St. Bede the Venerable on the call of Matthew, Tax Collector turned disciple, apostle & evangelist. Matthew, originally called Levi, was, as a publican, excommunicated from the life of the synagogue and shunned in Jewish society....
The Beheading and Martyrdom of John the Baptist is remembered on August 29. Saint Bede here emphasizes that John died for Christ since he was killed for speaking the truth and Christ is the truth. He who baptized Christ was baptized in his own blood,...
Bernard of Clairvaux extols wisdom as a hidden treasure and prudence as honey which delights the heart. Bernard himself came to be known as the “Mellifluous Doctor,” meaning the one from whose lips the wisdom of God flowed like honey....
Here Bonaventure emphasizes faith as the key to Bible interpretation. The goal of Bible study is not academic knowledge, but wisdom -- the experience of God leading to eternal happiness and fulfillment of all our desires....
St. Romuald was born in Ravenna, Italy in the middle of the tenth century. He was a mystic who led the life of a hermit, traveling through various regions seeking solitude and establishing small monasteries. Here St. Peter Damian gives us some insight into the...
Here Anthony of Padua, one of the greatest preachers of the Middle Ages. interprets the tongues of Pentecost as different "love languages" whereby we witness to Christ by words and, even more importantly, actions. For his feast on June 13th....
Bonaventure reflects on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the meaning of the blood and water flowing from the side of Christ crucified (John 19:34), the living water of sacramental grace coming from the loving heart of the Savior. He reflects especially on several lines...
San Bernardino of Siena (a.k.a. St. Bernadine of Siena) was a great Franciscan preacher from Tuscany who died in 1444. He was very successful at fostering devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus....
Bede the Venerable, one of the greatest Christian writers of the early Middle Ages, here reflects on the Magnificat, the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary proclaimed during her visitation of her cousin Elizabeth and sung every night in the Church's evening prayer, part of...
St. Catherine of Siena here shares a prophetic message she has received from God that underline's the boundless generosity and providence of God, the giver of all good gifts, and how we, through sin, tragically twist these gifts, designed to be life-giving, so as to...