31 January 2021
The
Divine Scriptures
Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
30 January 2021
On
Holy Scripture
When you approach
Scripture, examine the intention of the words, in order to measure and
understand with great discernment the depth and holiness of meaning that it
holds. Those who throughout their life have been led toward enlightenment by
grace feel all the time a kind of spiritual ray shining through the verses, and
in the Spirit they identify the words and their deep meaning.
Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
29 January 2021
Christ
Crucified
Behold Jesus Christ
crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and
Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience
itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon
and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart.
28 January 2021
On Suffering
No matter what kind of bitterness befalls you, no matter what unpleasantness happens to you, say, ‘I will endure this for Jesus Christ!’ Just say this and it will be easier for you. For the name of Jesus Christ is powerful – in His presence all unpleasant events are quelled, demons vanish, your annoyance will abate and your faintheartedness will be set at ease when you repeat His sweetest name.
On Suffering
No matter what kind of bitterness befalls you, no matter what unpleasantness happens to you, say, ‘I will endure this for Jesus Christ!’ Just say this and it will be easier for you. For the name of Jesus Christ is powerful – in His presence all unpleasant events are quelled, demons vanish, your annoyance will abate and your faintheartedness will be set at ease when you repeat His sweetest name.
Elder Anthony of
Optima (1795-1865)
27 January 2021
On Holy
Scripture
For I confess to your
Charity that I have learned to yield this respect and honor only to the
canonical books of Scripture: of these alone do I most firmly believe that the
authors were completely free from error. And if in these writings I am
perplexed by anything which appears to me opposed to truth, I do not hesitate
to suppose that either the manuscript is faulty, or the translator has not
caught the meaning of what was said, or I myself have failed to understand it.
25 January 2021
On Recollection
two fundamental rules for recollection: the first is that you must always keep watch and control over the distractions of your mind; the second, that you must at once follow the warnings of your conscience and act promptly on them, at least in your heart.
Francisco de Osuna (1497-1541)
On Recollection
two fundamental rules for recollection: the first is that you must always keep watch and control over the distractions of your mind; the second, that you must at once follow the warnings of your conscience and act promptly on them, at least in your heart.
Francisco de Osuna (1497-1541)
24 January 2021
On Holy Scripture
The Bible is a scented garden, delightful, beautiful. It enchants our ears with birdsong in a sweet, divine and spiritual harmony, it touches our heart, comforts us in sorrow, soothes us in a moment of anger, and fills us with eternal joy. Let us knock at its gate with diligence and with perseverance. Let us not be discouraged from knocking. The latch will be opened. If we have read a page of the Bible two or three times and have not understood it, let us not be tired of re-reading it and meditating on it. Let us seek in the fountain of this garden `a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' [John 4:14] We shall taste a joy that will never dry up, because the grace of the Bible garden is inexhaustible.
Saint John of Damascus (8th Century)
On Holy Scripture
The Bible is a scented garden, delightful, beautiful. It enchants our ears with birdsong in a sweet, divine and spiritual harmony, it touches our heart, comforts us in sorrow, soothes us in a moment of anger, and fills us with eternal joy. Let us knock at its gate with diligence and with perseverance. Let us not be discouraged from knocking. The latch will be opened. If we have read a page of the Bible two or three times and have not understood it, let us not be tired of re-reading it and meditating on it. Let us seek in the fountain of this garden `a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' [John 4:14] We shall taste a joy that will never dry up, because the grace of the Bible garden is inexhaustible.
Saint John of Damascus (8th Century)
22 January 2021
On
Infant Baptism
And therefore, dearest
brother, this was our opinion in council, that by us no one ought to be
hindered from baptism and from the grace of God, who is merciful and kind and
loving to all. Which, since it is to be observed and maintained in respect of
all, we think is to be even more observed in respect of infants and newly-born
persons, who on this very account deserve more from our help and from the
divine mercy, that immediately, on the very beginning of their birth, lamenting
and weeping, they do nothing else but entreat.
21 January 2021
Hear
the Word of God
The nature of water is
yielding, and that of a stone is hard. Yet, if you hang a bottle filled with
water above the stone, so that the water drips drop by drop, it will wear a
hole in the stone. In the same way, the Word of God is tender and our heart is
hard. So, when people hear the word of God frequently, their hearts are opened
to God.
20 January 2021
Our Journey Back to Eden
Our Lord’s words teach us that though we labor among the many distractions of this world, we should have but one goal. For we are but travelers on a journey without as yet a fixed abode; we are on our way, not yet in our native land; we are in a state of longing, not yet of enjoyment. But let us continue on our way, and continue without sloth or respite, so that we may ultimately arrive at our destination.
Saint Augustine
Our Journey Back to Eden
Our Lord’s words teach us that though we labor among the many distractions of this world, we should have but one goal. For we are but travelers on a journey without as yet a fixed abode; we are on our way, not yet in our native land; we are in a state of longing, not yet of enjoyment. But let us continue on our way, and continue without sloth or respite, so that we may ultimately arrive at our destination.
Saint Augustine
19 January 2021
The
Contemplation of God
Furthermore, while
the soul is withdrawn from everything and is turned within, the eye of
contemplation is opened and sets itself up a ladder by which it can pass to the
contemplation of God. By this contemplation the soul is set on fire for eternal
things by the heavenly and divine good things it experiences, and views all the
things of time from a distance and as if they were nothing. Hence when we
approach God by the way of negation, we first deny him everything that can be
experienced by the body, the senses and the imagination, secondly even things
experienceable by the intellect, and finally even being itself in so far as it
is found in created things. This, so far as the nature of the way is concerned,
is the best means of union with God, according to Dionysius.
Saint Albert the
Great (c. 1206-1280)
18 January 2021
On the Cross
Be not, then, ashamed of the cross, in order that Jesus Christ be not ashamed of you, when He will come, clothed in the Majesty of His glory, accompanied by this sign of our redemption, which will then shine more brilliant than the sun. Engrave it in your heart, lovingly embrace that which procured the salvation of our souls; for it is the cross which has saved and converted all the world — it is that which has banished heresy and unbelief, which has reestablished truth, which has made a heaven on earth, and which has transformed men into angels. It is by means of the cross that the devils have ceased to appear formidable, and are now only to be despised… it is through the cross, that all our enemies have been conquered.
Saint John Chrysostom
On the Cross
Be not, then, ashamed of the cross, in order that Jesus Christ be not ashamed of you, when He will come, clothed in the Majesty of His glory, accompanied by this sign of our redemption, which will then shine more brilliant than the sun. Engrave it in your heart, lovingly embrace that which procured the salvation of our souls; for it is the cross which has saved and converted all the world — it is that which has banished heresy and unbelief, which has reestablished truth, which has made a heaven on earth, and which has transformed men into angels. It is by means of the cross that the devils have ceased to appear formidable, and are now only to be despised… it is through the cross, that all our enemies have been conquered.
Saint John Chrysostom
16 January 2021
Christ
the Vine
The Lord calls himself
the vine and those united to him branches in order to teach us how much we
shall benefit from our union with him, and how important it is for us to remain
in his love. By receiving the Holy Spirit, who is the bond of union between us
and Christ our Savior, those who are joined to him, as branches are to a vine,
share in his own nature.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria
14 January 2021
Consider
What is Good
Hence we ought to put
aside vain and useless concerns and should consider what is good, pleasing and
acceptable in the sight of him who made us. Let us fix our gaze on the blood of
Christ, realizing how precious it is to his Father, since it was shed for our
salvation and brought the grace of repentance to all the world.
12 January 2021
Faith is the Womb
Faith is the womb that conceives this new life, baptism the rebirth by which it is brought forth into the light of day. The Church is its nurse; her teachings are its milk, the bread from heaven is its food. It is brought to maturity by the practice of virtue; it is wedded to wisdom; it gives birth to hope. Its home is the kingdom; its rich inheritance the joys of paradise; its end, not death, but the blessed and everlasting life prepared for those who are worthy.
Faith is the Womb
Faith is the womb that conceives this new life, baptism the rebirth by which it is brought forth into the light of day. The Church is its nurse; her teachings are its milk, the bread from heaven is its food. It is brought to maturity by the practice of virtue; it is wedded to wisdom; it gives birth to hope. Its home is the kingdom; its rich inheritance the joys of paradise; its end, not death, but the blessed and everlasting life prepared for those who are worthy.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395)
11 January 2021
Vices
and Sins
One who has
stumbled…
Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
10 January 2021
Vices and Sins
We must be firmly
convinced that we have nothing of our own, except our vices and sins. We must
all be on our guard against pride and empty boasting and beware of worldly or
natural wisdom. A worldly spirit loves to talk a lot but does nothing, striving
for the exterior signs of holiness that people can see, with no desire for true
piety and interior holiness of spirit.
Saint Francis of
Assisi
9 January 2021
On Justification
When I come before the
judgment throne, I will plead the promise of God in the shed blood of Jesus
Christ. I will not plead any work that I have done, although I will thank God
that he has enabled me to do some good. I will plead merit other than the
merits of Christ, knowing that the merits of Mary and the saint are all from
him; and for their company, their example, and their prayer throughout my
earthly life I will give everlasting thanks. I will not plead that I had faith,
for sometimes I was unsure of my faith, and in any event, that would be to turn
faith into a meritorious work of my own. I will not plead that I held the
correct understanding of "justification by faith alone," although I
will thank God that he led me to know ever more fully the great truth that much
misunderstood formulation was intended to protect. Whatever little growth in
holiness I have experienced, whatever strength I have received from the company
of the saints, whatever understanding I have attained of God and his way -
these and all other gifts received I will bring gratefully to the throne. But
in seeking entry to that heavenly kingdom, I will ... look to Christ and Christ
alone.
Richard John Neuhaus
8 January 2021
The Inextinguishable Light of Christ
In spite of our
sinfulness, in spite of the darkness surrounding our souls, the Grace of the
Holy Spirit, conferred by baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, still shines in our hearts with the inextinguishable light of
Christ … and when the sinner turns to the way of repentance the light smooths
away every trace of the sins committed, clothing the former sinner in the
garments of incorruption, spun of the Grace of the Holy Spirit.
Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833)
7 January 2021
The Risk of LoveTo love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.
I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness. It is like hiding the talent in a napkin and for much the same reason ‘I knew thee that thou wert a hard man.’ Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become, even in the natural loves, more careful of our own happiness. If a man is not uncalculating towards the earthly beloveds whom he has seen, he is none the more likely to be so towards God whom he has not. We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it.
C.S. Lewis
6 January 2021
On the Three Appearances
Behold peace, not
promised but present, not deferred but conferred, not prophesied but presented.
Behold, God the Father has sent to the earth, as it were, a sack filled with
his mercy, a sack that must be cut to pieces in the passion so that it can pour
out what is concealed in it for our ransom; a small sack, indeed, but stuffed
full. A child has been given us, but in him dwells the whole fullness of
divinity. He came in the flesh so that in this way he might be shown to those
made of flesh, and his the likeness of humanity so that his graciousness might
be recognized. When God's humanity becomes known, his graciousness can no
longer be concealed.
Bernard of Clairvaux
5 January 2021
We
Need a Savior
In our sickness we
need a savior, in our wanderings a guide, in our blindness someone to show us
the light, in our thirst the fountain of living water which quenches for ever
the thirst of those who drink from it. We dead people need life, we sheep need a
shepherd, we children need a teacher, the whole world needs Jesus!
Saint Clement of
Alexandria
3 January 2021
Humility
BE NOT troubled about those who are with you or against you, but take care that God be with you in everything you do. Keep your conscience clear and God will protect you, for the malice of man cannot harm one whom God wishes to help. If you know how to suffer in silence, you will undoubtedly experience God’s help. He knows when and how to deliver you; therefore, place yourself in His hands, for it is a divine prerogative to help men and free them from all distress.
Thomas à Kempis
Humility
BE NOT troubled about those who are with you or against you, but take care that God be with you in everything you do. Keep your conscience clear and God will protect you, for the malice of man cannot harm one whom God wishes to help. If you know how to suffer in silence, you will undoubtedly experience God’s help. He knows when and how to deliver you; therefore, place yourself in His hands, for it is a divine prerogative to help men and free them from all distress.
Thomas à Kempis
1 January 2021
Keeping All Things of Him in Our HeartConsider the most prudent woman Mary, mother of true Wisdom, as the pupil of her Son. For she learned from him, not as from a child or man but as from God. Yes, she dwelt in meditation on his words and actions. Nothing of what was said or done by him fell idly on her mind. As before, when she conceived the Word itself in her womb, so now does she hold within her his ways and words, cherishing them as it were in her heart. That which she now beholds in the present, she waits to have revealed with greater clarity in the future. This practice she followed as a rule and law through all her life.
Bede the Venerable
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