Caesarius of Arles' point of departure in this meditation on divine mercy is one of the beatitudes found in the Gospel of Matthew: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." He exhorts us to become "mercy's slaves" who receive divine mercy & give...
Gregory of Nyssa continues his reflections on the Beatitude "blessed are the pure for they shall see God" (Mat. 5:8) by showing how purity of heart is the key the opens the way to seeing, to the hope of the vision of God....
Gregory of Nyssa, commenting on the beatitude "blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God," compares God to an inaccessible rock, a mountain peak impossible to climb except to those lifted up, as Peter was, by the strong hand of Jesus....
Paul tells us we are justified by faith, not works. The story from Luke 7 about Jesus, the Pharisee, and woman with the alabaster jar helps us to understand what Paul means and why many debates between salvation by faith vs. works entirely misses...
St. Ambrose here provides a poetic and moving description of the role of the book of psalms in the prayer life of the Church. Though many devotional prayers are are to be found in the treasury of the Christian Tradition, it is the psalter...
Cyril of Alexandria discusses the words of Jesus "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5)l; how the Holy Spirit is the bond uniting us with Christ & one another, making us bear fruit....
Gregory of Nyssa urges us here to follow Paul's command to keep your eyes fixed on Christ rather than be preoccupied with earthly trivialities. The wise man heeds this advice. The fool preoccupies himself with things destined to pass away....
To Our Venerable Brethren, All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World, in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See. Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he God of all Providence, Who in the adorable designs of His love at first elevated...
Here St. Fulgentius of Ruspe shows how all the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were merely signs foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice, the only sacrifice that could take away all sin and reconcile the human race with God, the self-offering of the Lord Jesus Christ...
Here St. Basil asks if boasting is ever appropriate and answers yes -- we are to boast only of the Jesus Christ crucified, finding our righteousness in Jesus. In his cross, human pride is laid low....