Gregory the Great explains the nature of true simplicity making use of the example of Job as well as the Gospel saying of Jesus "Be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves." For him simplicity must be accompanied by the fire...
Writing in the early 8th century, Bede explains why the Magnificat, Mary's prayer on the occasion of her Visitation of Elizabeth, is used daily in the liturgy of the hours (a.k.a the divine office) for evening prayer....
This excerpt from 2nd century Church Father, Irenaeus, contains beautiful imagery of the Holy Spirit as the rainfall of God as well as a fascinating allegorical interpretation of parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the role of the various persons of the Holy Trinity-...
This selection from a sermon of a sixth century African Church Father interprets the gift of tongues on Pentecost as a sign of the unity, catholicity and universality of the Catholic Church which is, from the day of its birth, made up of people from...
Peter Chrysologus, a 5th century Church Father, on the priesthood of all Christian believers conferred in baptism and confirmation. He elaborates his teaching in the course of commenting on the apostle Paul's words in Romans 12:2 where we are called to offer our bodies as...
On the first Easter, the Risen Lord makes clear to his frightened disciples he not a ghost or specter and in so doing shows why the gnostic gospels are bogus and did not make it into the Bible....
This talk on SAINT JOSEPH, HUMILITY AND MEEKNESS is 3rd in a series of presentations given by Dr. Italy for the special Year of St. Joseph. Jesus combined tremendous strength with great humility and gentleness. In his human nature, he learned this from his father. In...
This post on the Lord's Prayer comes from one of the earliest treatises on the Our Father, written around AD 240 by Cyprian of Carthage. It discusses one of the three pillars of Lenten penance, namely, the importance and power of prayer....
Saint Asterius of Amasea, a bishop and Early Church Father, on the gospel parable of the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 to go in search of the one lost sheep....
Augustine, commenting on Galatians, hits many themes: grace, merit, freedom, and imitation of Christ. Paul, laboring with the Church which is a mother, experiences birth-pangs until Christ is formed in the children of God....