Francis de Sales, one of the great masters of the spiritual life, here makes clear that devotion, his term for the pursuit of holiness, is not something tied to a specific state of life. All people, in a way appropriate to their own calling...
John Chrysostom here gives eloquent praise to the passionate love of Christ that drove St. Paul to face persecution and hardship with joy and leave behind the honors and benefits of the world. It is read each year on January 25, the Feast of the...
Sonrise Morning show hostess Anna Mitchell and Dr. Italy discuss a saint whose story caused a sensation in the Roman world of the fourth century - This 14 minute podcast focuses on the first St. Anthony, a hermit and abbot, who was renown for his...
Hilary, commenting on Psalm 133, points out the central importance of Christian unity and fraternal love. He even says that the chief instruction of the apostles is that believers be of one heart and one mind....
January 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics not because it is New Years, but because it is the octave (8th day) of Christmas, the feast of Mary the Mother of God. This feast helps bring home the reality of the incarnation, that...
We all know the elements of the Christmas story: Caesar's census and Herod, shepherds and Magi, ox, swaddling clothes & manger, a stable and not room in the inn, Emmanuel and the Prince of Peace. But underneath each of these people, places, and things,...
December 26, The Second Day of Christmas, has been observed as the Feast Day of Saint Stephen, Protomartyr, since at least the fifth century. Fulgentius of Ruspe, a North African bishop, here notes how fitting it is that the birthday of love should be followed...
In this 7 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning show interviews Dr. Italy on the profound meaning of the Magnificat, Mary's canticle uttered on the occasion of the Visitation, and how it manifests her as the Queen of Humility and the Queen of...
This is an excerpt that recounts the famous apparition of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, to the Indian, Juan Diego, on Tepeyac hill outside of Mexico City in the year 1531. The annual Feast commemorating this marvelous event is celebrated on December 12. [dropcaps...
John the Baptist is often thought of as a stern, grim figure. But as a matter of fact, he could be the patron saint of joy! Maybe that's why is is the focal point of the gospel for Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday, the...