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....
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...
This excerpt from Eusebius of Caesarea's commentary on Isaiah 40 focuses on the role of St. John the Baptist, one of the key figures of Advent. John, the voice crying out in the wilderness, comes to prepare the way of the Lord Jesus Christ....
Isn't Advent great? Welcome to the season where the only song we sing for four weeks is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel! It's the best! Advent is my favorite season, and not just because, as a music minister, I get to play more songs with minor keys. Advent is my favorite...
St. Augustine explains how we can rejoice and even delight in something that we can’t yet see and don’t yet possess. In so doing, he helps us understand better the power of the theological virtue of hope....
Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XV on St. Ephrem, the Syrian, written in 1920. The Latin title is Principi Apostolorum Petro....
Peter & Paul have a common feast day. And though they each have their own basilica in Rome, the dedication of both are celebrated on the same day. St. Leo, 5th century bishop of Rome, shows that this is because they were united...
Augustine makes clear that though grace must come before any good works that are truly pleasing to God, grace necessarily leads to good works which are really God's works in and through us as we tred the path of humility....
Pope Francis was elected as successor of Peter and bishop of Rome on March 13, 2013. He chose to be installed on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, March 19 2013. Thus, his very first homily as Pope was on the role of Saint...