracles. And much of the story is set in Italy! The prices in any format are really inexpensive these days. So order early and often!

Let’s hear it for mediocrity

justin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:43:49 +0000

A year ago, a reader wrote to congratulate me on being, as I accuse myself late in my book, “a mediocre Catholic.” I thought it a strange thing until he explained: if there were more people of mediocre faith, the world would be a much less violent place….Another example:

WASHINGTON, March 29 — Nine members of a Michigan-based Christian militia group have been indicted on sedition and weapons charges in connection with an alleged plot to murder law enforcement officers in hopes of setting off an anti-government uprising.

A new archbishop in New York

justin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:39:53 +0000

From today’s Times: “Archbishop Dolan, a church historian whose studies have focused on the contemporary American Catholic experience, made it clear on Wednesday that he understands he was chosen for his formidable skills at communications and public relations, and that he intends to use them.”

The whole story is here.

What would St. Patrick do?

justin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:26:46 +0000

From the On Faith column in the Washington Post:

“The Bishop of Scranton threatened to cancel mass during Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, one of the largest in the country, if organizers honored “an abortion-rights supporter” — ostensibly Vice President and Scranton-native Joe Biden. They didn’t and he didn’t.

“But the controversy threatened to divorce the Church from politicians who enforce laws permitting abortions. Since Catholic officeholders are sworn to respect the constitution, the bishop’s decree would have effectively kept all those kind of law-abiding Irish-American Catholics out of the Church on St. Patrick’s Day. Its arguable whether the threat advanced the coming of God’s Kingdom. However, it goes against tradition.” The rest of the story is here.

Hawaii’s saint

justin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:56:43 +0000

VATICAN CITY — A 19th-century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii, and died of the disease, will be declared a saint this year at a Vatican ceremony presided over by Pope Benedict XVI. Story here.

Through a Glass, Darkly: A review

justin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:05:10 +0000

Kari Baumann, a Greensboro blogger, reviews My Cousin the Saint here.

Almost everything you need to know about saints

justin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:46:18 +0000

I think it’s fair to say that you can learn a lot about saints and the canonization process by reading My Cousin the Saint. But this blog post is good, too. By the way, St. Gaetano Catanoso is the patron saint of parish priests.

Why saints

justin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:06:52 +0000

The Vatican’s leader of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Bishop Angelo Amato, shares his thoughts on the meaning and importance of saints in this letter.

An excerpt: “The Saints themselves are these ’seeds of newness,’ people who have fully realized the greatest projects, to live the perfection of love. The Saints are, therefore, precisely the ones who can enlighten the minds of the men and women of our age, who ran reignite in them the faith, who can sustain in them the prospective of the good, who can propose to them generous impulses which can overcome the paralysis of mediocrity, who can help them renew their interpersonal relationships in truth and justice, in such a way that no-one is left marginalised or overcome by despair and distress.”

The first parish

justin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:00:57 +0000

Padre Gaetano Catanoso, ordained in 1902, was sent to Pentidattilo in 1904 to lead the hilltop parish at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul. He served there for 17 years.

Virtual book tour

justin — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:09:14 +0000

As part of this virtual book I’ve been on the last couple of weeks, I have a guest post at the blog Catholic Dads. The link is here. I appreciate the invitation!