John the Baptist (aka the forerunner is the only Saint other than the Virgin Mary whose birthday is marked by a liturgical feast. Here Augustine brings out the similarities and contrasts between the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of his cousin, who...
Hippolytus on the proper interpretation of Scripture, and the Incarnation of the Son as the hidden Word of God made manifest and visible. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]here is only one God, brethren, and we learn about him only from sacred Scripture. It is therefore...
Gregory the Great coaches pastors and teachers how to avoid pride. He insists that teaching with authority does not mean belittling and dominating one's students, but modeling in one's life and actions the principles being preached. The apostles Paul and Peter both modeled this....
Since dawn goes from darkness into light, the Church should be called “dawn” or “first light” says Gregory the Great...
Recounted by an eye-witness, the following is the account of the martyrdom of St. Justin Martyr and companions in Rome about 165 AD. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood...
Justin here describes the way the Sunday Eucharist was celebrated in Rome about 150 AD about 50-60 years after the last New Testament books. It shows that the Eucharist was interpreted in a very realistic way in the early church....
These words from Gregory the Great's Moral Reflections on Job extols how the law of the Lord is manifold in that it includes all the virtues which find their perfection in love. Here he especially comments on Paul's ode to love in I Corinthians 13. How...
Athanasius here describes the orthodox and Catholic teaching on God as Trinity, three persons in one divine nature, a wholly creative and energizing reality. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are an inseparable unity, always acting together....
Gregory the Great explains the nature of true simplicity making use of the example of Job as well as the Gospel saying of Jesus "Be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves." For him simplicity must be accompanied by the fire...
The mystery of mercy revealed in the sufferings of Christ and our obligation to make that extraordinary mercy known to everyone. Our response must be not only prayer, but evangelization. The connection between the Eucharist in which which receive the blood of Christ...