Saint John of the Cross makes clear that the only path to profound knowledge of God and the joy that this brings is through tribulation and suffering. But this difficult path is worth traveling. For Christ, the destination, is like a mine with many pockets...
It is fitting that the feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist, occurs during the Christmas season. For it is John, in his gospel and his first epistle, who so clearly teaching us the wonder of the incarnation, the word of God and word...
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....
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]t appears that it was during the fourth century that Christians began celebrating Jesus' birth on December 25 in the Western part of the Roman Empire and January 6 in the East (Epiphany). It is true that we really don't know the month...
Leo the Great exhorts us, in celebrating Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord, to recognize that the incarnation ennobles our humanity. Christian remember your dignity!...
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...
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 & ass, swaddling clothes & manger, a stable and not room in the inn, Emmanuel and the Prince of Peace. But underneath each of these people, places,...
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=''...
In this excerpt from a letter written AD 125, so appropriate for Advent, the anonymous author discusses the marvelous and secret plan of salvation culmination in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Paul calls this plan "the Mystery." The...