Blessed Bartolo Longo, pray for us

This morning I had the pleasure of appearing once again on Morning Air on Relevant Radio to discuss how some people start out really, really bad - like satanic bad - and turn it around in time to become a saint. That’s right, we discussed Blessed Bartolo Longo, the Italian atheist/revolutionary possessed by demons who then realized the errors of his ways (due to lots of prayers by those around him) and spent the rest of his life in charitable works, devoted to Mary. You can listen to the interview here, starting at 19:18.

His story is hard, because it’s so relatable. How many people choose the wrong path, because of grief or disappointment, or something similar? What strikes me about Bartolo is that he eventually chose correctly. And isn’t that all life is? A series of choices? And we must use our own moral judgement, and ask God for guidance, to make it through.

He will be canonized October 19. Blessed Bartolo Longo, pray for us!

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and what's a satanist got to do with it?

Provocative subject lines, indeed! First, today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. As JD Flynn noted in today’s The Pillar newsletter (go subscribe), Our Lady always shows up.

Now, about that satanist thing: I will be on Morning Air this Thursday at the usual time of 8:20 am eastern to discuss the one and only Bartolo Longo. Dude really was a satanist. But guess what? Now he’s going to be a saint! That’s right, this atheist possessed by demons will shortly become the Church’s newest saint. How could that be? Listen in to find out!

I have known about Bartolo for a while because of his Marian devotion, which I think I learned about in the Legion of Mary. His story is just so weird and sad and tragic up front - and then completely turned around and grace filled for the other 3/4 of this life. I’m contemplating a couple things:

One, he became an atheist in college in the midst of the political revolutionary stuff happening in Italy at that time (late-ish 1800s). It’s like kids now - they go to college all cheerful and bright eyed and come out all goofed up. So he’s a patron for that.

Another thing: to me, he’s the patron saint of good choices and having good influences. He made terrible choices as a result of grief, personal ego, a tendency toward independence and stubbornness too, I would say. But it was the prayers and the efforts of some devout and genuinely loving Catholics in his life that brought him back from total self-destruction. So here’s to being aware enough to make good choices, when called to in tough personal circumstances, and for the saving power of good friends and influences.

I hope you enjoy the conversation. Check here for where you can listen.

A conversation about moral courage

Last week, i was on Morning Air to discuss moral courage, which has been on my mind as of late. You can hear the conversation here, starting around 19:45.

Moral courage is the ability to stand up for what you believe in through words and action, in the face of great opposition. Christians must demonstrate moral courage in every part of the globe; in some places, just going to Mass is an act of moral courage.

Here in America, we know that a certain number of our fellow Americans - by their own self-reporting - believe that violence is the correct response to disagreement. Unfortunately, that is where we are in this country. That means that standing up for what you believe in becomes all that more scary.

One interesting question John asked me was how listeners could demonstrate moral courage. The answer basically is to just do it, even when you are aware of the consequences. But my response was to think about those around you who you have seen demonstrate moral courage. Your priest who gives an honest homily on a social issue, the family member who stands up for what is right for the children in the family, instead of trying to be their friend or not hurt their feelings. And of course, learn by the example of the saints, especially martyrs, while not necessarily wishing for martyrdom yourself. That might be a bit of spiritual arrogance.

Every age since Christ’s time has required moral courage, so we are not that special. Nonetheless, it’s a tough thing to do, because generally we want to just get along, eh? But really, maybe the first step for each of us is just to talk. Since as a culture we seem to have lost the ability to disagree civilly, the first way to demonstrate moral courage is to simply talk with others: about your beliefs, about the truth about God, the meaning of life, the reality of objective morality, and that we are all intended for more. And meanwhile, we can pray to the Holy Spirit to help us speak the truth, courageously, and with love.