St. John Paul II, St. Maximilian Kolbe, & the Blessed Mother – Video
In this brief video by Sherwood Fellows the key themes of Lent are explored - th...
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...
Thomas Aquinas here examines the final article of the Apostle's Creed reflecting on what eternal life in heaven will be like - the beatific vision, the satisfaction of every desire and the fullness of everlasting joy in a community of supreme delight. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color=''...
In this 30 minute video, Dr. Italy explains the paramount issue that Christians had to resolve in the second century, the issue of authority -- scripture, tradition and what is now called magisterium. He shows how the heresy of Marcion and the Gnostics helped such...
This fourth installment in a five part series on Understanding the Mass explains Christ's real presence in the Word of God and in the sacrament of his body and blood. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps]s we have seen, the Lord Jesus is really and truly...
St. Robert Bellarmine here enumerates 15 marks or characteristics of the one, holy Catholic Church of Jesus Christ which expands upon the four notes of the Church as found in the Nicene Creed: unity, catholicity, holiness and its apostolic foundation. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']D[/dropcaps]...
One of the most famous quotes attributed to Irenaeus is "the glory of God is man fully alive." Here we have the original context of that quote in Irenaeus' discussion of the vision of God which gives life. ...
John the Baptist (aka the forerunner is the only Saint other than the Virgin Mary whose birthday is marked by a liturgical feast. Here Augustine brings out the similarities and contrasts between the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of his cousin, who...
Podcast by Dr. Italy on Florence, the Renaissance city, and what the art of Michelangelo teaches us about Catholic Culture and life. With images of sites and churches of Florence that he will visit on his upcoming Italy pilgrimage. Everyone visits Florence for its rich culture,...
In this 4th video #4, Dr. Italy explains what the First Letter of Clement of Rome reveals about Christian life and thought in the last years of the first century, especially regarding church order, apostolic succession, and Christian unity....
The Fatherhood of God has come under fire with the rise of feminism. If we know that God is pure spirit who transcends male and female, masculine and feminine, why preserve what some believe to be the antiquated, patriarchal practice of referring to the divinity...
7 minute podcast by Dr. Italy discussing San Damiano and the Portiuncula, the two chapels rebuilt by St. Francis that still stand in Assisi, his home town. To be visited on his upcoming pilgrimage to Italy. Many of heard of St. Francis and some even have...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]ant to learn a foreign language? Everyone knows the best way is immersion. Put yourself where that language is spoken, experience the culture of the people, and pick it up by osmosis. The same thing is true about the Catholic Tradition. ...
Mercy goes beyond justice & who is responsible. Mercy is love’s response to suffering. How the Eucharist, charity, and the works of mercy are related, and practical principles on building a lifestyle of mercy in the Year of Mercy...
In Part 1 of Understanding the Mass, we examined how the Mass relates to the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. In this, part 2 of the series, we ask in what way the Eucharist can be said to be our sacrifice, the sacrifice...
In this 14 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show interviews Dr. Italy on the Beatitudes as the central feature of Pope Francis' teaching on the Call to Holiness, Gaudete et Exsultate). The Beatitudes are all about what true happiness is and how to...
Dr. Italy in this video makes clear why the history of theology matters, why we should bother to expend time and effort studying the past. The first video from his course the Catholic Theological Tradition. Henry Ford said "history is bunk." Technological advancement for him and...
The traditional works of mercy show that while charity must begin at home, it cannot end there for Christians who wish to be faithful to the Scriptures. Our hearts and our works of mercy, must have a universal or "catholic" reach....
The order of the blessing of an event as found in the edition of the Roman Ritual known as the book of blessings. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]hrough this meeting Jesus himself will speak to us. We should now, therefore, give thanks to him who...
In this 14 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show queries Dr. Italy about a new course he has developed for the Catholic Distance University, Fundamental Theology, Revelation & Faith, and why this topic is important not just for academics, but for every...
This selection on the cross comes from Hans Urs von Balthasar's book The Heart of the World. This beautiful mediation on the piercing of Christ's heart by the soldiers lance as recounted in John 19 is a poignant mediation for Lent or Holy Week...
Hippolytus on the proper interpretation of Scripture, and the Incarnation of the Son as the hidden Word of God made manifest and visible. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]here is only one God, brethren, and we learn about him only from sacred Scripture. It is therefore...
Gregory the Great coaches pastors and teachers how to avoid pride. He insists that teaching with authority does not mean belittling and dominating one's students, but modeling in one's life and actions the principles being preached. The apostles Paul and Peter both modeled this....
John of the Cross here gives forceful expression to the faith of the Church that in Jesus Christ, God the Father has given us his complete and ultimate revelation of Himself and His plan for our lives. The glimplses of God and partial revelations of...
Since dawn goes from darkness into light, the Church should be called “dawn” or “first light” says Gregory the Great...
The first cause argument is one of the classic proofs for the existence of God. Here Peter Kreefts lays out the essence of the argument in a way everybody can understand. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he most famous of all arguments for the existence of...
Recounted by an eye-witness, the following is the account of the martyrdom of St. Justin Martyr and companions in Rome about 165 AD. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood...
Justin here describes the way the Sunday Eucharist was celebrated in Rome about 150 AD about 50-60 years after the last New Testament books. It shows that the Eucharist was interpreted in a very realistic way in the early church....
In this 35 minute video, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. (Dr. Italy) explains the importance of Justin Martyr, a second century philosopher turned apologist, on the development of Christian Thought. The first pagan intellectual to embrace the Christian faith and use some of the conceptual background of philosophy...
These words from Gregory the Great's Moral Reflections on Job extols how the law of the Lord is manifold in that it includes all the virtues which find their perfection in love. Here he especially comments on Paul's ode to love in I Corinthians 13. How...
A tribute to Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., from Marcellino D'Ambrosio, one of his doctoral students. The author notes Dulles' commitment to holiness and discipleship first as the necessary anchor for his work as a theologian. Dulles was first of all a witness and only secondarily...
Athanasius here describes the orthodox and Catholic teaching on God as Trinity, three persons in one divine nature, a wholly creative and energizing reality. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are an inseparable unity, always acting together....
Gregory the Great explains the nature of true simplicity making use of the example of Job as well as the Gospel saying of Jesus "Be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves." For him simplicity must be accompanied by the fire...
The mystery of mercy revealed in the sufferings of Christ and our obligation to make that extraordinary mercy known to everyone. Our response must be not only prayer, but evangelization. The connection between the Eucharist in which which receive the blood of Christ...
In this 14 minute podcast, Dr. Italy discusses with Anna Mitchell the amazing story of St. Joan of Arc and just how she serves as a model of faith and fortitude for us today....
Often the Catholic teaching about the Eucharist or the Trinity is described as a mystery. Is this just a way of avoiding hard questions about things you can't prove? Some thoughts on what we know and don't know about God and his plan for our...
This excerpt from 2nd century Church Father, Irenaeus, contains beautiful imagery of the Holy Spirit as the rainfall of God as well as a fascinating allegorical interpretation of parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the role of the various persons of the Holy Trinity-...
An explanation of the movement known as the charismatic movement and the experience called "the baptism of the Holy Spirit" by a theologian who has participated in the movement for over 40 years....
Gregory the Great here discusses the role of affliction, pain, suffering and trials in our life with God which is the great problem of the book of Job.....
Hilary of Poitiers, describes how new Christians in 4th Century France typically felt innundated by the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon their baptism, Confirmation, & first Eucharist: a sense of joy and the release of the 7 gifts and charisms....
Hilary of Potiers, 4th century champion of the Trinity, here explains the Holy Ghost as gift & Spirit of truth, "the light of our minds and the splendor that irradiates our understanding."...
This excerpt from Basil the Great's landmark work On the Holy Spirit (AD 360) is a marvelous expression of faith in the Holy Ghost as fully divine, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. It also describes the works of the Holy Spirit in the...
Cyril of Alexandria on the unity of Christians. Receiving the same sacrament of the Lord's flesh, the Eucharist, and the same Holy Spirit, in baptism and confirmation/chrismation, bind us together in an intimate relationship with God the Father and each another, one body in Christ. [dropcaps...
This wonderful meditation on the Holy Spirit as living water, so called by Jesus in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, is taken from a catechetical instruction by St. Cyril of Jerusalem who was bishop of Jerusalem around the year 360 AD....
This Ascension homily by Pope St. Leo the Great on the glory of the resurrection of Christ is wonderful for personal prayer or catechetical use anytime during the Easter Season, especially during the 40 days between Easter Sunday and the Solemnity of the Ascension of...
This selection from a sermon of a sixth century African Church Father interprets the gift of tongues on Pentecost as a sign of the unity, catholicity and universality of the Catholic Church which is, from the day of its birth, made up of people from...
Dr. Italy, in this 14 minute podcast, discusses the central and constant role pilgrimage has played in the heritage of God's people in the Holy Land since Abraham....
The concluding section from an address on Crisis in the Church given by Henri de Lubac, SJ, at the University of St. Louis on May, 29, 1969. Here de Lubac emphasizes the indispensable pre-conditions of authentic renewal are personal love of Jesus Christ and commitment...
Didymus the Blind shows how the spiritual fire and living water of the Holy Spirit give us new birth and transform us into new men and women, sharers in the divine glory and co-heirs with Christ....
[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...
This excerpt from a homily by St. Gaudentius, bishop of Brescia, Italy clearly demonstrates a belief in the real, substantial presence of Christ's body and blood in the sacrifice of the Eucharist....
The eucharist is indeed the Lord's passover, insists Gaudentius of Brescia, in which we truly receive Christ's body under the appearance of bread and his blood under the appearance of wine....
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!" ...
Peter Chrysologus, a 5th century Church Father, on the priesthood of all Christian believers conferred in baptism and confirmation. He elaborates his teaching in the course of commenting on the apostle Paul's words in Romans 12:2 where we are called to offer our bodies as...
A lyrical and dramatic ode to the resurrection victory of Jesus Christ by one of the most poetic of all the 4th century Church Fathers, Ephrem the Syrian....
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...
On the first Easter, the Risen Lord makes clear to his frightened disciples he not a ghost or specter and in so doing shows why the gnostic gospels are bogus and did not make it into the Bible....
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...
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...
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...
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....
The Second Vatican Council here teaches that peace is not just an absence of war but is a fruit of justice and love. It can never be established by law alone but depends on virtue that grows and is maintained by constant effort in...
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....
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...
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;...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The seven last words of Jesus Christ from the cross are actually 7 short phrases that serve as an awesome meditation for Lent or especially for Holy Week. Here they are provided in English and Latin....
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...
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....
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...
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...
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. ...