These words of Cyril of Alexandria on the mission of the 12 apostles are read on October 28, the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude. The name of Saint Simon usually appears 11th in the list of the Twelve. Nothing is known of him...
John Chrysostom shows how the transformation of twelve weak and fearful disciples into world-conquering apostles is the surest proof that they indeed saw the risen Christ. Customarily read on the feast of St. Bartholomew, apostle, on August 24, this excerpt shows us how the...
St. Lawrence (also rendered St. Laurence) was one of the seven deacons of the Church of Rome and was martyred under the Emperor Valerian on the 10th of August 258, four days after Pope Sixtus II and his companions. Little is known of the life...
Here Augustine reflects on hishat famous incident, recorded in Luke 10, when the Lord comes to the home of Martha and Mary. Martha busies herself with the details of hospitality, anxious and troubled about many things. Martha represents the battle we all face against the...
Clement of Rome, writing about thirty years after the martyrdom of St. Paul, affirms the Pauline balance - we are justified by faith and yet it is God's will that we perform good works of love, in abundance. He illustrates his point by many...
This excerpt from the Rule of St. Benedict is read on St. Benedict's feast day on July 11....
St. Gregory the Great's commentary on the Apostle Thomas and his struggle with doubt. It makes for especially good reading for the Octave of Easter or the Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle, which since the fourth century has been commemorated on July 3,...
Basil the Great here urges generosity in almsgiving. Basil views works of mercy as sowing seeds of charity that bears the fruit of eternal happiness....
This is the famous passage from St. Augustine's Confessions (Lib 1,1-2,2.5,5: CSEL 33, 1-5) in which Saint Augustine states "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."...
One of the most famous quotes attributed to Irenaeus is "the glory of God is man fully alive." Here we have the original context of that quote in Irenaeus' discussion of the vision of God which gives life. ...