Origen, commenting on the book of Joshua, shows that the early Church saw the sacrament of baptism not only as the crossing of the Red Sea, but also as the crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land....
Evangelization--Here Pope Paul VI clearly declares that his message is not about himself or the Church, but Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Like St. Paul, he is an evangelist, an apostle and witness of Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. ...
Dorotheus, a sixth century abbot, here speaks here of a shallow sort of happiness and peace that disappears when hardship comes or offense is given. The true "peace that passes understanding" cannot easily be disturbed by adversity or robbed by those giving offense....
This excerpt from the 2nd century Letter to Diognetus explains to pagan readers how the Church is in the world and not of it, and why this is a cause of persecution. Christians, he explains, are to the world as the soul is to the...
This excerpt on the sacrament of baptism from St. Basil the Great’s book On the Holy Spirit (ca. AD 360) describes how baptism fulfills what Jesus says to Nicodemus in John 3 about being born again in water and the Spirit. He also here outlines...
Cyril of Alexandria here emphasizes that the risen body of Jesus Christ, received in the Eucharist, gives life to those who receive it, expelling death and corruption....
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household from 1980 to the present, here discusses the experience known in charismatic and Pentecostal circles as "the baptism in the Holy Spirit" and how it relates to the sacraments of baptism and confirmation....
Pope Pius XII on the perfect wife and mother of Proverbs 31 whom the Pope calls the radiant sun that brings happiness to the family....
This excerpt from St. Gregory of Agrigentum is an example of the Early Church Father's spiritual interpretation of Scripture whereby realities of the Old Covenant are seen as pointing beyond themselves to Jesus Christ and the realities of the new dispensation. In this case, the...
The Council of Trent here affirms the existence of purgatory and the great value of praying for the deceased. Yet at the same time it sternly instructs that preachers not distract, confuse, and mislead the faithful with unnecessary speculations concerning the nature and duration...