31 August 2024
For whoever is protected by this armor will never be overcome by the
weapons and devastation of the enemy. They won't be led away to the hostile
land of frivolous thoughts bond in the enemy's chains as captives and
prisoners.
St. John Cassian
Acts 4:32
30 August 2024
Not that I think it is absolutely our duty to cut ourselves off from those who do not receive the faith, but rather to have regard to them in accordance with the old law of love, and to write to them with one consent, giving them all exhortation with pity, and to propose to them the faith of the fathers, and invite them to union. If we succeed we should be united in communion with them; if we fail we must be content with one another and purge our conduct of this uncertain spirit, restoring the evangelical and simple conversation followed by those who accepted the Word from the beginning. They, it is said, were of one heart and of one soul.
St. Basil the Great
Not that I think it is absolutely our duty to cut ourselves off from those who do not receive the faith, but rather to have regard to them in accordance with the old law of love, and to write to them with one consent, giving them all exhortation with pity, and to propose to them the faith of the fathers, and invite them to union. If we succeed we should be united in communion with them; if we fail we must be content with one another and purge our conduct of this uncertain spirit, restoring the evangelical and simple conversation followed by those who accepted the Word from the beginning. They, it is said, were of one heart and of one soul.
St. Basil the Great
Proof of the Gospel
29 August 2024
Note how scrupulously the disciples refused to record those things that
might have given the impression of their fame. Note how they handed down in
writing numerous charges against themselves to unforgetting ages, and
accusations of sins, which no one in later years would ever have known about
unless hearing it from their voice. By thus honestly reporting their own
faults, it is reasonable to view them as relatively void of false speaking and
egoism. This habit gives plain and clear proof of their truth-loving
disposition.
Eusebius of Caesarea
On Repentance
28 August 2024
Repentance is good. If there were no opportunity for it, everyone would defer until they were old the grace of cleansing by Baptism. A sufficient reason is that it is better to have a robe to mend, than none to put on.
Saint Ambrose
Repentance is good. If there were no opportunity for it, everyone would defer until they were old the grace of cleansing by Baptism. A sufficient reason is that it is better to have a robe to mend, than none to put on.
Saint Ambrose
On Holy Scripture
27 August 2024
Be willing to let the Scripture mean what it wants to mean.
John A. Broadus
Be willing to let the Scripture mean what it wants to mean.
John A. Broadus
Mark 10:18
26 August 2024
It is only by participation in the divine goodness that a rational creature is capable of becoming good.
The Venerable Bede
Faith
25 August 2024
But the cross, as expounded in the New Testament, speaks of a victory that goes deeper than that. Just as evil is more than the sum total of individual act of wrongdoings, so Jesus' victory over is more than the sum total of subsequent of selfless love. Christian faith, faith in the crucified Jesus, is more than the individual belief that he died for me, vital through that is. It is faith that on the cross Jesus in principle won the victory over sin. Violence, pride, arrogance and even death itself, and that victory can now be implemented. This faith refuses to accept that violence, greed and pride are unassailable and unchangeable. This faith will go to work to challenge and subverting those destructive forces, in ourselves, in our local communities, in our corporate and political life, in the belief, albeit often in the teeth of the evidence, that they have been defeated and that the power of God’s love e is stronger than they are. To say that the cross changed the world is a statement of faith, but that is not blind faith, whistling in the dark. It is faith that looks up at the creator God and knows him to be the God of love. And it is faith that looks out at the world with the longing to bring that love to bear in healing, reconciliation, and hope.
N.T. Wright
But the cross, as expounded in the New Testament, speaks of a victory that goes deeper than that. Just as evil is more than the sum total of individual act of wrongdoings, so Jesus' victory over is more than the sum total of subsequent of selfless love. Christian faith, faith in the crucified Jesus, is more than the individual belief that he died for me, vital through that is. It is faith that on the cross Jesus in principle won the victory over sin. Violence, pride, arrogance and even death itself, and that victory can now be implemented. This faith refuses to accept that violence, greed and pride are unassailable and unchangeable. This faith will go to work to challenge and subverting those destructive forces, in ourselves, in our local communities, in our corporate and political life, in the belief, albeit often in the teeth of the evidence, that they have been defeated and that the power of God’s love e is stronger than they are. To say that the cross changed the world is a statement of faith, but that is not blind faith, whistling in the dark. It is faith that looks up at the creator God and knows him to be the God of love. And it is faith that looks out at the world with the longing to bring that love to bear in healing, reconciliation, and hope.
N.T. Wright
Recounting the Wonders of God
24
August 2024
He [The Holy Spirit] is divine in nature, infinite in
greatness, mighty in His works, good in His blessings; shall we not exalt Him;
shall we not glorify Him? I reckon that this 'glorifying' is nothing else than
the recounting of His wonders... To describe His wonders gives Him the fullest
glorification possible. The same is true for the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the Only-begotten Son Himself: we are only able to glorify
them by recounting their wonders to the best of our ability.
Saint Basil
the Great
Unity of the Trinity
23 August 2024
All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father has begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity.
Saint Augustine
All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father has begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity.
Saint Augustine
Our Afflictions
22 August 2024
He did not say, 'Who keeps us from suffering affliction,' but, 'Who comfort us in all our affliction.'... This truly happened also in the case of the three children (Daniel 3:21-30), for neither did He prevent their being cast into the flame, nor did He quench it, but while the furnace burned He gave them freedom. And such is ever God's way of dealing with us, 'Who comforts us in all our affliction.'
St. John Chrysostom
He did not say, 'Who keeps us from suffering affliction,' but, 'Who comfort us in all our affliction.'... This truly happened also in the case of the three children (Daniel 3:21-30), for neither did He prevent their being cast into the flame, nor did He quench it, but while the furnace burned He gave them freedom. And such is ever God's way of dealing with us, 'Who comforts us in all our affliction.'
St. John Chrysostom
Forgiveness
21 August 2024
There is something spiritual, even sacramental, about forgiveness – a
sign which moves and touches those who are witnesses to its enactment.
Pumla Gobodo Madikizela
The Psalter
20 August 2024
A psalm is a city of refuge from the demons; a means of inducing help from the angels, a weapon in fears by night, a rest from the toils of the day, a safeguard for infants, an adornment for those at the height of their vigour, a consolation for the elders, a most fitting ornament for women. It peoples the solitudes; it rids the market places of excesses; it is the elementary exposition of beginners, the improvement of those advancing, the solid support of the perfect, the voice of the Church. It brightens feast days; it creates a sorrow which is in accordance with God. For, a psalm calls forth a tear even from a heart of stone. A psalm is the work of angels, a heavenly institution, the spiritual incense.
St. Basil the Great
A psalm is a city of refuge from the demons; a means of inducing help from the angels, a weapon in fears by night, a rest from the toils of the day, a safeguard for infants, an adornment for those at the height of their vigour, a consolation for the elders, a most fitting ornament for women. It peoples the solitudes; it rids the market places of excesses; it is the elementary exposition of beginners, the improvement of those advancing, the solid support of the perfect, the voice of the Church. It brightens feast days; it creates a sorrow which is in accordance with God. For, a psalm calls forth a tear even from a heart of stone. A psalm is the work of angels, a heavenly institution, the spiritual incense.
St. Basil the Great
On Prayer
19 August 2024
Every time we bend our knees for prayer and then rise again, we show by
this action that through sin we fell down to earth, but our Creator, the Lover
of Mankind, has called us back to heaven.
St. Basil
Acts 1:9
18 August 2024
Everywhere creation offers obedient service to its Creator. The stars indicated his birth; clouds overshadowed him in his suffering, received him in ascension, and they will accompany him when he returns for judgment.
St. Bede, the Venerable
Everywhere creation offers obedient service to its Creator. The stars indicated his birth; clouds overshadowed him in his suffering, received him in ascension, and they will accompany him when he returns for judgment.
St. Bede, the Venerable
Mary the Mother of God
16 August 2024
Mary, of whom Jesus was born, Who is called. Christ (Mt. 1:16)
Indeed, if it is customary to call Jesus Christ "the last Adam" (keeping in mind that the first Adam brought death to the world, and the Last defeated death, brought life to the world), then it would be appropriate to call Saint Mary as "the last Eve." Because, if through the first Eve, death entered this world, then through Saint Mary the One who overcame death was born into the world.
The Son of Mary has changed the whole history of mankind. He came to save people from their sins (Mt. 1:21). He died and rose again, so that, believing in Him, listening to His word and partaking of His Body and Blood, we, when we die, will also be resurrected.
The name of Mary is forever associated with the name of her Son. Because the Son of Mary became the Savior of the world. Just think that at every liturgy we are saved by receiving the very Body and Blood that Christ received from His mother:
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the first day. (John 6:55)
So you understand how great is the role of the Mother of God in the work of our salvation!
It is true that through her Son, Saint Mary became the mother of the Church, the mother of all Christians.
Saint Mary became a tabernacle that bore God in herself; through her God became incarnate, entered our world, became a Man like us. "The Word was made flesh" (John 1:14) in her womb. Thanks to her, we received a wonderful Savior, the Lamb Who took away the sins of the whole world (and our sins also).
Mary, of whom Jesus was born, Who is called. Christ (Mt. 1:16)
Indeed, if it is customary to call Jesus Christ "the last Adam" (keeping in mind that the first Adam brought death to the world, and the Last defeated death, brought life to the world), then it would be appropriate to call Saint Mary as "the last Eve." Because, if through the first Eve, death entered this world, then through Saint Mary the One who overcame death was born into the world.
The Son of Mary has changed the whole history of mankind. He came to save people from their sins (Mt. 1:21). He died and rose again, so that, believing in Him, listening to His word and partaking of His Body and Blood, we, when we die, will also be resurrected.
The name of Mary is forever associated with the name of her Son. Because the Son of Mary became the Savior of the world. Just think that at every liturgy we are saved by receiving the very Body and Blood that Christ received from His mother:
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the first day. (John 6:55)
So you understand how great is the role of the Mother of God in the work of our salvation!
It is true that through her Son, Saint Mary became the mother of the Church, the mother of all Christians.
Saint Mary became a tabernacle that bore God in herself; through her God became incarnate, entered our world, became a Man like us. "The Word was made flesh" (John 1:14) in her womb. Thanks to her, we received a wonderful Savior, the Lamb Who took away the sins of the whole world (and our sins also).
Sermon on the Mount
14 August 2024
He says this (Matt 7:13,14) not because the Lord’s yoke is rough or his
burden heavy but because there are a few who wish their labors to end. They do
not put their full trust in the Lord when he cries, “Come to me, all you who
labor, and I will give you rest....” Hence the humble and the meek of heart are
named at the very beginning of this sermon. But because there are many who
spurn this smooth yoke and this light burden, it comes to pass that the way
that leads to life is demanding and the entry gate is narrow.
Saint Augustine
Perfection in Righteousness
10 August 2024
And every man that has this hope towards Him purifies himself, even as He is pure,— purifies himself, not indeed by himself alone, but by believing in Him, and calling on Him who sanctifies His saints; which sanctification, when perfected at last (for it is at present only advancing and growing day by day), shall take away from us for ever all the remains of our infirmity.
St. Augustine
And every man that has this hope towards Him purifies himself, even as He is pure,— purifies himself, not indeed by himself alone, but by believing in Him, and calling on Him who sanctifies His saints; which sanctification, when perfected at last (for it is at present only advancing and growing day by day), shall take away from us for ever all the remains of our infirmity.
St. Augustine
The Holy Spirit Convicts “the World” of Righteousness
9 August 2024
But what are we to understand here by “the world” [John 16:8-11]? We dare not understand by it the coarse, outward sins, as adultery, murder, stealing and theft. There are instituted for such characters the wheels and gallows, with which the worldly powers, the kings, emperors and princes, have to do. But we will interpret “the world” as the subtle and secret sins, of which the Holy Spirit convicts, which the world does not know as sin. Yea, it pronounces them divine works; it applauds them and will not permit them to be called sins. How else can unbelief and other secret sins live in the heart while the heart itself is not conscious of them and knows not that they are sins? But those who convict the world must, on that account, be reviled as heretics and be banished from the country, as we see at present. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must convict the world.
Martin Luther
But what are we to understand here by “the world” [John 16:8-11]? We dare not understand by it the coarse, outward sins, as adultery, murder, stealing and theft. There are instituted for such characters the wheels and gallows, with which the worldly powers, the kings, emperors and princes, have to do. But we will interpret “the world” as the subtle and secret sins, of which the Holy Spirit convicts, which the world does not know as sin. Yea, it pronounces them divine works; it applauds them and will not permit them to be called sins. How else can unbelief and other secret sins live in the heart while the heart itself is not conscious of them and knows not that they are sins? But those who convict the world must, on that account, be reviled as heretics and be banished from the country, as we see at present. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must convict the world.
Martin Luther
The Glory of Man
8 August 2024
In the beginning, therefore, did God form Adam, not as if He stood in need of man, but that He might have [some one] upon whom to confer His benefits. ... Nor did He stand in need of our service when He ordered us to follow Him; but He thus bestowed salvation upon ourselves. For to follow the Saviour is to be a partaker of salvation, and to follow light is to receive light. But those who are in light do not themselves illumine the light, but are illumined and revealed by it: they do certainly contribute nothing to it, but, receiving the benefit, they are illumined by the light. Thus, also, service [rendered] to God does indeed profit God nothing, nor has God need of human obedience; but He grants to those who follow and serve Him life and incorruption and eternal glory, bestowing benefit upon those who serve [Him], because they do serve Him, and on His followers, because they do follow Him; but does not receive any benefit from them: for He is rich, perfect, and in need of nothing. But for this reason does God demand service from men, in order that, since He is good and merciful, He may benefit those who continue in His service. For, as much as God is in want of nothing, so much does man stand in need of fellowship with God. For this is the glory of man, to continue and remain permanently in God's service.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons
In the beginning, therefore, did God form Adam, not as if He stood in need of man, but that He might have [some one] upon whom to confer His benefits. ... Nor did He stand in need of our service when He ordered us to follow Him; but He thus bestowed salvation upon ourselves. For to follow the Saviour is to be a partaker of salvation, and to follow light is to receive light. But those who are in light do not themselves illumine the light, but are illumined and revealed by it: they do certainly contribute nothing to it, but, receiving the benefit, they are illumined by the light. Thus, also, service [rendered] to God does indeed profit God nothing, nor has God need of human obedience; but He grants to those who follow and serve Him life and incorruption and eternal glory, bestowing benefit upon those who serve [Him], because they do serve Him, and on His followers, because they do follow Him; but does not receive any benefit from them: for He is rich, perfect, and in need of nothing. But for this reason does God demand service from men, in order that, since He is good and merciful, He may benefit those who continue in His service. For, as much as God is in want of nothing, so much does man stand in need of fellowship with God. For this is the glory of man, to continue and remain permanently in God's service.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons
The Imprecatory Psalm
7 August 2024
The enemies referred to here are enemies of the cause of God, who lay
hands on us for the sake of God. It is therefore nowhere a matter of personal
conflict. … therefore he must dismiss from his own mind all thought of personal
revenge. …The prayer for the vengeance of God is the prayer for the execution
of his righteousness in the judgment of sin. … I myself, with my sin, belong
under this judgment. I have no right to want to hinder this judgment. … God’s
vengeance did not strike sinners, but the one sinless man who stood in the
sinner’s place, namelt God’s own Son. … that was the end of all phony thoughts
about the love of God which do not take sin seriously. … Only in the cross of
Jesus Christ is the love of God to be found. Thus the imprecatory psalm leads
to the cross of Jesus and to the love of God which forgives enemies. I cannot
forgive the enemies of God out of my own resources. Only the crucified Christ
can do that, and I through him. … I leave the vengeance to God and ask him to
execute his righteousness to all his enemies… ”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Our Daily Bread
6 August 2024
[Give us our daily bread] But do we not also pray for our physical bread? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
Martin Luther
[Give us our daily bread] But do we not also pray for our physical bread? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
Martin Luther
Sign of the Cross
5 August 2024
But imitate Christ at all times, signing your forehead with sincerity. This is the sign of His passion, shown and proven against the devil, if you make it with faith, not in order to be seen by others, but knowingly setting it forward as a shield. For, when the adversary sees that its power comes from the heart, because it shows forth publicly the image of baptism, he is put to flight. He flies, not because of your spittle, but because the Spirit within you blows him away. When Moses made this sign, rubbing the blood of the slain paschal lamb on the lintels of the doorposts, he signified the faith which we now have in the perfect Lamb.
Hippolytus of Rome
But imitate Christ at all times, signing your forehead with sincerity. This is the sign of His passion, shown and proven against the devil, if you make it with faith, not in order to be seen by others, but knowingly setting it forward as a shield. For, when the adversary sees that its power comes from the heart, because it shows forth publicly the image of baptism, he is put to flight. He flies, not because of your spittle, but because the Spirit within you blows him away. When Moses made this sign, rubbing the blood of the slain paschal lamb on the lintels of the doorposts, he signified the faith which we now have in the perfect Lamb.
Hippolytus of Rome
On Prayer
4 August 2024
Prayer is the language of the Christian community. In prayer the nature
of the community becomes visible because in prayer we direct ourselves to the
one who forms the community. We do not pray to each other, but together we pray
to God, who calls us and makes us into a new people. Praying is not one of the
many things that community does. Rather, it is its very being.
Henri Nouwen
On Baptism
3 August 2024
We thank and bless thee, O God, for thy full and perfect grace; make our life one and joyous amen to the word of forgiveness which we have heard in our baptism, to where we died to this world with thy son. Amen.
Martin Franzmann
We thank and bless thee, O God, for thy full and perfect grace; make our life one and joyous amen to the word of forgiveness which we have heard in our baptism, to where we died to this world with thy son. Amen.
Martin Franzmann
Why Forgiveness Must be Found in Christ and Not Our Works
2 August 2024
But God speaks thus: If thou wilt be rid of sin, thou must do other
works wherewith to pay the price. But with all the works which thou dost, thou
canst do nothing but sin, even with the works wherewith thou thinkest to
reconcile me and to do penance for thy sins. How wilt thou then, thou fool,
blot out sin with sin? For even in the works which thou considerest the best
and which thou canst do, thou sinnest if thou dost not do them willingly and
from the heart. For if thou didst not fear punishment, thou wouldst rather not
do them at all. Thus thou dost no more than that thou seekest to blot out
little sins by doing greater ones; or else to commit such great ones that thou
mayest lay aside others.
Wherefore, it is ever great blindness that a man does not see what sin
is, nor know what good works are, but accepts sin for good works. When the Holy
Spirit comes, he convicts the people and says: The works which thou hast done,
as well as those which thou art still doing, are nothing but sin; therefore, it
is all in vain that thou dost attempt to make satisfaction for thy sin
according to thy ability. Then they feel compelled to say: Behold, this I did
not know. Then says he: For this purpose I am here, in order to tell thee this.
If thou hadst known it, it would not have been necessary for me to come and
make it known. What wilt thou do now in order to be helped? This thou must do:
Believe on the Savior, the Lord Christ, that he has taken away thy sin. If thou
believest this, he is thine and thy sins will disappear; if not, then thou wilt
never get rid of sin, but wilt always fall into it deeper and deeper.
Martin Luther
Sacred Music
1 August 2024
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.
Johann Sebastian Bach
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.
Johann Sebastian Bach
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