Recounted by an eye-witness, the following is the account of the martyrdom of St. Justin Martyr and companions in Rome about 165 AD. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood...
Justin here describes the way the Sunday Eucharist was celebrated in Rome about 150 AD about 50-60 years after the last New Testament books. It shows that the Eucharist was interpreted in a very realistic way in the early church....
In this 35 minute video, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. (Dr. Italy) explains the importance of Justin Martyr, a second century philosopher turned apologist, on the development of Christian Thought. The first pagan intellectual to embrace the Christian faith and use some of the conceptual background of philosophy...
These words from Gregory the Great's Moral Reflections on Job extols how the law of the Lord is manifold in that it includes all the virtues which find their perfection in love. Here he especially comments on Paul's ode to love in I Corinthians 13. How...
A tribute to Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., from Marcellino D'Ambrosio, one of his doctoral students. The author notes Dulles' commitment to holiness and discipleship first as the necessary anchor for his work as a theologian. Dulles was first of all a witness and only secondarily...
Athanasius here describes the orthodox and Catholic teaching on God as Trinity, three persons in one divine nature, a wholly creative and energizing reality. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are an inseparable unity, always acting together....
Gregory the Great explains the nature of true simplicity making use of the example of Job as well as the Gospel saying of Jesus "Be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves." For him simplicity must be accompanied by the fire...
The mystery of mercy revealed in the sufferings of Christ and our obligation to make that extraordinary mercy known to everyone. Our response must be not only prayer, but evangelization. The connection between the Eucharist in which which receive the blood of Christ...
In this 14 minute podcast, Dr. Italy discusses with Anna Mitchell the amazing story of St. Joan of Arc and just how she serves as a model of faith and fortitude for us today....
Often the Catholic teaching about the Eucharist or the Trinity is described as a mystery. Is this just a way of avoiding hard questions about things you can't prove? Some thoughts on what we know and don't know about God and his plan for our...