Historian, educator, and writer, Catherine Hommes’ passions and expertise are in the Italian Renaissance and Celtic, Benedictine and Ignatian spirituality. Catherine has taught writing, literature, and history in a variety of settings. She is a graduate of Wheaton College, The University of Chicago, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has also engaged in Italian studies at the University of Florence and at the British Institute in Florence.
Brigid’s reputation for holiness, wisdom, generosity to the poor, and good management drew hungry souls to Kildare like bees to honey. The convent expanded into a monastery that housed both men and women.
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Holy Week While long winter nights ease into light-filled days and green shoots poke through crusty snow, the Lenten fast draws toward its final…
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For many, Easter is synonymous with spring… Easter eggs… Easter bunnies… Easter baskets… Easter lilies and festive dinners. But the origins and significance of…
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A Celtic Liturgy by Pat Robson is a small prayer book that fits into the palm of one’s hand. Though diminutive in size, it contains a multi-coursed feast for the hungry soul.
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Like flocks of sheep scattered among the hills, history and legend link numerous places throughout the Emerald Isle to Saint Patrick.
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Roses, chocolate, candle-lit dinners and Valentine cards are part of the language and practice of friends and lovers on St. Valentine’s Day. The holiday…
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The Irish Saint Ciaran is remembered as the founder of Clonmacnoise, one of the greatest monasteries in Ireland. He is also numbered among the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.
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“In a quiet water’d land…stands Saint Kieran’s city fair; And the warriors of Erin in their famous generations Slumber there.” Along the banks of…
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Layering in a wool sweater and rain jacket insulated me from the chill and damp. Upon entering the monument site, I faced one of several hilly embankments and steep trenches surrounding the hill and several monuments. My hiking shoes helped me remain upright as I climbed up and slid down the rain-soaked ground. Upon reaching the summit, the mist was swallowed by a brilliant blue sky uncovering a majestic and sparkling green Boyne River Valley.
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Yet his (Columba’s) greatest legacy is the founding and development of the Monastery City of Iona. Iona became one of the most influential worship, educational, missionary, and political centers of the Western World until its destruction by Vikings in the 9th century. Iona also became the ‘mother’ of scores of monasteries…
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‘Peregrinatio’ is a Latin term used by St. Augustine Of Hippo urging Christians of the 4th and 5th centuries to adopt a life of peregrinatio in…
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“We read to know the world and ourselves better.” -Ann Hood As vibrant daffodils and grape hyacinths transform the stoney New England landscape, the…
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