John of the Cross here gives forceful expression to the faith of the Church that in Jesus Christ, God the Father has given us his complete and ultimate revelation of Himself and His plan for our lives. The glimplses of God and partial revelations of...
Bede the Venerable, one of the greatest Christian writers of the early Middle Ages, here reflects on the Magnificat, the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary proclaimed during her visitation of her cousin Elizabeth and sung every night in the Church's evening prayer, part of...
The Prayer of Abandonment, written by Blessed Charles de Foucauld, is one of the most beautiful prayers of faith, trust and surrender in the Christian spiritual heritage. Memorize it, pray it often, and share it with others! [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']F[/dropcaps]ather, I abandon myself into...
A ode to the Blessed Virgin by St. Anselm, read on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, December 8. The doctrine of the sinlessness of Mary from the moment of her conception was believed and taught in the church long before it...
Leo the Great reminds us that Christmas, the nativity of the Lord Jesus, is the birthday of peace and our birthday as well, since we are members of Christ's body, the Church....
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...
Quodvultdeus on the story recounted in Matthew's gospel of innumerable babies in Bethlehem by Herod's soldiers in an attempt to kill Jesus, the newborn king. These children are considered martyrs and are remembered on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28, the 4th...
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,...
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...
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=''...