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....
Aelred of Rievaulx on Jesus Christ as the model of brotherly love and patience through his forgiveness of persecutors and enemies and his prayer from the cross "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."...
Why must I confess my sins to a priest? Can't I simply go straight to God? These questions about the Catholic Church's sacrament of penance and reconciliation, aka confession, are answered poignantly by Blessed Isaac of Stella, an abbot from the 11th century (Sermo 11:...
Peter Damian on St. George. The veneration of Saint George, the courageous soldier of Christ and martyr, began as early as the fourth century at Lydda in Palestine, where a church was built in his honor. From antiquity this veneration has spread throughout both the...
Isaac of Stella on Paul's exhortation in Galatians 6:2 to "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Charity is characterized by compassion, patience, and forbearance. To forebear the weaknesses and faults of others is a hallmark of divine love. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65'...
Columbanus (Columban) urges us to remember our dignity, created as we are in the image and likeness of God. Since God is love, we must manifest love in our actions and our words, being especially careful lest we deface that image through careless use of...
Bernard of Clairvaux on the martyrdom of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross – her heart is pierced by a sword as Simeon predicted. For the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15....
St. Bruno on Psalm 84. "How lovely is your dwelling place" is taken to refer not so much to the Jerusalem temple as the heavenly dwelling of God in heaven according to the spiritual / anagogical sense of Scripture....
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...