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Being a saint isn’t about living on a hilltop, or moving entire worlds thanks to charismatic leadership. Rather, it’s about fully offering skills and work in the form of a prayer that serves God on a minute-by-minute basis – even when it comes to mundane things like digging trenches.

In that respect, Nicholas Owen had it right. Born into a pious Catholic family, with two brothers who were priests – and another who was an underground publisher of Catholic books – Nicholas Owen served the Jesuits for many years before becoming a lay brother sometime around 1580. Being only slightly higher than a dwarf, he was often called “Little John.”

However, Nicholas Owen’s holiness didn’t come from belonging to any religious organization, but rather was the result of old-fashioned, sweat-making work. Nicholas Owen was a construction worker – and he must have been a good one

The Superior of the English Jesuits, Father Henry Garnet, asked Nicholas to build secret rooms in mansions throughout England where priests at that time were hiding from persecution. Nicholas’ presence at the construction sites was justified by his working on projects during the day. At night he would dig tunnels, and an assortment of “priest holes” that included hidden rooms and passages.

With time Nicholas’ curriculum began to closer resemble the Paul Newman character in the classic film “Cool Hand Luke,” than Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Besides using the aliases of Andrews and Draper, impersonating a priest, and being a jailbird, Nicholas was aiding and abetting outlaws from the English government. He was even credited with being the mastermind for a well-known priest’s escape from the Tower of London.

On paper Nicholas was anything but a saint.

The last time that Nicholas was arrested was in 1606 as part of the government’s reaction to the foiled Gunpowder Plot – a conspiracy led by some Catholics who swore an oath on the Holy Sacrament to blow up King James and the Parliament for the exacting of harsh penalties on English Catholics.

With the English government believing that the Jesuits were behind the planning of the Gunpowder Plot, a wide net was cast. At the time of his arrest Nicholas was impersonating Father Henry Garnet, the Jesuit Superior.

Upon the capture of Nicholas, England’s Secretary of State, Sir Robert Cecil the First Earl of Salisbury, is said to have written, “how great was the joy caused by his arrest . . . knowing the great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places, and the innumerable quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests all through England.”

Nicholas was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He refused to give information and was the subject of violent torture: His body was suspended by the placing of his arms in iron rings, while heavy weights were placed upon his feet.

But Nicholas’ nasty and lengthy death isn’t alone what makes him a saint.

There is no way of knowing how many priests Nicholas’ hidden passages saved, but thanks much to this diminutive construction worker the Catholic faith in England was preserved.

In this respect, Nicholas is a model for all of us: to offer our daily labor – no matter how humble it might be – to God as a prayer. In that way we are all called to be ordinary saints – that’s the rule, not the exception.

Clayton has posted an interview he did with Derry Connolly, founder of John Paul the Great Catholic University.

The whole interview is worth reading, but I liked the following analogy.

How important is academic freedom in the vision of John Paul the Great Catholic University?

I like the analogy of a baseball field. In a baseball field, when you’re out in outfield, there are wide open spaces, you can hit the ball wherever you want. But when you’re inside — home plate or wherever — there’s a dugout and stands with definite boundaries. Faculty cannot take positions that are at odds with the teachings of the Church. On the other hand, the Church allows great freedom in terms of how you can implement the teachings of Christ. There are huge opportunities in all the "dos" of the teachings of Christ and the Church. There is enormous freedom… that’s the outfield. There are a million things people can go do which are not inconsistent with the teachings of the Church. Just play on that part of the field. Academic freedom at our university means you need to follow the rules and then, within that framework, take advantage of all the freedoms you have.

The Vatican has established a new religious institute to accommodate priests and seminarians leaving the schismatic Society of St. Pius X, the I Media news agency report.

The new group, the Good Shepherd community, will be located in Bordeaux. Members will be allowed to celebrate Mass using the traditional liturgy exclusively.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, signed the decree establishing the Good Shepherd community on September 8. The institute will be a "society of apostolic life," under the supervision of the Congregation for Clergy and the Congregation for Religious.

The Vatican has approved the canonical statutes for the new institute, as well as the first superior: Father Philippe Laguérie, a priest who was dismissed from the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).

Informed sources at the Vatican report that Pope Benedict XVI personally approved the settlement that will allow members of the Good Shepherd society to use the traditional liturgy, following the Missal of St. Pius V. Members of the new institute point out that by authorizing this move, the Pope has fulfilled one of the major demands made by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre before his break with the Vatican in 1988.

The new fraternity will include five priests and a number of seminarians, including several who are in line for ordination to the priesthood shortly. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will celebrate the group’s first ordinations. All of the members have already left the SSPX.

Father Z has more including some analysis behind this new traditionalist institute.

Matt C. Abbot posts a letter he received from Father James Farfaglia, pastor of St. Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas.

…In the middle of all of this, national news was made this morning on the Internet by a young priest from Connecticut who publicly announced that he is leaving the priesthood because he was a whistleblower in a tragic situation in Darien, CT. I am from Connecticut, and I need to speak out.

A young priest makes national news because he is leaving the priesthood. But what about the thousands of Catholic priests, young and old, who today and every day, are faithfully fulfilling their duties as Catholic priests? Why haven’t they made national Internet news? What about all of us that are out there, doing their job, most of the time under very difficult circumstances?

We are persecuted by homosexual militant priests. We are vilified by traditionalists because we celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass. We are criticized and abandoned by parishioners because we stand up for the Church’s teaching on birth control, abortion, and pre-marital sex. We push confession only to sit in the confessional for hours alone. And yet, here we are, doing our job faithfully every day — and we are not featured on the Internet.

Every day we drag our tired bodies through the battles of modern America. We deal with our own sinfulness and weaknesses. Sometimes we fall, but we get back up again through the sacrament of confession. We find consolation and the strength through the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On the Titanic, a group of three musicians decided to remain on the ship playing their beautiful music as the ship went down. They could have jumped ship with many of those who were able to get into the life boats, but they decided to remain and keep playing their music. They remained and played "Nearer to God to Thee".

We know from Sacred Scripture that "the gates of hell shall not prevail," but in the meantime, the Catholic Church in this country is in a terrible mess. Catholic priests need to remain at their posts. Parishes are closing, entire dioceses may disappear, but the Church will still go on. I for one, with the grace of God, will remain at my post until I die of natural causes or someone puts a bullet in my head.

Isaac Jogues had some of his fingers bit off by wild Indians (sorry, I am not p.c.), and he returned to America only to face martyrdom. Edmond Campion continued to serve his people knowing that a horrible death would eventually take place. Miguel Pro courageously continued to defend the Catholic Faith in Mexico and then died also a martyr as he cried out "Viva Cristo Rey."

Where are the Isaacs? Where are the Edmonds? Where are the priests like Miguel? They are there. They are the thousands of Catholic priests in their parishes, in the seminaries, in the hospitals, in the mission lands, in the universities and schools faithfully carrying out their priestly duties each day with a smile on their face even though they are crucified every day with the Lord that called them to serve Him and his people.

Catholic priests of God: do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; be faithful; be a hero. Remember to always pray: Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

From a story on a Nigerian preist celebrating ten years as a priest.

I had my own share of challenges. Were it not for the grace of God, I would have been dead. The experiences I had in life are worth sharing. The year I finished primary school in 1976, on the 25th day of December, Christmas day, I got burnt from head to toe, and I was hospitalized for more than three months. I was packed into a large blanket because even my poor mother was afraid of holding any part of my burnt body. But I came out successfully and I continued again, another struggle in my secondary education but after my secondary school. Barely after my ordination, I travelled to Zaria to celebrate with the priest, on the next day, the 5th of August, 1996 (just like today, ten years ago). I had a domestic accident in Father Mamman’s house. It was in a bath where I used to sleep and the opening pipe slipped and speared me through my anus and by the grace of God, I survived it. But, the experiences I had with the doctors on that fateful day is similar to what is happening in our hospitals today. The nurses who saw my predicament rushed to the resident doctor, but the doctor said that he would only attend to an emergency case like mine after he might have finished seeing a movie. Unlike in America, you can’t do this because life is respected first. But, you see with us here, even if it is your family doctor, when he is doing something, if he is not through with it, he will not attend to you.

That is not what we priest are called to do. Doctors supposed to be like priests; doctors are to be servants of everybody in every time and in any hour. That was the second hard experience of my life. My third hard life experience was an auto accident on June 20th 2000. I had an accident between Zaria and Kaduna, just by Jaji Army Barracks. I somersaulted five times but came out unhurt and people said that “had it been that this man is not a man of God, he wouldn’t have come out uninjured”. It was even then that I knew these words “man of God” is a sincere word. I somersaulted five times without glass cut, no injury and all was well.

Therefore, I decided to sacramentally bless these incidents — the first one in 1976 as “God the Father” because by that I would have died prematurely; the second one in Father Mamman’s house ten years ago, I named it as “God the Son,” and the one in 2000, I named as “God the Holy Spirit.” In my prayers, I asked God that He should be able to protect me having passed through these past experiences and I could hear God even telling me by answering me, Amen. I thanked God for his mercies towards me.

On board an airplane this week to Sioux Falls, S.D., where Monsignor Paul Swain will soon begin a new chapter as a bishop, he recalled his arrival in Madison on a Greyhound bus 41 years ago.

"I didn’t know a soul," Swain said of Sioux Falls, just as he knew no one when he arrived in Madison to become a teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin.

"God’s way is very interesting, and if you are open to it, beautiful things can happen," Swain told reporters at a news conference today. "I never expected to be a priest – certainly not a bishop."

Swain, a convert to the Roman Catholic faith at age 39, has been named bishop of Sioux Falls by Pope Benedict XVI, the Madison Diocese announced Thursday.

No date has yet been set, but Swain said his installation as bishop would likely occur in October.

As vicar general, Swain was the top administrator of the Madison Diocese. He also was pastor of three downtown Madison parishes: St. Raphael Cathedral, St. Patrick and Holy Redeemer.

Swain, a Vietnam veteran, practiced law and served as the governor’s legal counsel and policy director in the Lee Dreyfus administration. He said a sense of something missing in his life started him on a spiritual journey that led to his ordination in 1983.

Bishop Robert Morlino said he planned to name two priests to fill Swain’s shoes: one as pastor of the downtown parishes and the other as diocesan vicar general. He hoped to announce those appointments in two weeks, he said.

Swain said it would be tough to leave Madison before a decision on the rebuilding of St. Raphael Cathedral, destroyed by arson in March 2005.

But he reflected that as difficult as it was to lose the historic bulding and parish focal point to a senseless crime, the experience was also an opportunity.

"It brought people to speak about faith and the church in a way they never had before," Swain said. "It touched hearts in a way that helped get me through those days."

Morlino said he hoped to release a decision on the location and facilities of a new cathedral by the end of the year.

Morlino has decried aspects of what he sees as public immorality in Madison, but Swain said he is hopeful about the city.

"Just as downtown Madison is undergoing a resurrection, I think there is a resurrection of spirituality among young people," Swain said.

Another reason Swain said he’s hopeful about Madison is Morlino’s work to make sure that the church’s teachings become part of the public discourse on moral issues.

That’s the approach Swain said he plans to take in South Dakota, where a referendum on a broad ban on abortions is on the Nov. 7 ballot and changes in the death penalty law are being considered in the aftermath of a stay of execution in a controversial death row case.

"A bishop has a responsibility to set forth clearly what the church teaches and that is part of the discussion," Swain said. "We are concerned with the salvation of souls. We are concerned with people and the sanctity of life from conception to death."

Singapore- A 50-year-old woman is suing a church, two Catholic priests and seven helpers for severe side affects of a botched exorcism two years ago, news reports said on Thursday. Amutha Valli maintains the procedure performed against her has left her so traumatized that she now needs 24-hour care, according to The Straits Times.

She claims that Father Simon Tan and Father Jacob Ong with the Novena Church attempted the exorcism on August 10, 2004.

Valli, her daughter and a friend had gone to the church with her son. She fainted, and the two priests took her to a room to rest.

With her family outside, Valli claims they performed an exorcism lasting two-and-a-half hours with the seven helpers. She said she was pinned down, throttled and verbally abused during the procedure.

Her husband Suppiah Jeyabal, a 55-year-old taxi driver, said the incident has turned his wife into a hysterical person.

"She is scared of going out by herself, cannot work, and until recently, was unable to go to the toilet unaccompanied," he was quoted as saying.

Valli is seeking damages amounting to 250,000 Singapore dollars (160,000 US dollars), which include her loss of earnings as a tutor and future medical expenses for psychiatric treatment and medication. The previous expenses have wiped out most of the couple’s savings.

Tan would not comment on the suit. He denied any act of exorcism in earlier remarks.

He said Valli had approached them for help, claiming she was possessed.

Tan, Ong and the helpers only prayed over her in an act of deliverance, he said.

A priest would have to be specially appointed by a bishop to perform any exorcism, which did not happen.

NEW YORK (Roto Reuters) – As CBS prepares to launch a new season of the hit reality show "Survivor," this time featuring teams divided by race, enraged city officials are saying it promotes divisiveness and are calling for the network to reconsider.

"The idea of having a battle of the races is preposterous," City Councilman John Liu said Thursday. "How could anybody be so desperate for ratings?"

For the first portion of the 13th season of "Survivor," which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams – blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites.

In a surprise decision the 2nd District Court has issued an injunction against CBS and has explicitly outlawed racial segregation of Survivor shows. The idea of "separate but equal" teams has not met legal muster. The court has ordered forced busing between the four teams

Jeff Probs, the show’s host, has requested the Cook Island National Guard to block the entrances to the different teams to enforce racial segregation among teams.

Ladies, put the dollar bills away. There will be no well-oiled, hard-bodied men dancing at the VFW Saturday night.

Post commander Chip Shaffer said he did not want to get into a legal fight with the city fathers, who said the VFW could be in violation of three city codes regulating decency in this fast-growing town of 27,000.

"The question to consider was: How much do we extend to defend?" Shaffer said. The post would rather use its money in other ways than a battle with the city to allow the scantily clad "Men of the USA" to perform, he said.

The VFW, on West First Street, had planned the event to raise money for U.S. military personnel and their families.

Shaffer received a letter Friday from City Administrator Walter Denton stating the event could be in violation of three city codes: illicit dancing in an establishment that serves alcohol; a sexually oriented establishment within 1,000 feet of a church or school; and sale or consumption of alcohol within 100 feet of a sexually oriented establishment.

The VFW post has a liquor license and is within 1,000 feet of St. Clare Catholic Church. But Shaffer argues that the VFW is not a sexually oriented establishment and that the dancers would not be illicit. He said he and the promoter were working out the details of what exactly the dancers would wear and were leaning toward a Speedo-style garment that covers more than a G-string.

I have to admit that when I think of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, this was not an image that came to mind.

A meter maid in Brooklyn, New York charged Father Cletus Forson $115 as he rushed to save the soul of a dying woman on July 26. The woman’s daughter had called Fr Forson, 42, a priest in residence at Saint Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church, and said he must come immediately and help her elderly mother who was dying of the flu.

With no available parking at 9:30pm, Fr Forson displayed his "Clergy on Call" permit and rushed inside. He was there for twenty minutes and did not block any entrances.

"There were four cars behind me and three cars in front of me," Fr Forson told the New York Daily News. "But when I came out, I was the only car who got a ticket."

On July 28, Administrative Law Judge Michael Ciaravino found Fr Forson guilty, dismissing his appeal.

"If the sanctity of the law won’t bend for the needs of a dying person, I feel really sad," Fr Forson said. "It disturbs me as a priest and as a human being."

I can imagine this judge in Purgatory being told that there were a bunch of people praying for him, but they decided to dismiss their appeal and let him serve a full sentence.