Gregory of Nyssa here identifies the glory that Jesus speaks about in the Last Supper discourse of the Gospel of John with the Holy Spirit, the source of Christian unity. He also sees a reference to the Holy Spirit in the Song of Songs...
The term "the New Evangelization" is repeated often in Catholic circles. But what precisely does this phrase refer to and what's "new" about this particular form of the preaching of the gospel?...
The Solemnity of the Ascension celebrates many things, among them hope, charity, and the Great Commission to preach the gospel to all nations. Thus, it is a fitting time to ponder the call of Pope John Paul II to a "new evangelization."...
Didymus the Blind shows how the spiritual fire and living water of the Holy Spirit give us new birth and transform us into new men and women, sharers in the divine glory and co-heirs with Christ....
Cyril of Alexandria on the resurrection of Jesus Christ as giving us a sure hope, guaranteed by the Spirit, that we too will rise again....
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....
The eucharist is indeed the Lord's passover, insists Gaudentius of Brescia, in which we truly receive Christ's body under the appearance of bread and his blood under the appearance of wine....
This excerpt from a homily by St. Gaudentius, bishop of Brescia, Italy clearly demonstrates a belief in the real, substantial presence of Christ's body and blood in the sacrifice of the Eucharist....
Here Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem in the mid-4th century, urges catechumens to prepare themselves to receive the Holy Spirit at the Easter Vigil. He speaks of the sacrament of baptism in nuptial terms, describing it as a wedding feast at which the bridegroom will...
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...