St. Thomas Becket gave his life rather than allow his king to trample the rights of God and his church. Here he exhorts fellow Christian leaders to the courage and initiative that he exemplified. Without real effort he writes, no one wins the crown. His...
Saint Leo says the genealogy of Jesus given us in Luke and Matthew's gospels shows that Jesus was truly one of us, possessing a complete human nature. He did not merely appear in human form, as in the biblical types and scriptural symbols of the...
Peter Chrysologus notes the meaning of the incarnation, God becoming man, for human dignity. The humanity of Christ is the original sacrament from which all the others flow....
Irenaeus, ca. AD 185, here writes of the incarnation, the Word of God born for us as Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, Son of Man, the sign of our salvation. He comes to restore God's likeness in us and lead us to glory. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color=''...
Aelred of Rievaulx on Jesus Christ as the model of brotherly love and patience through his forgiveness of persecutors and enemies and his prayer from the cross "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."...
This reflection on the meaning of the Season of Advent, the time of preparation for the Coming of Jesus Christ, is an excerpt of a Pastoral Letter written by St. Charles Borromeo, bishop of Milan, Italy, in the 16th Century....
St. Francis Xavier, Patron Saint of Foreign Missions, was clearly one of the greatest missionaries and evangelists of all time. Though not all of us are called to foreign missions, the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI, and Pope John Paul II remind us forcefully...
Cyril of Jerusalem on two dimensions of faith, as taught by the Bible. There is the faith necessary for salvation which is a gift offered to all. Then there is the extraordinary grace of mustard seed faith....
St. Martin de Porres lessons from his life: excerpts from the homily given by Pope John XXIII on the occasion of his canonization....
Ambrose reflects on Paul's statement in Philippians 1:21 "to live is Christ, to die is gain." He sees dying as a road to life since through the death of Christ, we are redeemed. This passage is read annually on All Souls Day, November...