Saint Joseph's Day

Her Imperial Highness Catherine II was Russia’s longest reigning Empress, having risen from minor German nobility to ruler of the Russian Empire. Centuries after her eventful rule, Catherine II is commonly known as Catherine the Great. In Russia’s history, only three monarchs have been awarded this title; the most famous being Peter the Great, the father of Catherine’s predecessor, Empress Elizabeth. For Peter, being awarded the title of “Great” was based on his combat prowess combined with…

Saint Lucy has multiple names such as, Saint Lucy or Saint Lucia. Saint Lucy was was born in the year of about 238 A.D. She was martyred around 304 A.D. according to the era of the rule of the Diocletianic Persecution. We celebrate her feast day on December 13 which is the time that Christians celebrate advent. Saint Lucy is known for being tortured and having her eyes gouged out because she didn’t deny her faith. Symbols that connect with Lucy are silver platters with two eyes atop of the…

Peter the Great (originally known as: Pyotr Alekseyvich Romanov), was a Russian czar during the late 17th century. He was born on June 9th, 1672 in Moscow, Russia and passed away on February 8th, 1725 in Saint Petersburg, Russia after ending up with a fever due to attempting to rescue drowning soldiers in freezing water. Peter is famously known for positively modernizing Russia and Russian life in various ways. Peter essentially transformed Russia from "nonexistence" to "being". As a leader,…

Old St. Peter’s Basilica St. Peter’s History Saint Peter. Often referred to as “Rock” due to the exchange with the Savior in the Gospel of Matthew stating, “… thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…” Peter is revered as one of the greatest men that has walked this earth. He walked on water with the Savior, he was present for many of the most sacred events that take place in the New Testament, he was chosen by the Savior to hold the keys of the kingdom on earth, in his calling…

Mark references the story of His 40 days in the wilderness and battle with Satan’s temptation in the first chapter. (1:12), and portrays His confrontations with demons as well as with the religious leaders of His time. In the Gospel of Mark- the Jewish elders form a united front against Jesus…

Catherine’s husband treated her with no respect or love. Catherine lived most of her first 23 years unloved and with no one to look up to. Well in Russia Catherine learned everything she could from Empress Elizabeth before her death, looking forward to one day being empress herself. When Peter the III was deemed by his own people as a traitor, Catherine took her chance and crowned herself empress. Catherine was a very intelligent woman and during her marriage she educated herself in the ways of…

We took a day trip to Sabiaco and Monte Casino and visited where St Benedict started the Order of St Benedict. We visited the main part of the church where Benedict spent so much time in prayer, and we saw where three miracles happened. In the first miracle St. Benedict…

Some people begin a debate when is comes to the thought of what a church is. Is it a building? Or is it the people, that create the church? There are many perspectives on this topic. Here is my view on this topic. Throughout my whole life, I have been taught that the “church” was not the building. It was the people inside the building. Some people may state scripture and say that it is the building that one is in, such as Matthew 16:13-20. Here it states that Jesus asked his disciples who…

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -George Santayana This quote best exemplifies the allegory Animal Farm written by George Orwell. It shows that Napolean forgot about all the mistakes that Farmer Jones made and he committed them himself. Many of Napolean’s bad decisions and selfishness led the farm to even worst situations. The Russian Revolution is very similar to Animal Farm because both events resulted in the overthrowing of the government due to many reasons…

Significant Symbols in Animal Farm George Orwell was inspired to create a novel called Animal Farm, in the year of 1945. In the novel, Orwell uses satire to describe what life was like during the Russian Revolution. The novel contained many different symbols to represent the Russian Revolution. In the allegorical novel, it is viewed for the rise and decline of socialism in the Soviet Union. George Orwell incorporated symbols into his novel that are significantly related to what happened…