Thomas Merton’s Prayer

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[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']M[/dropcaps]y Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.   I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.   Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I...

06 May, 2021 /

This resurrection sermon by St. Maximus of Turin hits on many of the same themes and images of the Exultet Hymn that is sung every year in the Easter vigil of the Roman liturgy proclaiming "Christ, our light, our endless day, is risen!" ...

02 May, 2021 /

Here Irenaeus underlines the Catholicity of the Church with many cultures professing a single truth, a common tradition of catholic and apostolic faith going back to the apostles and their disciples. Though this was written about 185 AD, one can recognize here the outline of...

22 April, 2021 /

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...

08 April, 2021 /

Many have a strong opinion have Vatican II, but few have actually read the documents produced by the Second Vatican Council.  These non-academic documents were intended to be read by ordinary people and actually provide vision, inspiration and spiritual nourishment.  What follows is an overview...

06 April, 2021 /

This 14 minute podcast features Anna Mitchell, host of the Sonrise Morning Show, interviewing Dr. Italy on what light his experience in the Holy Land can shed on the events of Good Friday on the Via Dolorosa and Calvary. On Good Friday, Christians remember the passion...

06 April, 2021 /

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...

03 April, 2021 /

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'...

01 April, 2021 /

Gregory of Nazianzen here provides us a wonderful guide to meditating on the Passion of Christ in a way that will make Holy Week and the Triduum a life-changing experience. We are enter into the paschal sacrifice by finding ourselves in the various actors...

29 March, 2021 /

Augustine here reflects on the hope and glory of the cross of Christ and the lesson in patience and love contained in the account of Jesus' suffering and death. By his death, Jesus performed the most wonderful exchange with us. Through us, he died;...

28 March, 2021 /

Origen here shows how the Lord Jesus Christ is the true High Priest and sacrifice whose death occurs on Good Friday, the eternal Day of Atonement foreshadowed by the Yom Kippur of the Old Covenant. In this selection we also learn why the early...

24 March, 2021 /

This talk on SAINT JOSEPH, HUMILITY AND MEEKNESS is 3rd in a series of presentations given by Dr. Italy for the special Year of St. Joseph. Jesus combined tremendous strength with great humility and gentleness. In his human nature, he learned this from his father. In...

22 March, 2021 /

Second in a series of three videos for the Year of St. Jospeh by Dr. Italy.  This talk highlights Joseph as a model of faith. Mary’s famous fiat remains a quintessential expression of what faith is all about. This is an important theme in Luke’s Gospel. But...

22 March, 2021 /

The Prayer of Abandonment, written by Blessed Charles de Foucauld, is one of the most beautiful prayers of faith, trust and surrender in the Christian spiritual heritage.  Memorize it, pray it often, and share it with others! [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']F[/dropcaps]ather, I abandon myself into...

20 March, 2021 /

Tertullian, in the late second century, writes of the power of Christian prayer, which replaces the sacrifices of old and makes us priests who are worshipers in spirit and in truth. Prayer is one of the three traditional tools for spiritual growth in Lent...

10 March, 2021 /

Hilary of Poitiers explains what the "Fear of the Lord" really means in Proverbs, Psalms and Wisdom literature of the Old Testament Scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ is himself the way to the fear of the Lord that leads to perfect love....

04 March, 2021 /

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...

01 March, 2021 /

Paul's concept of "pedagogy," further developed here by Irenaeus, holds that the whole period of the Old Testament with all its characters, events, and institutions, was a preparation for and foreshadowing of the fullness of revelation that was to come in Jesus Christ and his...

01 March, 2021 /

Here John Chrysostom contrasts the Red Sea with baptism, Moses with Christ, showing us that while Old Testament realities point forward to the events of the New Covenant, they cannot begin to equal them. ...

28 February, 2021 /

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...

23 February, 2021 /

This excellent reflection on one of the three pillars of Lenten penance, almsgiving or generosity, is an excerpt from a sermon on the love of poverty by Saint Gregory of Nazianzen. It is also a very clear statement on stewardship -- that we are stewards,...

22 February, 2021 /

Ambrose here speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Wisdom of God upon whom we must meditate day and night, whether we are at work or rest, at home or abroad (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9)....

16 February, 2021 /

Leo the Great here emphasizes that the Incarnation, the mystery of God becoming man, changes everything.  Human dignity is now vastly elevated, requiring us to live in a new way, with a new relationship to the visible things of this beautiful but passing world....

12 February, 2021 /

Augustine, commenting on Galatians, hits many themes: grace, merit, freedom, and imitation of Christ. Paul, laboring with the Church which is a mother, experiences birth-pangs until Christ is formed in the children of God....

10 February, 2021 /

In this 14 minute podcast excerpt from the SonRise Morning Show, Anna Mitchell interviews Dr. Italy on the subject of the third pillar of Lenten penance traditionally called Almsgiving but better known as mercy, service or charity.  Mercy is love's response to suffering When people think...

10 February, 2021 /

Ambrose  comments on Paul's Letter to the Galatians and its statement that we are heirs of God, coheirs with Christ, co-heirs who are saved in hope. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he person who puts to death by the Spirit the deeds of our sinful nature...

09 February, 2021 /

[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']J[/dropcaps]esus Christ: "The Measure of True Humanism" Homily delivered by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during the Mass "for the election of the Roman Pontiff" in St. Peter's Basilica, before the conclave 2in April 2005 which went on to elect him as the...

08 February, 2021 /

Augustine, in his commentary on Galatians, here comments on the Apostle Paul’s insistence that Christians are no longer under the law but have received salvation as a free gift of grace. The context is the controversy over whether Gentile converts must be circumsised. The circumsisers...

07 February, 2021 /

The Virtues: Seven Habits of Champions by Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D. www.crossroadsinitiative.com [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']S[/dropcaps]HOW #1: VIRTUE-THE POWER TO BE LIKE CHRIST I. Weakness – strength A. 2 Tim 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and...

04 February, 2021 /

Irenaeus here comments on the famous line of John's Last Supper discourse in which Jesus tells us that he no longer calls us servants but friends.   Friendship with God and service to him leads to immortality. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']O[/dropcaps]ur Lord, the Word of...

04 February, 2021 /

Podcast discussing an amazing opportunity to celebrate the end of pandemic confinement - pilgrimage to Fatima & Compostela including a Spain/Portugal River Cruise. It's been a long time that travel and freedom have been restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  But restrictions are about to be...

03 February, 2021 /

[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']G[/dropcaps]lory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth,because the grain of wheat has fallen into the earth and has died. Christ has died in order to reign in heaven. Not only that: by his death...

03 February, 2021 /

John the Serene was a bishop of Naples and Early Church Father who here reflects on the famous first verse from Psalm 27: The Lord is my Light and my Salvation.  Who shall I fear? [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he Lord is my light and...

02 February, 2021 /

Here John Chrysostom praises the zeal of Paul to win the crown of glory and calls us to imitate his example of virtue. It is most appropriate reading for the feast of Saints Timothy and Titus on January 26 since they were among the...

26 January, 2021 /

Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church, here focuses on the passion of Jesus Christ not only to redeem us but also to teach us.  Indeed, the cross exemplifies every virtue and teaches us all we have to know...

26 January, 2021 /

[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he Apostle commands us to rejoice, but in the Lord, not in the world. For, you see, as Scripture says, whoever wishes to be a friend of this world will be counted as God’s enemy. Just as a man cannot...

25 January, 2021 /

St. Sebastian is is often depicted as tied to a tree and pierced by many arrows.  Ambrose says Sebastian was from Milan and was venerated there during Ambrose's episcopate in the latter part of the 4th century.  It appears Sebastian died in the great persecution...

19 January, 2021 /

The flip side of eternal life is eternal dying. This brief essay on hell, an excerpt from Peter Kreeft's book, The Fundamentals of the Faith, is one of the most succinct and compelling reflections on Hell that I've read -- Dr. Italy...

15 January, 2021 /

This prayer is an excerpt from a sermon On the Trinity by Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a bishop and early Church Father of the fourth century who struggled valiantly against the Arian heresy, defending the divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity....

13 January, 2021 /

This podcast takes off from St. Jerome’s famous saying “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” It discusses the role of the Bible in the Catholic liturgy and, more broadly, in the daily lives of Catholic Christians.  Dr. Italy shows the Catholic Church to be...

12 January, 2021 /

[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]hat Jesus should come and be baptized by John is surely cause for amazement. To think of the infinite river that gladdens the city of God being bathed in a poor little stream of the eternal, the unfathomable fountainhead that...

06 January, 2021 /

Fugentius of Ruspe on Christ as the high priest, the priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.  The priesthood of Jesus is a function of the Incarnation and illustrates an important principle on the liturgy as implicitly containing doctrine....

04 January, 2021 /

"Epiphany" means revelation or appearance.  On this feast, the church celebrates the revelation of Christ as King, messiah, Lord, and God to the Gentiles, to all nations, represented by the Magi from the East. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he loving providence of God determined that...

04 January, 2021 /

Here Gregory Nazianzen points out that Christ was baptized not for his sake but for ours. Sanctifying the waters of baptism for all generations to come, he manifested the the Trinity through the Spirit who comes to rest on him in the form of...

03 January, 2021 /

St. Thomas Becket gave his life rather than allow his king to trample the rights of God and his church.   Here he exhorts fellow Christian leaders to the courage and initiative that he exemplified.  Without real effort he writes, no one wins the crown.  His...

29 December, 2020 /

This excerpt from Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, affirms the sanctity of marriage and the family....

28 December, 2020 /

Saint Leo says the genealogy of Jesus given us in Luke and Matthew's gospels shows that Jesus was truly one of us, possessing a complete human nature. He did not merely appear in human form, as in the biblical types and scriptural symbols of the...

21 December, 2020 /

Irenaeus, ca. AD 185, here writes of the incarnation, the Word of God born for us as Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, Son of Man, the sign of our salvation.  He comes to restore God's likeness in us and lead us to glory. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color=''...

17 December, 2020 /

Thomas a Kempis, in The Imitation of Christ, here treats of the difference between the world's empty promises and the promises of God. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']M[/dropcaps]y son, says the Lord, listen to my words, the most delightful of all words, surpassing all the...

12 December, 2020 /

In his famous classic The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis urges the reader to flee the world and enter into the sanctuary of the heart where the Lord Jesus dwells and gives peace and rest. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]urn to the Lord with...

09 December, 2020 /

This reflection on the meaning of the Season of Advent, the time of preparation for the Coming of Jesus Christ, is an excerpt of a Pastoral Letter written by St. Charles Borromeo, bishop of Milan, Italy, in the 16th Century....

02 December, 2020 /

St. Francis Xavier, Patron Saint of Foreign Missions, was clearly one of the greatest missionaries and evangelists of all time. Though not all of us are called to foreign missions, the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI, and Pope John Paul II remind us forcefully...

01 December, 2020 /

Getting More out of the Mass - practical tips on entering more deeply into the Eucharist and unlocking its spiritual power in our lives. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']E[/dropcaps]veryone knows that the Catholic Church believes in “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist.  The bread and...

10 November, 2020 /

Cyril of Jerusalem on two dimensions of faith, as taught by the Bible. There is the faith necessary for salvation which is a gift offered to all. Then there is the extraordinary grace of mustard seed faith....

04 November, 2020 /

Ambrose reflects on Paul's statement in Philippians 1:21 "to live is Christ, to die is gain." He sees dying as a road to life since through the death of Christ, we are redeemed. This passage is read annually on All Souls Day, November...

01 November, 2020 /

St. Catherine of Siena on the immeasurable love of God demonstrated in the incarnation of the Word, when, moved by love, God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']M[/dropcaps]y sweet Lord, look with mercy upon your people and especially...

31 October, 2020 /

[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps]n integral part of the rosary, indeed, the most essential part, is the meditation on the mysteries of the incarnation (joyful mysteries) and the redemption (the sorrowful and glorious mysteries). Yet there are different ways to meditate on the mysteries. One...

23 October, 2020 /

Augustine here comments on the meaning of each of the petitions of the Our Father. If we do not use the exact words of the Lord's Prayer when we pray, all that we do say ought to be inspired by its spirit....

23 October, 2020 /

7 minute Podcast describing the town of Cana in Galilee, site of the wedding feast of Cana.  A famous place of pilgrimage that celebrates marriage provides a memorable opportunity for the renewal of wedding vows. The most famous wedding feast of all time occurred in a...

16 October, 2020 /

Mother Teresa is best known for her dedication to serving the poorest of the poor as a witness to the Gospel of Mercy. Yet that did not prevent her from speaking out about abortion, an issue that some believe is a political or religious...

14 October, 2020 /

Collection of Quotes from Saint Teresa of Avila, Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Catholic Church. Quotes on humility, courage, pain, trials, prayer, knowing ourselves, God's Will and other topics. ...

14 October, 2020 /

A 17 minute podcast in which Sonrise Morning show host Anna Mitchell asks Dr. Italy questions about the amazing 2nd Century bishop and martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, the subject of one of the chapters of his book When the Church Was Young: Voices of the...

13 October, 2020 /

Mother Teresa was invited to address the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development on September 9, 1994.  What follows is the text of her remarks which centered on the violence of abortion and an appeal to accept the humanity and the precious gift of...

02 October, 2020 /

Jesus did not arrive on the scene to patch up an old system.  He is the bridegroom who turns water into wine and makes all things new....

01 October, 2020 /

Jerome insists that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. A strong exhortation from a Father and Doctor of the Catholic Church urging all Christians to recognize that serious Bible study is a necessity, not an optional luxury. Read on Jerome's feast September...

28 September, 2020 /

This essay opens up the depth of the teaching of Saint Therese on the "little way"!  Hans Urs von Balthsar shows just how radical, innovative this little saint is, and yet how traditional and how rooted in the Catholic vision.  This book on Therese, just...

26 September, 2020 /

In this 7 minute podcast, excerpted from a national radio interview, Dr. Italy describes what the town of Nazareth was like in the time of Jesus and what it is like to visit it today on pilgrimage. Marcellino D'Ambrosio here discusses the implications of the Incarnation. ...

21 September, 2020 /

Leo the Great here comments on the right use of earthly treasure to store up heavenly riches.  True wealth consists in the possession of God, the source of all delight.  We store it up through mercy and compassion. ...

15 September, 2020 /
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