A Long-Awaited Restoration Revives a Historic Brooklyn Catholic Church

Weekly prayer used to look very different for Christaina Iluwere. For years, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, her home parish since 1985, had desperately needed repairs, with some Sunday Masses interrupted by the patter of water, when rain would leak through the roof.

Holiness Is Not a One-and-Done Task, But a Lifelong Pursuit of the Truth

Augustine of Hippo, the preeminent fifth century philosopher, confessed to keeping concubines, including one who bore him a son. In his autobiography, Augustine admitted praying, “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Still, this self-described “slave of lust” pursued holiness. In the year 386 he converted to Christianity, due in large part to the faith of his mother, St. Monica. He went on to become a celibate priest.