The Gospel of Luke presents Mary, mother of Jesus, as the model of faith, showing us what faith must include to be authentic and effective. And imitating Mary's virtue is key to an authentic Marian devotion....
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...
This excerpt from St. Augustine's Treatise on John's Gospel (Tract. 123, 5: CCL 36, 678-680) is read on the feast day of St. Nicholas, December 6. It focuses on the real meaning of the gift-giving for which St. Nicholas is famous--the self-giving love of a...
Ambrose of Milan, one of the greatest pastors of all time, gives this advice to pastors regarding what it means to be a shepherd and a bishop. It is read annually on the liturgical memorial (feast) of St. Ambrose on December 7....
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...
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,...
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...
14 minute podcast in which Dr. Italy describes the town of Bethlehem and the field of the Shepherds at the time of the birth of Christ. Helps bring the Christmas story alive as we read of the little town that was the city of David....
Where did December 25 come from as the celebration of Christmas, the birthday of Jesus? What are the origins of the feast of Christ's Navity?...
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...