Why must I confess my sins to a priest? Can't I simply go straight to God? These questions about the Catholic Church's sacrament of penance and reconciliation, aka confession, are answered poignantly by Blessed Isaac of Stella, an abbot from the 11th century (Sermo 11:...
Augustine reflects on the nature of a true sacrifice pleasing to God. Works of mercy and acts of compassion qualify, but the most perfect sacrifice is that of the Whole Body of Christ, head and members (Totus Christus), which is offered to God in every...
Augustine describes the theological virtue of hope in terms of expanding the desire of our hearts to see God face to face, stretching the capacity of our souls to contain more of the fullness of his presence....
From a letter by Tertullian, an Early Church Father, to his wife, ca. 202 AD, illustrating the great esteem for the sacrament of holy marriage in the days of the early Catholic Church....
Isaac of Stella on Paul's exhortation in Galatians 6:2 to "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Charity is characterized by compassion, patience, and forbearance. To forebear the weaknesses and faults of others is a hallmark of divine love. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65'...
Diadochus of Photice, a bishop of the early church, explains the role of recollection and discernment in Christian life. To discern thoughts originating in God from those planted by the enemy, we must cultivate peace of soul and mind and dispose ourselves for the...
This excerpt from a second century homily speaks of what it means to honor and blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ, and the Church, the body of Christ. "Is the Lord’s name blasphemed? It is because we say one thing and do another."...
The central document of the Second Vatican Council was Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. The heart of this document its teaching in chapter five that the call to holiness is not limited to any one state in life, but is indeed universal,...
In this 15 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell, host of the Sonrise Morning Show, discusses with Dr. Italy, the significance of Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus, the Blind Beggar of Jericho. What emerges is a tribute to a kind of faith that acts up and reaches out. Jesus...
Death is both a mystery and an enigma say the fathers of the Second Vatican Council. This moving treatment of death and dying is an excerpt from one of the more important of the Council documents, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern...