Here the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy lays out a synopsis of God's mysterious plan of salvation through the paschal mystery of Christ's passion, resurrection and ascension, celebrated in the liturgy & sacraments. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]n his desire that all...
One of the most hotly contested issues between Protestants and Catholics has been whether or not the Mass, also known as the Lord's Supper and the Eucharist, is a sacrifice. Dr. Italy here clarifies the issue. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']F[/dropcaps]rom the very outset of...
Vatican II on the ways Christ is really present in the liturgy and why liturgical prayer has an excellence that surpasses all other devotions and activities of the Church....
This reading on the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the Eucharist as it was taught in the Early Church is by Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem in the middle of the fourth century, and one of the most important sources we have for...
Hilary of Poitiers says the Word became flesh and we receive his flesh in the Lord’s Supper, the sacrament of his body & blood, the Eucharist....
Fulgentius of Ruspe here treats beautifully of the relationship between the unity and charity of the Church and the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrament of unity and charity (agape or caritas) leading to spiritual fellowship and communion (Greek koinonia and Latin communio). [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100'...
Fulgentius of Ruspe reflects upon the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist. In in imitating the death of our Lord we should walk in newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit....
Bishop of Jerusalem in the mid 4th century, St. Cyril here instructs recently initiated Christians about the holy oil of gladness, called chrism, that make them anointed ones, sharing in the anointing of Christ through the sacrament of confirmation....
Why the confirmation is a distinct sacrament, how confirmation relates to sharing in the Lord Jesus Christ's mission as priest, prophet and king, the meaning of the sacred oil called chrism, why the bishop normally confers the sacrament of confirmation, the seven (7) gifts of...
The spiritual circumcision of the heart through repentance and the sacrament of baptism -- Lenten meditation by Aphraates, a Syriac Father of the early Church.. All the biblical covenants are covered: the pact with Adam, Noah, and Moses. Just as Joshua led the people of...