Matt West
Trivia Question❓On his voyage to Rome as a prisoner, St. Paul's ship was wrecked in a violent storm. On what island did everyone wash ashore? Answer at the bottom of the newsletter |
Welcome to Catholic Tales |
Welcome back to Catholic Tales, and hello to everyone who's new this week! This issue is for anyone who has ever doubted, failed, or felt too far gone. You'll kneel beside a monk in an Italian town thirteen centuries ago who was quietly doubting at the altar, until he looked down at the Host in his hands and saw something he could never unsee. Then you'll meet a fisherman who denied Jesus three times by a charcoal fire, and a man who hunted Christians, until a blinding light knocked him to the ground. Both became pillars of the Church. One of them survived a shipwreck on the way to Rome. Can you name the island? That's this week's trivia. Read all the way to the bottom for the answer. And if you know someone who thinks they've wandered too far from God, forward this email to them. These stories were made for them. |
From Catholic Tales TV |
This Week's Stories |
Around the year 700, a Basilian monk in the Italian town now called Lanciano was quietly doubting the Real Presence.
According to tradition, as he consecrated the bread and wine, they visibly became flesh and blood.
The relics are still venerated in Lanciano today, guarded by Franciscans.
A 1970s study by Professor Odoardo Linoli reported human heart tissue and type AB blood, though those findings have not been independently repeated.
Science cannot prove a miracle, and no Catholic is required to believe this one.
But the story still speaks powerfully to every believer who has knelt at Mass and wrestled with doubt. Read More... |
Before he was the first pope, St. Peter was Simon, a fisherman from Galilee who left his nets to follow Jesus.
He was bold and impulsive, the first to speak and often the first to be corrected.
Jesus named him the rock, yet on the night of the Passion, Peter denied him three times.
After the Resurrection, Jesus restored him by another charcoal fire.
Peter went on to lead the early Church, preach at Pentecost and die a martyr in Rome under Nero.
His life proves that failure is never the end of the story with God. Read More... |
Before he was St. Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant Pharisee determined to destroy the young Church.
On the road to Damascus, a blinding light threw him to the ground, and Jesus asked why Saul was persecuting him.
Blind for three days, he was healed and baptized by a believer named Ananias.
The hunter became the Church's greatest missionary.
Paul crossed the Mediterranean, survived beatings and shipwrecks, wrote letters still read at Mass today, and died a martyr in Rome.
His life proves no one is beyond the reach of grace. Read More... |
💡 Answer to Trivia Question: Malta. The Acts of the Apostles (chapters 27 and 28) says all 276 people on board survived the shipwreck. Paul spent about three months on the island, healing the sick, before continuing to Rome. Malta still celebrates the shipwreck of St. Paul every February 10. |