St. Augustine here reflects on the famous conversation in the Gospel of John between Jesus and the Samaritan woman who came to draw water from the well. He sees her as a symbol for the Gentiles who are called to conversion and faith and...
Senator James Harlan of Iowa, whose daughter later married President Lincoln's son Robert, introduced this Resolution in the Senate on March 2, 1863. The Resolution asked President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of prayer and fasting. The Resolution was adopted on March 3, and...
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...
Here St. Ambrose comments on the biblical theme of God as Our Refuge (Pslam 45) and emphasizes God's incomparable goodness for which we must thirst as if deer longing for fountains of water....
This Lenten and Holy Week meditation on Psalm 45 and the contemplation of beauty represents a message that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) sent to a meeting of the ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation in August 2002. The group was meeting in...
The infinite mercy and goodness of God are revealed in the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep, & the Good Samaritan. St. Maximus the Confessor says these prove that Jesus Christ goes to any lengths to seek us out when we have...
Sr. Faustina Kowalska and Devotion to Divine Mercy A sermon by Pope John Paul II Sr. Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun who propagated devotion to the Divine Mercy in the form of a devotion known as the Divine Mercy Chaplet. This sermon was given by Pope John...
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...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='75' color='' background_color='' border_color='']"T[/dropcaps] he justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ” (cf. Rm 3, 21-22) Dear Brothers and Sisters! Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our life in light of...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']"J[/dropcaps] esus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity" (Matthew 9:36) Dear Brothers and Sisters! Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He...