Leo the Great on Mary, the Royal Virgin of the house of David, mother of the Messiah and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, was associated with the Virgin Mary since Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus would have crossed...
Addressed to those who have just received the sacrament of baptism, this sermon by St. Ambrose of Milan explains to them that that they've not simply been baptized in ordinary water, but in the sacred waters that transmit the invisible fire of the Holy Spirit....
St. Ambrose explains how the sacrament of baptism was prefigured in the story of the flood and Noah's Ark in the Book of Genesis. The wood of the Ark, the flood waters and the dove which returns with the olive branch all prefigure different...
Ambrose here addresses those who have just received the sacrament of baptism, showing them the many types or prefigurations of the waters of baptism to be found in the Old Testament Scriptures. This a wonderful meditation for those participating in RCIA....
St. Ambrose of Milan tells newly baptized Christians the meaning of the post-baptismal rites: the clothing with a white garment and the anointing with sacred chrism which we call the sacrament of confirmation or, in the Eastern churches, chrismation....
One of the greatest Fathers and Doctors of the early Church here explains how the descent of the Holy Spirit transforms us, making us sharers in the Divine Nature of the Word. The Holy Ghost changes us and empowers us to live a new...
This third in a series on Understanding the Mass focuses on the way the Lord Jesus is really present in his body, the church, as well as his real presence in the priest. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]hether they’re Catholic or not, whether they understand...
The Feast of Corpus Christi, the body and blood of Christ, was instituted during the lifetime of Thomas Aquinas as a proclamation of faith in the real presence (aka transubstantiation) of Christ's body and blood in the sacrament. This selection, read annually on...
While the word "transubstantiation" is not employed here, the substance of this doctrine of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist is evident in this passage from St. Ambrose's treatise On the Mysteries, dating to AD 380. This excerpt explains the power of the words of...
"The force be with you." No, God is far from an impersonal force. The doctrine of the Trinity shows us just how personal, even interpersonal, God really is....