In this beautiful prayer, read by the Church each year on June 9, the feast of St. Ephrem, we see the sacraments as a reflection of the light of the resurrection, an experience of the divine beauty which brings us delight....
Tertullian, one of the most important Christian writers of the late second and early third century, here explains why the Church's apostolic foundation is so important. The tradition of the apostles is our link to Christ and our guarantee of continuity and fidelity. This excerpt...
This classic Paschal or Easter Sermon is from Saint John Chrysostom, fifth century early church father and one of the greatest preachers of all time. This homily for Holy Pascha exhorts all, even those who have not kept the Lenten fast, to rejoice and enter...
The Creed proclaims "He descended into Hell". This homily for Holy Saturday from the 4th Century treats of the "harrowing of hell" and the rescue of Adam and Eve. This was a popular theme in early and medieval Christian poetry, liturgy and song....
Andrew of Crete comments on Jesus' coming to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to remind us of Christ's continual coming and his final coming, calling us to receive his light and rejoice in his glory....
Saint Leo the Great on meditating upon Christ Crucified as a way of showing reverence for our Lord's passion and sharing in the victory of the cross. We must recognize that in taking our human nature to Calvary and then to the Father's right hand,...
The Solemnity or Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord is celebrated on March 25. Here, in his typically lyrical language and powerful imagery, Leo the Great ponders the unfathomable mystery of God becoming man in the womb of a Virgin who had the...
I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness Of the Creator of creation. I arise today Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial, Through the strength of...
St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated on March 17 for fifteen hundred years since it is the day that Patrick, the missionary bishop who evangelized Ireland, passed from this world to eternity. This excerpt from his autobiographical work called the Confession makes clear that...
The Passion of Perpetua and Feliciy contains the prison diary of Vibia Perpetua a young woman martyred in Carthage in the third century AD. This is one of the only extant accounts from a Christian martyr shortly before execution and perhaps the earliest surviving Christian...