Gregory of Nyssa, in the course of his treatise on Christian perfection, lays out these guidelines for the sort of examination of conscience which should be a regular feature of anyone who wants to make progress in Christian discipleship....
Here Basil the Great reflects on the abundant goodness of God and the unimaginable beauty of his inumerable gifts. The only proper repayment is love....
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']1[/dropcaps] Prayer Is a Means Necessary to Salvation. One of the errors of Pelagianism was the assertion that prayer is not necessary for salvation. Pelagius, the impious author of that heresy, said that man will only be damned for neglecting to know...
Scott Hahn writes of how the biblical vision of Pope John Paul II got his attention even in his days as a Protestant minister. Karol Wojtyla was so effective because of his command of Scripture...
Irenaeus here shows that the Church of the 2nd century regarded the Eucharist as a sacrifice which fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 1:11 of a new, pure oblation and offering that would be offered by the gentiles all over the world. ...
These words of Basil the Great on the gift of God's love and the the radiance of divine beauty were originally addressed to his monks as part of his monastic rule....
Cyprian here writes of the martyrdom of St. Fabian who was elected bishop of the Church of Rome in 236. In 250, at the beginning of the persecution of the Emperor Decius, Pope Fabian was captured, martyred, and buried in the catacombs, in cemetery...
Athanasius sees a marvelous unity and order in creation that is held together and orchestrated by the divine word. He uses the metaphor of harmony in music to describe the magnificent unity found among the magnificent diversity of the world's creatures. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color=''...
Here St. Cyril of Alexandria comments on the promise of God the Father to pour out his Holy Spirit on all mankind in order to renew and restore our wounded human nature. In his baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ, "the first-fruits of our restored nature," receives...
The following are excerpts from Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) that pertain to the Mass and the sacrament of the eucharist. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]NTRODUCTION For it is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist,...