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...
What should be our response to teaching of the Magisterium that is not necessarily infallible? Are Catholics free in these cases to dissent from the teaching of the Church? 4th in a series on the Magisterium....
This excerpt from the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) chapter II paragraphs 7-10 treats of the nature and purpose of Tradition as a vehicle for the transmission of Divine Revelation. It also addresses he role of the Magisterium (Episcopal Teaching...
The first thing that the Pope wants to establish is the focus and framework of his teaching and his entire Pontificate. It is all about love. But the Pope wants to distinguish the romantic or erotic love of “eros” from the divine love called “agape”...
Benedict XVI has published his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, God is love. Why did he write it? Why did he choose this theme? What was his intention? The Holy Father responds to these questions, addressed to him by Zenit.org, in the following words which...
Predestination, free will, faith and grace are some of the most controversial doctrines in the history of Christianity. Are some destined to accept Christ and others predestined to reject him and go to hell? Does our ultimate salvation depend upon God's grace or upon our...
A podcast in which host Sonrise Morning show host Matt Swaim asks Dr. Italy some interesting questions about Dr. Italy's recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, following the footsteps of Jesus....
This excerpt from an festal letter by Saint Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in the 4th century, emphasizes the proper spiritual preparation for the feast of Easter. We must purify ourselves for the worthy celebration of the festival, which is better commemorated by deeds than...
The role of the charisms and gifts of the Holy Spirit spoken of by Paul in Corinthians in the sacrament of Confirmation and the Christian Life in general, along with the prophetic & charismatic anointing to participate in the New Evangelization....
This Holy week reading on imitating Christ's death by being buried with him through baptism amplifies St. Paul's words in Romans 6:11 that in the sacrament of baptism we are baptized into Christ's death, being buried as it were with him under the saving waters...
Saint Jerome on the nature of true repentance and the gracious mercy of God, our loving Father....
Mercy, says Gregory of Zanianzen, is by no means the least of the beatitudes. It is what Christ has asked for rather than sacrifice; he asks us to show him mercy by showing mercy to the poor....
St. Augustine here speaks of Christ's laying down of his life, handed over to us in the Eucharist, as the perfection of love. Augustine's words, written in the early 5th century, are also compelling evidence for the practice and meaning of devotion to the...
The New Evangelization means that even our approach to Lent must change. We need to switch our focus from personal growth to Church growth and "give up" not chocolate, but our fear of sharing the Good News of God's love coming to all people...
This powerfully poetic sermon on the Cross of Christ as the Cosmic Tree was preached during Holy Week in the early church, somewhere around the 5th century, by someone whose name has been lost. It was wrongly attributed to the great preacher St. John Chrysostom....
This excerpt from a homily written in the second century by an anonymous Early Church Father speaks of true and sincere repentance of sin. His insistence that we must "keep the seal of our baptism undefiled" shows that the "once saved, always saved" doctrine...
Vatican II and the Word of God: Part III deals with the topic of how tradition and magisterium are interrelated. It comments on Vatican II's Dei Verbum 8-10....
John Chrysostom warns against giving honor to Christ by adorning the Church building to the neglect of the poor and suffering members of Christ's body, the Church in the truest sense. ...
With the coming of the New Covenant, much in the Old Law of Moses is rendered obsolete. But the Ten Commandments, otherwise known as the Decalogue, has eternal value, says St. Irenaeus, because it enshrines justice to God & neighbor....
St. Maximus the Confessor here makes clear the nature of true charity or love of God (one of the theological virtues), and affirms that it is not by faith alone that we secure our salvation, but also by a positive act of love of God...
Why must I confess my sins to a priest? Can't I simply go straight to God? These questions about the Catholic Church's sacrament of penance and reconciliation, aka confession, are answered poignantly by Blessed Isaac of Stella, an abbot from the 11th century (Sermo 11:...
Augustine reflects on the nature of a true sacrifice pleasing to God. Works of mercy and acts of compassion qualify, but the most perfect sacrifice is that of the Whole Body of Christ, head and members (Totus Christus), which is offered to God in every...
Augustine describes the theological virtue of hope in terms of expanding the desire of our hearts to see God face to face, stretching the capacity of our souls to contain more of the fullness of his presence....
From a letter by Tertullian, an Early Church Father, to his wife, ca. 202 AD, illustrating the great esteem for the sacrament of holy marriage in the days of the early Catholic Church....
St. Ephrem testifies to the rich, inexhaustible treasure that is the Sacred Scriptures. The Bible is like a Spring which never runs dry, which always has the ability to satisfy our thirst for God and his truth...
Isaac of Stella on Paul's exhortation in Galatians 6:2 to "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Charity is characterized by compassion, patience, and forbearance. To forebear the weaknesses and faults of others is a hallmark of divine love. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65'...
Diadochus of Photice, a bishop of the early church, explains the role of recollection and discernment in Christian life. To discern thoughts originating in God from those planted by the enemy, we must cultivate peace of soul and mind and dispose ourselves for the...
Excerpt from Athanasius' famous Life of Antony, recounting the story of the call of St. Anthony of the Desert, father of monks and great supporter of Christian Orthodox belief in the divinity of Christ against the Alexandrian heretic Arius....
Early Church Father Faustus of Riez on the transformation of water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana - baptism and the new covenant are foreshadowed in this mysterious event....
In this excerpt from a letter written AD 125, so appropriate for Advent, the anonymous author discusses the marvelous and secret plan of salvation culmination in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Paul calls this plan "the Mystery." The...
The human soul is like a house or garden . . . if left untended by the Master, it is invaded by filth and vermin. But Christ, here depicted as a farmer, has ploughed the wild field of humanity with the wood of the Cross...
Columbanus (Columban) urges us to remember our dignity, created as we are in the image and likeness of God. Since God is love, we must manifest love in our actions and our words, being especially careful lest we deface that image through careless use of...
This excerpt from a second century homily speaks of what it means to honor and blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ, and the Church, the body of Christ. "Is the Lord’s name blasphemed? It is because we say one thing and do another."...
The central document of the Second Vatican Council was Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. The heart of this document its teaching in chapter five that the call to holiness is not limited to any one state in life, but is indeed universal,...
In this 15 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell, host of the Sonrise Morning Show, discusses with Dr. Italy, the significance of Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus, the Blind Beggar of Jericho. What emerges is a tribute to a kind of faith that acts up and reaches out. Jesus...
Death is both a mystery and an enigma say the fathers of the Second Vatican Council. This moving treatment of death and dying is an excerpt from one of the more important of the Council documents, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern...
Augustine, in this letter to Proba, provides his interpretation of the command of Saint Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to pray always, with unceasing desire, hope and love....
Augustine tells Proba that praying always through the desire of the heart does not mean we should not frequent pray formally, at appointed hours, using words. Without such formal prayer at set times, desire would grow cold....
In this 14 minute podcast, Anna Mitchell interviews Dr. Italy about millennials in the Catholic Church, and why the recent Summit of Catholic Creatives is a sign of hope for the future....
The Call of Matthew, tax-collector and notorious sinner, rattled the pious Pharisees and caused them to reject Jesus. This calls us to reflect on the true nature of holiness and how it differs from that pompous religiosity and empty piety that has always been the...
Augustine on the duty of pastors to strengthen weak Christians. The weak are those who want to live a good life but are unable to endure the sufferings that inevitably threaten. Some are so ill that they are like the paralytic who needed to be...
St. Bruno on Psalm 84. "How lovely is your dwelling place" is taken to refer not so much to the Jerusalem temple as the heavenly dwelling of God in heaven according to the spiritual / anagogical sense of Scripture....
Anna Mitchell of the Sonrise Morning Show interviews Dr. Italy on the current clerical corruption crisis reaching to the highest levels of authority. Is this something historic & unprecedented?...
You cannot serve both God and Mammon says Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. He also points us to the example of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Are we then to view money and honest work as...
The teaching authority of the Church, and especially the Papacy, are seen by some as competing with the authority of the Bible. This essay explains the Catholic position that the Pope and all Church authority are under the authority of God's Word coming to...
This 3rd in a series on the Magisterium of the Catholic Church explores infallibility: the teaching that the bishops of the Catholic Church, and the Pope in particular, can, in certain circumstances, teach in a way that is guaranteed to be infallible or without error....
Commenting on 1 Peter 2, Bede tells the newly baptized that they are a chosen race, a royal priesthood & a consecrated nation through their baptism into Christ and anointing with the sacred oil of confirmation. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']Y[/dropcaps] ou are a chosen...
Annie Mitchell, host of the Sonrise Morning Show, interviews Dr. Italy on the birth of a grandchild and why he is a miracle baby On July 17, 2017, a baby was born to Cristina Boshart, the daughter of Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio. The story of the coming...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]O HAVE THE TRUE SENTIMENT WHICH WE OUGHT TO HAVE IN THE CHURCH MILITANT Let the following Rules be observed. First Rule. The first: All judgment laid aside, we ought to have our mind ready and prompt to obey, in all, the...
In this video , Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. (aka "Dr. Italy") discusses the earliest writing after the New Testament which provides a window into early Christianity in Rome and Corinth. Lost to the Western world for centuries, the first letter of Clement of Rome was rediscovered in...
Part 2 of a four part series on the role the magisterium or sacred teaching office of the bishops and pope of the Roman Catholic Church....
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]here are two ways of life that God has commended to the Church. One is through faith, the other is through vision. One is in pilgrimage through a foreign land, the other is in our eternal home; one in labour,...
On June 27, the Catholic Church honors the Memory of St. Cyril of Alexandria, best known for his role at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431 defending the traditional title of the Virgin Mary as Theotokos, translated "God-bearer" or Mother of God....
John Paul II's proclamation of Saint Thomas More as Patron of Statesmen and Politicians, an example of moral integrity, a witness to the primacy of the truth over power and a defender of the inalienable dignity of the human conscience....
Cyprian begin's his commentary on the Lord's Prayer by analyzing the first line: Our Father. We do not pray as individuals, but in common, as a family, since we are all children of the same Father....
Cyprian prepares to analyze the Our Father by reflecting upon the basic attitude of humility necessary if prayer is to please God, reflecting upon the example of Hannah, mother of Samuel, and the story of the Publican and the Pharisee told by the Lord Jesus....
This excerpt from St. Augustine shows that, as early as the fourth century, Christians celebrated June 29th in honor of Peter and Paul, the two apostles and martyrs who laid down their lives for Christ in the Eternal City of Rome....
Cardinal Josef Ratzinger's reflection on Ad Tuendam Fidem, Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the Professio fidei, is intended to provide examples of the various levels of authority of the teaching of the Magisterium and explain the proper response owed to them....
Gregory of Nyssa here identifies the glory that Jesus speaks about in the Last Supper discourse of the Gospel of John with the Holy Spirit, the source of Christian unity. He also sees a reference to the Holy Spirit in the Song of Songs...
This page covers some of most frequently asked questions (FAQ) that we receive here at The Crossroads Initiative. If you have any questions you can check this page frequently for more Catholic Q & A. We are adding new Questions and Answers every week. If...
St. Theodore the Studite here acclaims the cross as a life-giving tree that is the antidote to that tree in paradise that was Adam's undoing. Following the early Christian method of interpreting the Old Testament spiritually, he traces the many ways the wood of...
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Declaration in Defense of the Catholic Doctrine of the Church Against Certain Errors of the Present Day is best known by the first two words of the Latin text, Mysterium Fidei. It was written in response to...
JOINT DECLARATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']P[/dropcaps]reamble 1.The doctrine of justification was of central importance for the Lutheran Reformation of the sixteenth century. It was held to be the "first and chief article" [1] and at the same time the "ruler and...
Catholic Faith is not ideology but relationship, says Vatican II. God's revelation & our response in faith is a dialogue of love according to Dei Verbum....
The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, known by its informal Latin title Dei Verbum, was one of the last documents to be approved by the Second Vatican Council and solemnly promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965. It deals with the sensitive topics...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]rue, Vatican II says that the Christian Life is supposed to be an intimate relationship, a dialogue between us and God. But wait a minute. God is so different from us! His ways are not our ways. And if our puny minds have trouble...
Augustine here explains the connection between the eighth day, baptism, circumcision, the resurrection as new creation & Sunday as the Christian day of Easter worship instead of Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath....
Cyril of Alexandria on the resurrection of Jesus Christ as giving us a sure hope, guaranteed by the Spirit, that we too will rise again....
Benedict XVI's homily for the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday 2009. The annual occasion on which the bishop, who is the only one who do so, blesses sacred chrism and other holy oils to be used throughout the diocese in the coming year. ...
This piece by St. Bernard of Clairvaux on the wounds of Christ is very fitting to be used in Lent and especially during Holy Week as we meditate on the Passion of the Lord Jesus & his mercy. St. Bernard, perhaps the greatest preacher...
One great way to observe the early Christian tradition of the Octave or eight days of Easter is to read a different resurrection account from the gospels each day of Easter week. Here is a list of the resurrection accounts, one for each day...
Saint Gregory of Nyssa here provides a moving explanation of a phrase from Psalm 118 that is a traditional refrain for the great resurrection feast known as Great Pascha or Easter: This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be...
A growing number of people are embracing spirituality and rejecting religion. But to divorce the two entails a misconception of what the word religion truly means and can lead to a shallow spirituality of cheap grace that shirks commitment. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]t is...
Melito of Sardis, a 2nd century Father of the Church, shows how the Passover Lamb and many Old Testament realities, prefigure Christ and his suffering. This marvelous Holy Week reading is a great example of the spiritual sense of Scripture....
Leo the Great reflects on the passion of Jesus Christ and sees in it not shame, but glory. He sees in the cross not weakness, but power. In his passion and death on the cross, Jesus fulfills all the sacrifices of the Old...
Marcellino D’Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) explains the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Word of God as expounded in the Vatican II document “Dei Verbum” paragraphs 21-26. The ultimate goal of Bible Study is communion with Christ....
Jesus sacrifice of himself for our sake on the cross has brought redemption to the whole world, says St. John Fisher, the fifteenth century English bishop whose own self-sacrifice would recall that of his master....
he blood and water that flowed from Christ's side on the cross were symbols of the eucharist and baptism, prefigured by the blood of the Passover Lamb, says one of the greatest preachers of the early Church....
Irenaeus explains how the Son, the Word, became man so that he might share with his immortality with us who are corruptible and mortal. Christ is, then, the first fruits of the Resurrection....
Augustine here connects the passion of Jesus beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane and culminating on the cross, with the sufferings of the whole body of Christ, commenting on Psalm 141 along with the passion narratives of Mark and Luke....
Saint John Chrysostom here speaks of the gift of prayer as continual conversation with God that proceeds from longing for God that lifts the soul into the heavens where it embraces God and brings great joy and light to the soul....
Ad Tuendam Fidem Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio, by which certain norms are inserted into the Code of Canon Law and into the Code of Canon of the Eastern Churches (May 28, 1998) (L'Osservatore Romano explanatory note: On January 9, 1989, the Congregation for the...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]gnatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the [Church] blessed in the grace of God the Father, in Jesus Christ our Saviour, in whom I salute the Church which is at Magnesia, near the Moeander, and wish it abundance of...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']P[/dropcaps]ROLOGUE: There was a man of venerable life, blessed by grace, and blessed in name, for he was called "Benedictus" or Bennet: who, from his younger years, carried always the mind of an old man; for his age was inferior to...
Gregory of Nyssa, in the course of his treatise on Christian perfection, lays out these guidelines for the sort of examination of conscience which should be a regular feature of anyone who wants to make progress in Christian discipleship....
Here Basil the Great reflects on the abundant goodness of God and the unimaginable beauty of his inumerable gifts. The only proper repayment is love....
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']1[/dropcaps] Prayer Is a Means Necessary to Salvation. One of the errors of Pelagianism was the assertion that prayer is not necessary for salvation. Pelagius, the impious author of that heresy, said that man will only be damned for neglecting to know...
Scott Hahn writes of how the biblical vision of Pope John Paul II got his attention even in his days as a Protestant minister. Karol Wojtyla was so effective because of his command of Scripture...
Irenaeus here shows that the Church of the 2nd century regarded the Eucharist as a sacrifice which fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 1:11 of a new, pure oblation and offering that would be offered by the gentiles all over the world. ...
These words of Basil the Great on the gift of God's love and the the radiance of divine beauty were originally addressed to his monks as part of his monastic rule....
Cyprian here writes of the martyrdom of St. Fabian who was elected bishop of the Church of Rome in 236. In 250, at the beginning of the persecution of the Emperor Decius, Pope Fabian was captured, martyred, and buried in the catacombs, in cemetery...
Athanasius sees a marvelous unity and order in creation that is held together and orchestrated by the divine word. He uses the metaphor of harmony in music to describe the magnificent unity found among the magnificent diversity of the world's creatures. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color=''...
Here St. Cyril of Alexandria comments on the promise of God the Father to pour out his Holy Spirit on all mankind in order to renew and restore our wounded human nature. In his baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ, "the first-fruits of our restored nature," receives...
The following are excerpts from Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) that pertain to the Mass and the sacrament of the eucharist. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]NTRODUCTION For it is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist,...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]gnatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fulness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be...
Cyprian, who himself was martyred a few years after writing this, here speaks of the invincible faith of the martyrs. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']H[/dropcaps]ow can I find the words to praise you, most courageous brethren? How can I compose a speech worthy of the...
Gregory of Nazianzen's memoire of his friendship with Basil the Great. These Cappadocian church fathers are honored on January 2 by Catholics & Orthodox...
8Beats is an exciting effort at evangelization through film. Slated for release in 2018, 8Beats is an Anthology of eight short films, each a contemporary reflection on one of the 8 Beatitudes of Matthew's gospel. Produced by over 70 of the best Catholic filmmakers in...
Granted - parents are the primary religious educators of their children. But before educating them, we must evangelize them. But when and how do we begin?...
Hanukkah, which always occurs during the Christian season of Advent, has a significance not only for Jews but for Christians and all lovers of religious freedom....
This excerpt from St. Irenaeus shows that the Blessed Virgin Mary is truly a new Eve, just as her son Jesus Christ is a new Adam. He contrasts Eve's disobedience with Mary's obedience....
In this video webinar of approximately 75 minutes, Dr. Matthew Bunson of the Catholic Distance University (CDU), initiates a conversation with two other CDU professors, Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) and Dr. James Kruggel, on Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation on Marriage and the Family, Amoris...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']H[/dropcaps]appy Holidays! Seasons Greetings. Holiday Tree. For years our increasingly secular culture has worked hard to expunge “Christ” from “Christmas.” So it is understandable that serious Christians would be suspicious of using “Xmas” to refer to the feast of Christ’s birth. But...
Augustine comments on the image of the shepherds of the Church as watchmen who are obligated to warn God's people when they are going astray. He also comments on the words of Jesus to his disciples that they are to do what the chief Priests...
Saint John Eudes here reflects on St. Paul's words in Colossians 1:24 "In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ." He points out that the mystery of Christ in the Church, his mystical body, means that we are...
Una reflexión sobre la Solemnidad de Todos los fieles difuntos, celebrada el 2 de Noviembre, sobre el misterio dela muerte y el más allá que incluye el cielo, el infierno y el purgatorio y la validez de orar por los difuntos. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color=''...
Augustine explains that constant prayer does not mean non-stop church services or recitation of prayers, but a ceaseless desire of the heart for union with God in heaven. This constant desire for God, actually, is one of the three theological virtues, namely the virtue...
Dr. Italy here coaches us how to share our own story of how Christ and his Church have changed our lives. After listening to this podcast, you'll feel clearer and more confident about how you can be an effective witness to Christ....
Leo on the second & third of the Beatitudes, calling blessed the meek and those who mourn. The mourning Christ references here has little to do with worldly sorrow, and the reward promised to the lowly & gentle goes well beyond the things of...
Leo the Great, comments on the first of the Beatitudes "blessed are the poor in spirit." He makes clear that it is not economic poverty that is blessed, but that poverty of spirit called humility expressed in generosity to others and detachment from the...
Columban's praise of Christ who is our food and drink that can never be entirely consumed, bread, manna and the inexhaustible fountain of living water....
Writing to Proba regarding prayer, Augustine notes that the hope of happiness in heaven is so great and incapable of being expressed in words that the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he person who asks for and seeks...
By his wounds we are healed- this reading on the Savior's passion is taken from a treatise On the Incarnation of the Lord by Saint Theodoret of Cyr. It reflects on several key scripture passages, including the Song of the Suffering Servant found in...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']C[/dropcaps] hrist, who has shown by his words and actions that he was truly God and Lord of the universe, said to his disciples as he was about to go up to Jerusalem: We are going up to Jerusalem now,...
In this episode of Ascension Rountable's Podcast, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio (aka Dr. Italy) puts the New Evangelization into the context of Catholic history from the days of the Church of the Catacombs down to the present time....
Augustine had sought God through an exotic Eastern cult and then through the best that Greco-Roman philosophy had to offer before he finally found Him through the Catholic Christianity that he had rejected as a teen. So he could proclaim from personal experience that Jesus...
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote this prayer to be recited after Mass and communion which beautifully expresses what it means to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist and cultivates the proper dispositions so that this sacrament can bear greater fruit in our lives....
Augustine here praises the Lord Jesus Christ as the one Mediator between God and Man, victor and victim, priest and sacrifice, in whom is hid all treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God....
Augustine here addresses a problem we often face in seeking to do good - we are accused of evil that we do not do and are not given credit for the good we do. He reminds us of the words of both Paul and...
The beginning of Cyprian's treatise on the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father. He emphasizes how complete yet concise this prayer is, and how it represents a participation in the intimate relationship of unity between the Father and God the Son....
St. Cyprian, a pagan convert who went on to become bishop of Carthage in the 3rd Century, gives us one of the earliest and most extensive commentaries on the Lord's Prayer, aka the "Our Father." Here is the complete text of his treatise....
Cyprian, a third century bishop, explains the meaning of two of the petitions of the Lord's prayer - give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us....
Ambrose explains how the delighteful book of the psalms provides a true gymnasium for the soul with exercises to develop every virtue, and condense all parts of the Old Covenant - law, prophecy, and history and foreshadow the New Covenant as well, predicting as they...
Origen sees the fall of Jericho in the book of Joshua as a figure of the End of the world, the trumpets of the Israelites as foreshadowing the last trumpet of the angels, Rahab & her scarlet cord the Church saved by the blood of...
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. ...
Here St. Thomas Aquinas comments on John 14:6 where Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me."...
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....
St. Dorotheus, a wise abbot from the early Church, here explains why we get so ruffled by the criticism of others. He illustrates the value of fraternal correction and self-accusation in the spiritual life. ...
Thomas Aquinas on Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. ...
Leo the Great explains how the Ascenion increases our faith in what is unseen, namely the divinity of Christ, and how our Redeemer's visible presence after the Ascension passes into the sacraments....
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....
A Witness of Christ in the Church: Hans Urs von Balthasar by Henri de Lubac, S.J. As Ludwig Kaufmann has justly remarked in a recent issue of Orientierung, it is disconcerting that from the first summons of the Council by John XXIII, it did not seem to have...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps]ntroduction (1-10)1. First of all, the Scripture about the Hebrew Exodus has been read and the words of the mystery have been explained as to how the sheep was sacrificed and the people were saved. Therefore, understand this, O beloved:...
Augustine, in commenting on Jesus' proclamation in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world," connects it with the story in the very next chapter of the healing of the man born blind and with the biblical promise that one day we shall see...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he Word took to himself the sons of Abraham, says the Apostle, and so had to be like his brothers in all things. He had then to take a body like ours. This explains the fact of Mary’s presence: she...
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....
Barnabas, a second century writer, here emphasizes the importance of virtue as opposed to ritual sacrifice....
Here the 2nd century Epistle of Barnabas emphasizes the newness of the new law and new covenant in contrast with the Covenant made with Moses and the law given on Mount Sinai....
This reading by St. Bernadino of Siena on St. Joseph, the Foster Father of Jesus, is so clear and powerful that it is used by the Church for the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19 to honor the Guardian of the Lord and his...
Origen here treats of the Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah. It is a good example of the "spiritual interpretation" of the Old Testament whereby persons, places, and things are recognized as prefiguring Christ and the realities of the New Covenant. This spiritual exegesis...
St. Augustine here reflects on the famous conversation in the Gospel of John between Jesus and the Samaritan woman who came to draw water from the well. He sees her as a symbol for the Gentiles who are called to conversion and faith and...
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...
Tract of Jerome against Helvidius defending the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Mother of Jesus....
Gregory of Nyssa on the famous statement of Ecclesiastes "there is a time to be born and a time to die." He interprets this as a reference to the death and new birth of salvation, dying and rising with Christ through faith and baptism....
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...
Athanasius here writes of the only begotten Son as the eternal Word, his perfect image, God's creative Wisdom Incarnate through whom the Father made the universe and all its creatures and in whom he takes delight. Athanasius is anxious to show that...
Procopius of Gaza on Proverbs declaration that wisdom has built herself a house. His explanation touches on many topics-- the divinity and humanity of Christ, the seven gifts of the holy Spirit, the value of prudence, and the gift of Christ's body and blood...
Ambrose on the experience of the absence of God expressed by the psalmist who asks "Why do you turn your face away?" (Psalm 43). In the midst of suffering, it is hard to believe that God is indeed present to us....