Friends Above Saints for a Surprising World

God’s Grouch vs. the Lion: The Compassion of St. Jerome

Lots of saints had unusual animal companions. Jerome, as one can see in many paintings of him, had a lion. I’m not sure if the point of the story of Jerome and the lion is that exotic pets are good, but there is a moral in it about compassion and judgment worth hearing.

The Korean Martyrs: The Most Remarkable Conversion

It’s no secret that Christianity and its role in society is shrinking in Europe and much of the Western world. How our faith adapts and grows again remains to be seen. The answer may come from Africa and Asia. The story of the Korean Martyrs offers hope.

The Murderer-Saint: Moses the Black and God’s Patient, Generous Forgiveness

I’m blessed to be where I am. Even a few years ago, I would not have guessed that I’d be sitting here in a region that I love, in a house I just bought, with a wonderful and wise wife downstairs, and our son in her womb. God has been generous to me. He’s given me all these gifts at a point when I thought too many years had gone to hope for these blessings. It isn’t that my life is free of challenges now or that it lacked blessings before, but I am grateful for what I have now and feel awe at how my Father works in His own time to show His love.

Today’s saint is a reminder that God lavishes his patience and generosity on everyone. Some of these are temporal gifts, like my home. Some have eternal worth, like forgiveness. One of those whom God loved with such gifts lived in fourth-century Egypt as a robber, a murderer, and a fornicator. His name is Moses, nicknamed “the Black” on account of his skin, and he is a great saint.