Dr. Italy
In this brief video by Sherwood Fellows the key themes of Lent are explored - th...
In this 8 minute video, Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D. (Dr. Italy) shares so...
Saint Andrew of Crete on the nativity of Mary as a turning point between old and new covenant, the frontier where types and symbols give way to realit...
The parable of the merciless servant illustrates the meaning of "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," a petition i...
September 11th is the anniversary of one of most brutal acts of terrorism of all time. Three days later, on September 14, the Catholic and Eastern Or...
St. Ambrose explains how the sacrament of baptism was prefigured in the story of the flood and Noah's Ark in the Book of Genesis. The wood of the Ark, the flood waters and the dove which returns with the olive branch all prefigure different...
Ambrose here addresses those who have just received the sacrament of baptism, showing them the many types or prefigurations of the waters of baptism to be found in the Old Testament Scriptures. This a wonderful meditation for those participating in RCIA....
St. Ambrose of Milan tells newly baptized Christians the meaning of the post-baptismal rites: the clothing with a white garment and the anointing with sacred chrism which we call the sacrament of confirmation or, in the Eastern churches, chrismation....
One of the greatest Fathers and Doctors of the early Church here explains how the descent of the Holy Spirit transforms us, making us sharers in the Divine Nature of the Word. The Holy Ghost changes us and empowers us to live a new...
This third in a series on Understanding the Mass focuses on the way the Lord Jesus is really present in his body, the church, as well as his real presence in the priest. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]hether they’re Catholic or not, whether they understand...
The Feast of Corpus Christi, the body and blood of Christ, was instituted during the lifetime of Thomas Aquinas as a proclamation of faith in the real presence (aka transubstantiation) of Christ's body and blood in the sacrament. This selection, read annually on...
While the word "transubstantiation" is not employed here, the substance of this doctrine of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist is evident in this passage from St. Ambrose's treatise On the Mysteries, dating to AD 380. This excerpt explains the power of the words of...
"The force be with you." No, God is far from an impersonal force. The doctrine of the Trinity shows us just how personal, even interpersonal, God really is....
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]his day, in which for the first time I may sit in the chair of the Bishop of Rome, as Successor of Peter, is the day in which the Church in Italy celebrates the feast of the Lord's Ascension. At...
Ambrose here treats of the Holy Spirit as the abundant river of grace that flows from Jesus, the Font of life, in the form of seven channels which are the seven gifts that overflow the banks of our minds leading us to supernatural knowledge of...
This sermon by Augustine, originally delivered on the Solemnity of the Ascension, notes that we, the members of Christ's body, ascended to heaven with the Lord through love....
6 minute podcast providing an overview of the strategic and spiritual importance of Jerusalem, and why it is called the city of David...
A collection of useful information on Coronavirus COVID-19 especially as it relates to pilgrimage travel with the Crossroads Initiative. What is the status of the upcoming pilgrimages sponsored by the Crossroads Initiative? From Dr. Italy, a veteran international traveler and pilgrimage tour leader. We encourage...
“It must be stated that Vatican II is upheld by the same authority as Vatican I and the Council of Trent, namely, the Pope and the College of Bishops in communion with him, and that also with regard to its contents, Vatican II is in...
Augustine on the divine love, known as charity, caritas, agape, that Jesus commanded us to have for one another in the last supper discourse of the Gospel of John. This sort of love is impossible for human beings without the help of grace -- it...
Written by St. Irenaeus about 185 AD, this excerpt makes clear the Church's realistic interpretation of the eucharist as the risen body of Christ which serves as the medicine of immortality, the pledge of our own future resurrection. The real presence of the body...
In this brief video, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. ("Dr. Italy") explains what Fundamental Theology is and why it is not just important, but pivotal and even decisive for determining what we believe about God, ourselves, and how we are to live. Christians and non-believers alike are often...
The Solemn Intercessions for the liturgy of Good Friday according to the Roman Rite....
In his Urbi et orbi blessing amidst the Coronavirus Crisis, Pope Francis shared a meditation on the calming of the storm from the Gospel of Mark. The prayer service over which he presided on the steps of St Peter's Basilica took place on Friday evening,...
The COVID-19 quarantine has left many of us with more time at home than usual. Here's a video challenge to fix your eyes on Jesus by reading one or more of the gospels from beginning to end. Start with the gospel of Mark. During COVID-19, we...
Amidst the storm of COVID-19, we need to keep our focus on the Lord, not the waves and wind. It was when Peter took his eyes off Jesus, looking at the problem, that he sank. The same mistake can sink us. In the midst of the...
Palm Sunday marks the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. But he entered in humily, not in pomp and power. To humble ourselves and make our souls the garments that we spread before him, this is the greeting he desires says St. Andrew of...
Excerpts from two ancient Holy Week homilies followed by a special Holy Week thanksgiving prayer appropriate for either personal or corporate use. Super devotions for the sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday....
This post on the sufferings and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is focuses on Palm Sunday but makes for a great read anytime during the Lenten Season or Holy Week. Frequent meditation on the Passion of Christ is important because the Passion is...
5 min video on Building spiritual muscle fighting coronavirus. Growing prudence in justice by battling the storm together. Muscles are only developed through resistance. The fight against Coronavirus can be an occasion for developing spiritual muscle! Holiness is measured by the strength of the three spiritual...
A 5 min video from Dr. Italy to help give you inspiration in the midst of the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. There is an opportunity in the midst of every crisis - practical tips on how to make the most of it. The COVID-19 coronavirus is unprecedented...
Hold fast to God, our one true good, counsels Ambrose. In the following words, he explains the essence of the great commandment of Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Loving God with your whole heart, soul, and strength means holding on to him, seeking him and pursuing him with...
\[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']D[/dropcaps]ear friends, If any of you have told many friends and family that you are going to the Holy Land, you probably have been told "you've got to be crazy!" For those following TV news over the years, this reaction is quite...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']S[/dropcaps]ome people give in when confronted with temptation in their lives. Some just do the best they can. In this week’s Gospel reading [the first Sunday in Lent] we have an inside look at how Jesus overcame temptation with God’s...
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) here makes clear that Satan, aka the devil, cannot be reduced to a mere symbol of evil. He is a personal being, a fallen angel, who is at the same time not an evil god, but a creature...
While preaching on the occasion of the Dedication of a Church, St. Caesarius of Arles points out that baptism makes of us temples of God, sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit....
This excerpt from a catechetical instruction by St. Cyril of Jerusalem dates from the mid 4th Century, just a generation after the Council of Nicaea. At that time, the bishop of Jerusalem himself instructed the catechumens before baptism (today's RCIA), and this is a record...
7 minute podcast discussing Capernaum, the central town in the Galilean ministry of Jesus and the disciples. Home of Andrew and Peter, Capernaum was the site of some of the most powerful stories in the four gospels....
In this 7 minute podcast, Sonrise Morning Show Host Anna Mitchell interviews Marcellino D'Ambrosio about the groundbreaking study from Ascension Press: Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Dr. Italy spend most of 2019 writing and filming a ground-breaking Bible study on the life and...
2 minute trailer for the new video Bible Study series from Ascension Press, Jesus: the Way, the Truth and the Life, by Jeff Cavins, Marcellino D'Ambrosio ("Dr. Italy"). A virtual tour of the Holy Land that will help you make Jesus more the center of...
John Chrysostom here comments on the famous lines in the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus calls his disciples the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World (Matt. 5: 15-16). [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']Y[/dropcaps]ou are the salt of the earth....
In this 20 minute podcast from Ascension Roundtable, Dr Italy and Marisa D'Ambrosio discuss three very important tools of prayer that you may not know about . . . but should! Why you need to know about these tools to enrich and empower your spiritual...
The New Evangelization is all about testimony. Each is called to be a witness in both deed and word says Pope John Paul II and Vatican II....
Christians don't leave home to "go to Church" - the family, says Vatican II, St. John Paul II, and Pope Francis, is the "domestic church," the smallest pastoral unit of the Church where much of the life of the church takes place....
The list of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most comprehensive that we've seen. We hope you find it helpful. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps]m I the only one who wants to have in one handy location all the titles ascribed to...
An excerpt from the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII Munificentissimus Deus defining the Assumption of Mary, long taught by the ordinary magisterium of the Church, as a dogma of faith....
The publication of The Da Vinci Code in 2003 and the New Age movement both rekindled interest in an ancient religious movement known as Gnosticism. A second century bishop named Irenaeus wrote a massive rebuttal of the claims of the gnostics which we do well...
Where did December 25 come from as the celebration of Christmas, the birthday of Jesus? What are the origins of the feast of Christ's Navity?...
The Second Vatican Council is often called a pastoral council since it issued so many practical directives for the renewal of the day to day life of the church. Many of the objectives of the council fathers have been implemented since Vatican II's close in...
People often think of the Catholic Church primarily in terms of being an institution. While the Church does have an institutional dimension, it is entirely at the service of proclaiming the word of God. It is a prophetic institution....
The Marian devotion of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, is beautifully manifest in his previously articulated "six reasons for not forgetting" Mary. In a 1984 interview with Vittorio Messori, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, identified Our...
Advent reminds us to be vigilant and awake. We should be watchful, longing and yearning for the coming of Christ says St. Ephrem the Syrian....
This Advent reading on the two comings of Christ is an excerpt from Cyril of Jerusalem's famous catechetical instruction of adults getting ready for baptism around AD 360. Cyril contrasts Christ's first coming in humility with Jesus' second coming in glory....
In 1969, then Fr. Josef Ratzinger, theologian and peritus (theological advisor to the bishops) at the Second Vatican Council, predicted that the Church of the future would be much smaller than it was in the sixties, at least in the western, developed world. But, the...
Augustine, commenting on the psalms command to sing to God songs of joy, notes that the jubilation in our hearts sometimes overflows the capacity of all words, yet we cannot remain silent. The Church recalls such songs of joy on the feast of St....
This excerpt from an Eastertide sermon by Saint Augustine was addressed to the newly baptized, who Augustine considers as the chosen, holy seed who have been born again in Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of baptism. These new men and women are now sharers...
Is the method of interpreting scripture used by the Fathers of the Church and the Medieval monks now obsolete because of the coming of scientific, historical-critical exegesis? Henri de Lubac, following the teaching of Pope Leo XIII through Pius XII and the Second Vatican...
Augustine comments on the Last Judgment scene found in Matthew 25 and speaks about the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and how to be properly prepared for it by showing the same mercy to others by which we wish to be...
This doctoral dissertation abstract on "Henri de Lubac and the Recovery of the Traditional Hermeneutic" was submitted to the theology department of the Catholic University of America by Marcellino D'Ambrosio for completion of the requirements of a Ph.D. in historical theology. The abstract was submitted...
The second Council of Orange was a small synod of only 14 bishops, presided over by St. Caesarius, bishop of Arles, held in what is now south-eastern France. It confronted issues of faith, grace, free-will and predestination in order to solve lingering debates over Pelagianism...
An excerpt from the Letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans, written while on his way to Rome to be martyred in the arena where he expects to become God's wheat, food for the wild beasts, a willing sacrifice with and for Jesus Christ....
It is fitting that Pope John XXIII be canonized a saint by Pope Francis -- they share a focus on humility, prayer, the surprises of the Holy Spirit and breaking papal protocol to draw near to the simple people, Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers....
This excerpt on prayer from Ambrose's treatise on Cain and Abel highlights the value of thanksgiving, forgiveness of others, and praying with and for the whole body of Christ, the Church, rather than simply praying by oneself for oneself....
{1} This essay is dedicated to the memory of cardinal Henri de Lubac, S.J., who died on September 4, 1991. {2} "Take . . . the success from a religious point of view of such authors as Péguy or Claudel. Is it not extremely significant?" H. de Lubac, Catholicisme (1st...
This article, "Ressourcement theology, aggiornamento, and the hermeneutics of tradition" by Marcellino D'Ambrosio is reprinted from Communio 18 (Winter 1991). The theological movement the set the stage for the Second Vatican Council shows that the Christian tradition is a vital and dynamic force that is not retrograde, but...
The writings of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch and one of the most inspiring of the Early Church Fathers, provide a revealing glimpse into the heart of an early Christian martyr as well as into the life and teaching of the Church just after the close...
The twelve apostles of Jesus of Nazareth -- 12 fishermen and tax collectors who were selected from the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to be official eyewitnesses of his public ministry, death, and resurrection, priests of the new covenant, stewards of the mysteries of...
Brief video by Dr. Italy that provides an overview of the Life and teaching of St. John Chrysostom, early Church Father, Doctor of the Church, and one of the greatest preachers of all time. The story of this courageous hero will inspire you....
St. John Chrysostom proclaimed the Gospel fearlessly despite the jealousy and hatred directed at him by the supposedly Christian Empress and Imperial Court of Constantinople around AD 400. In the face of government threats he proclaims "If Christ is with me, whom shall I...
When asked what the four cardinal or hinge virtues were, St. Bernard of Clairvaux replied "humility, humility, humility, and humility." This article explains what humility is and why it is so central to Christian life, in light of Jesus' conversation with James & John, the...
St. John Eudes on living in Christ in intimate union, as body is united to head. Jesus, who is the source of our life, wants to live in and through us. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps] ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is...
John Damascene, early Church Father, on the Dormition and bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the end of her earthly life. This homily is cited by Pope Pius XII in his definition of the Assumption as a Dogma of faith....
Gregory of Nyssa says we are not true Christians unless we reject emnity & become peacemakers, promoting unity, reconciliation, harmony & peace in Christ...
Augustine, in the conclusion of his commentary on John, speaks of our future hope - the vision of God in heaven following the coming of Christ. The Gospel of John and every book of the Scriptures will no longer be needed since we will see...
This reading on the mean of Christ's sufferings Savior's passion reflects on the Lord's passion by means of several key bible passages including of the piercing of Christ's side in John 19. Theodoret interprets the blood and water flowing from that wound as signs of...
Ignatius of Antioch, in chains on his way to martyrdom in Rome, writes advice to his fellow bishop Polycarp. Married and celibate members of the community should live their marriage or celibacy as offering in God's honor. And the entire Church must offer to God...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]t is right for you to give glory in every way to Jesus Christ who has given glory to you; you must be made holy in all things by being united in perfect obedience, in submission to the bishop and...
St. Clare is remembered in the liturgy of the Church on August 11. Inspired by her neighbor, Francis of Assisi and under his direction, she founded an order of nuns commonly called the “Poor Clares.” Though she lived a cloistered, contemplative life in the...
All Christians, even the busiest among us, are called to contemplative, even mystical, prayer. Here are a few tips on how to experience contemplation even in the midst of action....
Bruno of Segni considers Jesus' visit to the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany (Luke 10) as a lesson on the difference between the contemplative and active life....
What makes a particular Church Council Ecumenical? How many have fit this definition down through history, and what is their importance and authority? The Catholic and Orthodox Churches have related but somewhat different answers to these questions....
The first in a 4 part series on the Magisterium, or sacred teaching office, of the Catholic Church, explaining the relation between Church authority and biblical authority, and how written documents, even inspired writings of the BIble, require authentic, authoritative interpretation....
Ambrose, speaking to newly baptized Christians in the fourth century, shows how the reality of the eucharist is the true bread from heaven of which manna was only the symbol and shadow. It is the heavenly banquet set before us on the abundant table...
Speaking to new Christians, about to be baptized, Cyril of Jerusalem urges them to acknowledge their sins and wash themselves clean, to empty themselves so as to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the supernatural seal conveyed through the anointing with sacred chrism following baptism....
Clement of Rome here speaks out against schisms and division in the Church of Corinth at the end of the first century. He makes clear that every effort must be made to restore and preserve unity and brotherly love in the body of Christ....