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What is old is new again. That’s why the Fathers are so important, they’ve done battle with the heresies that continue to plaque our Church even today. Also in his writings you can see the “Theology of the Body”…1800 years or so before we hear from Pope John Paul II. Faith and Reason can live in harmony…then knew it then and we can be confident about that now.
Take a listen to Mike Aquilna, who does a great job giving us the life of this early, early father of the Church, Clement of Alexandria.
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Here in a very small nutshell is an overview of St. Clement of Alexandria –
from wikipedia –
Titus Flavius Clemens (c.150 – c. 215), known as Clement of Alexandria (to distinguish him from Clement of Rome), was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen. He united Greek philosophical traditions with Christian doctrine and valued gnosis that with communion for all people could be held by common Christians specially chosen by God.Though he constantly opposes the concept of gnosis as defined by the Gnostics, he used the term “gnostic” for Christians who had attained the deeper teaching of the Logos.He developed a Christian Platonism. He presented the goal of Christian life as deification, identified both as Platonism’s assimilation into God and the biblical imitation of God.
Like Origen, he arose from Alexandria’s Catechetical School and was well versed in pagan literature.Origen succeeded Clement as head of the school.Alexandria had a major Christian community in early Christianity, noted for its scholarship and its high-quality copies of Scripture.
Clement is counted as one of the early Church Fathers. He advocated a vegetarian diet and claimed that the apostles Peter, Matthew, and James the Just were vegetarians. – wikipedia
Great trilogy of St. Clement of Alexandria
The trilogy into which Clement’s principal remains are connected by their purpose and mode of treatment is composed of:
- the Protrepticus (“Exhortation to the Greeks”)
- the Paedagogus (“Instructor”)
- the Stromata (“Miscellanies”)
The first book deals with the religious basis of Christian morality, the second and third with the individual cases of conduct.
Tags: alexanderia, Church, clement of alexandria, early church fathers, faith and reason, father, father of the church, fathers mike, fathers of the church, gnostics, heresy, mike aquilina, Mike Aquilna
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2014 at 8:26 am
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[powerpress] An anti-pope who is considered a father of the Church and a saint. God’s great 
mercy knows no bounds! How does someone who was a self proclaimed pope (and considered the first 
anti-pope in Church history) become a saint? The story of St. Hippolytus is a fascinating one. A greek-speaking priest who who lived in the late 100’s – early 200’s; his writings on the Eucharistic liturgy are some of the most beautiful of all time. Check him out Mike Aquilina’s great blog The Way of the Fathers
For more audio from Mike’s visit his Discerning Hearts page
Tags: catholic, catholic podcast, catholic prayer, cathollc spirituality, Church, father, fathers of the church, mercy, mike aquilina, osv, st. paul center for biblical theology
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2014 at 11:43 am
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Once again, Teresa Monaghen brings a saint, who lived over 600 years ago, to vivid life and connects 
them into our modern day circumstances. Â St. Bridget of Sweden was an ordinary woman who was open to receiving extraordinary grace because of her great love for Christ. Â Teresa tells the remarkable story with joy and enthusiasm.
For the 15 prayers of St. Bridget click here
For more on her life and teachings, check out this teaching from Pope Benedict XVI
From the teachings of Blessed Pope John Paul II:
4. The first of these three great figures, Bridget, was born of an aristocratic family in 1303 at Finsta, in the Swedish region of Uppland. She is known above all as a mystic and the foundress of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour. Yet it must not be forgotten that the first part of her life was that of a lay woman happily married to a devout Christian man to whom she bore eight children. In naming her a Co-Patroness of Europe, I would hope that not only those who have received a vocation to the consecrated life but also those called to the ordinary occupations of the life of the
laity in the world, and especially to the high and demanding vocation of forming a Christian family, will feel that she is close to them. Without abandoning the comfortable condition of her social status, she and her husband Ulf enjoyed a married life in which conjugal love was joined to intense prayer, the study of Sacred Scripture, mortification and charitable works. Together they founded a small hospital, where they often attended the sick. Bridget was in the habit of serving the poor personally. At the same time, she was appreciated for her gifts as a teacher, which she was able to use when she was required to serve at Court in Stockholm. This experience was the basis of the counsel which she would later give from time to time to princes and rulers concerning the proper fulfilment of their duties. But obviously the first to benefit from these counsels were her children, and it is not by chance that one of her daughters, Catherine, is venerated as a Saint.
But this period of family life was only a first step. The pilgrimage which she made with her husband Ulf to Santiago de Compostela in 1341 symbolically brought this time to a close and prepared her for the new life which began a few years later at the death of her husband. It was then that Bridget recognized the voice of Christ entrusting her with a new mission and guiding her step by step by a series of extraordinary mystical graces. (more…)
Tags: catholic, catholic podcast, catholic prayer, cathollc spirituality, Church, joy, love, Sweden, teresa monaghen
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 at 5:59 am
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Faith Check/Greg Youell
Development of the Living Church
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The celebrated English convert, John Henry Cardinal Newman, pointed out that the Catholic Church can be likened to a tiny acorn which grows into a tree—though it looks entirely different, it remains in its essence, the same thing. Likewise, a human grows from a tiny child to an adolescent through adulthood to old age, yet he remains the same person with the same DNA.
So too the Church grows and develops as the living Body of Christ. Of course, the Church of over one billion people today is not a mirror image of the relatively tiny Church in the first century Mediterranean we read about in the New Testament—nor should it be. The Church’s organization and outward forms are dynamic, not static, and must change to meet the needs of the age—yet the Church remains the same Church believing the same Faith.
The Church’s doctrine also grows and develops—never contradicting itself, but deepening with years of reflection and clarification. For instance, it was not until Christ’s divinity was denied that the Nicene Council gave us the Creed we profess each Sunday at Mass, which states precisely what we do and do not believe about our Lord. And so the grows the Church until the consummation of time.
Tags: catholic, catholic podcast, catholic prayer, cathollc spirituality, Church
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 at 3:51 am
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We discovered an incredible audio of a conference talk given in the late 70’s by the Baroness herself, Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty.  She is  co-founder of the Madonna House Apostolate and one of our absolute favorite authors.  We dare you not to be moved by her words!
Reflection on Catherine’s talk by Omar Gutierrez:
Catherine de Hueck Doherty speaks with the kind of prophetic fire that one imagines would have poured from the mouth of Isaiah or out of the minds of the early Church fathers. Her spirit and message are as thoroughly Catholic as any you have ever heard. With the kind of salty swagger of a woman who knew what it was to live with the poorest of the poor, she understood intimately what it meant to live the social teaching of the Church. “Service without prayer,†she says, “is paternalism, social service work, something that the poor do not accept.†“In order to do what we must do, in order to be what we must be we have to pray.â€
As she loudly asks why it is that our cities do not applaud and cry at the manifest love for the poor that should be there but isn’t, and demands that we pray for the souls of the owners of multi-million dollar corporations, and points out the “stupid†behavior of Church governors she can at the same time turn around and insist that we all have the faith of a St. Perpetua in order to renew the ancient Church. She demands that we pray for our priests who are manifestations of God’s love for us. “We don’t need psychiatrists from our priests. We don’t need counselors from our priests. We need priests to take us by the hand and lead us to sanctity.â€
Doherty is a lioness, a spirit that could move mountains. We would all do well to listen to her advice and seek union with Christ in His Church and in obedience to the teachings therein. So, in Catherine’s words, “Get crackingâ€!
Tags: audio, Church, Hueck Doherty, love, Madonna House, obedience, priests
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 at 7:28 am
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It was wonderful to talk with Deacon Keating about his book “Spousal Prayer: Â A Way to Marital Happiness”. Â Filled with practical suggestions, it never “dumbs” the importance
of the message by presenting to us yet another “self-help” book, but rather it elevates our understanding and experience of true martial intimacy. Â A small book, filled with tremendous potential for couples in any stage of their relationship, if they are willing to enter into the union Christ has waiting for them. Don’t miss this gem.
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You can find the book here
From the description:
Deacon James Keating’s newest book, Spousal Prayer: A Way to Marital Happiness affirms that the sharing of hearts is a necessary commitment in both marriage and prayer. If we can learn what the key elements to sharing the heart are and equally what the key elements to receiving the heart of another are, then we will know the greatest of intimacy in both prayer and marriage. The mingling of the love of spouse with and in the love of God is and has always been the foundation for a life of peace, creativity, and vibrancy, not to mention sanctity. In fact, we cannot even understand what marriage is unless we look at how Christ loved His Bride, the Church, till the end (Jn 13:1). For the baptized, Christ has joined His love for the Church to the Sacrament of Marriage and Marriage, to His love for the Church. Each couple is called to allow Jesus to bring them into this great love of His. The couple is not supposed to do all the work of love; they are called to let Jesus gift them with His own spousal love. In other words, couples should let Jesus live His spousal love for the Church over again in their own love for one another. They do this by simply asking Him in prayer to do so and by sharing their needs and desires with Him. Marriage is not a self-help relationship; it is a deep partnership with Christ.
Tags: Church, Jesus, love, marriage, relationship
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 at 6:55 am
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Mike Aquilina give us an overview of the great saints life and impact on the Church
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St. John of Damascus, not only taught that icons and other sacred artworks are permissible because they point to the incarnation of Jesus, but he also understood the rich value of every word to do the same. He is considered one of the Church’s most gifted poets. Every sacred image, whether in art, hymn, poetry can be a prayer that leads us deeper into the heart of God.
The St. John Damascus site contains many of his writings…it’s fantastic!
“RIGHTEOUS JOHN OF DAMASCUS. He was raised in Damascus, Syria, the capital of the Moslem world. When he was ten years of age, his father found a learned monk in the secular studies as well as music and theology. He instructed John and his adopted brother, Cosmas, and John made great progress in theology. At last, the monk departed saying to their father, Sergius, that his sons had become remarkably wise. Sergius soon died, and John was chosen for his office of counselor to the caliph.
During this time, John wrote convincingly against the iconoclasts and Leo the Armenian, as well as the Moslems. He effectively used deductive arguments, history, and parables of the saints. Against the iconoclasts, he argued that since the shadows and handkerchiefs of the apostles healed the sick, why was it not appropriate to venerate their icons. His letters were circulated to strengthen and prepare the people to answer the attacks of the heretics. Seeing this, the emperor wrote a letter in John’s hand that had him condemned to the caliph for whom he worked. The caliph had his right hand cut off and hung in the market place. That night, John recovered his hand and prayed before an icon of the Theotokos, called of the three hands, promising that he would write hymns for Orthodoxy if he were healed. He slept, and she told him that he was healed and to write. The caliph freed him, and he became a humble monk. He wrote canons, troparia, idiomela, festal homilies for feast days of Jesus and the Theotokos, the saints and prophets. He established the Typikon, the order of services. He became the mouth piece of all the bishops of the east. He died peacefully at 104 years of age.” – from the St. John of Damascus Institute site – for a longer account go there
Spiritual Writings:
Exposition of the Faith
The video contains some of St. John Damascus’ teachings on the Blessed Virgin Mary
A Prayer of St. John of Damascus
I stand before the gates of thy Temple, and yet I refrain not from my evil thoughts. But do thou, O Christ my God, who didst justify the publican, and hadst mercy on the Canaanite woman, and opened the gates of Paradise to the thief; open unto me the compassion of thy love toward mankind, and receive me as I approach and touch thee, like the sinful woman and the woman with the issue of blood; for the one, by embracing thy feet received the forgiveness of her sins, and the other by but touching the hem of thy garment was healed. And I, most sinful, dare to partake of thy whole Body. Let me not be consumed but receive me as thou didst receive them, and enlighten the perceptions of my soul, consuming the accusations of my sins; through the intercessions of Her that without stain gave Thee birth, and of the heavenly Powers; for thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
Tags: art, Church, father, fathers mike, icons, john of damascus, mike aquilina, sacred image, secular studies, st john of damascus
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 4th, 2013 at 12:34 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Jerome
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Jerome
-Â Letters
-Â The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary
-Â To Pammachius Against John of Jerusalem
-Â The Dialogue Against the Luciferians
-Â The Life of Malchus, the Captive Monk
-Â The Life of S. Hilarion
-Â The Life of Paulus the First Hermit
-Â Against Jovinianus
-Â Against Vigilantius
-Â Against the Pelagians
-Â Prefaces
-Â De Viris Illustribus (Illustrious Men)
-Â Apology for himself against the Books of Rufinus
Jerome was born into a Christian family in about 347 A.D. in Stridon. He was given a good education and was even sent to Rome to fine-tune his studies. As a young man he was attracted by the worldly life (cf. Ep 22, 7), but his desire for and interest in the Christian religion prevailed.
He received Baptism in about 366 and opted for the ascetic life. He went to Aquileia and joined a group of fervent Christians that had formed around Bishop Valerian and which he described as almost “a choir of blesseds” (Chron. ad ann. 374). He then left for the East and lived as a hermit in the Desert of Chalcis, south of Aleppo (Ep 14, 10), devoting himself assiduously to study. He perfected his knowledge of Greek, began learning Hebrew (cf. Ep 125, 12), and transcribed codices and Patristic writings (cf. Ep 5, 2). Meditation, solitude and contact with the Word of God helped his Christian sensibility to mature. He bitterly regretted the indiscretions of his youth (cf. Ep. 22, 7) and was keenly aware of the contrast between the pagan mentality and the Christian life: a contrast made famous by the dramatic and lively “vision” – of which he has left us an account – in which it seemed to him that he was being scourged before God because he was “Ciceronian rather than Christian” (cf. Ep. 22, 30).In 382 he moved to Rome: here, acquainted with his fame as an ascetic and his ability as a scholar, Pope Damasus engaged him as secretary and counsellor; the Pope encouraged him, for pastoral and cultural reasons, to embark on a new Latin translation of the Biblical texts. Several members of the Roman aristocracy, especially noblewomen such as Paula, Marcella, Asella, Lea and others, desirous of committing themselves to the way of Christian perfection and of deepening their knowledge of the Word of God, chose him as their spiritual guide and teacher in the methodical approach to the sacred texts. These noblewomen also learned Greek and Hebrew.
After the death of Pope Damasus, Jerome left Rome in 385 and went on pilgrimage, first to the Holy Land, a silent witness of Christ’s earthly life, and then to Egypt, the favourite country of numerous monks (cf. Contra Rufinum, 3, 22; Ep. 108, 6-14). In 386 he stopped in Bethlehem, where male and female monasteries were built through the generosity of the noblewoman, Paula, as well as a hospice for pilgrims bound for the Holy Land, “remembering Mary and Joseph who had found no room there” (Ep. 108, 14).
He stayed in Bethlehem until he died, continuing to do a prodigious amount of work: he commented on the Word of God; he defended the faith, vigorously opposing various heresies; he urged the monks on to perfection; he taught classical and Christian culture to young students; he welcomed with a pastor’s heart pilgrims who were visiting the Holy Land. He died in his cell close to the Grotto of the Nativity on 30 September 419-420.
Jerome’s literary studies and vast erudition enabled him to revise and translate many biblical texts: an invaluable undertaking for the Latin Church and for Western culture. On the basis of the original Greek and Hebrew texts, and thanks to the comparison with previous versions, he revised the four Gospels in Latin, then the Psalter and a large part of the Old Testament. Taking into account the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Septuagint, the classical Greek version of the Old Testament that dates back to pre-Christian times, as well as the earlier Latin versions, Jerome was able, with the assistance later of other collaborators, to produce a better translation: this constitutes the so-called “Vulgate”, the “official” text of the Latin Church which was recognized as such by the Council of Trent and which, after the recent revision, continues to be the “official” Latin text of the Church. It is interesting to point out the criteria which the great biblicist abided by in his work as a translator. He himself reveals them when he says that he respects even the order of the words of the Sacred Scriptures, for in them, he says, “the order of the words is also a mystery” (Ep. 57, 5), that is, a revelation. Furthermore, he reaffirms the need to refer to the original texts: “Should an argument on the New Testament arise between Latins because of interpretations of the manuscripts that fail to agree, let us turn to the original, that is, to the Greek text in which the New Testament was written. “Likewise, with regard to the Old Testament, if there are divergences between the Greek and Latin texts we should have recourse to the original Hebrew text; thus, we shall be able to find in the streams all that flows from the source” (Ep. 106, 2). Jerome also commented on many biblical texts. For him the commentaries had to offer multiple opinions “so that the shrewd reader, after reading the different explanations and hearing many opinions – to be accepted or rejected – may judge which is the most reliable, and, like an expert moneychanger, may reject the false coin” (Contra Rufinum 1, 16).
Jerome refuted with energy and liveliness the heretics who contested the tradition and faith of the Church. He also demonstrated the importance and validity of Christian literature, which had by then become a real culture that deserved to be compared with classical literature: he did so by composing his De Viris Illustribus, a work in which Jerome presents the biographies of more than a hundred Christian authors. Further, he wrote biographies of monks, comparing among other things their spiritual itineraries as well as monastic ideal. In addition, he translated various works by Greek authors. Lastly, in the important Epistulae, a masterpiece of Latin literature, Jerome emerges with the profile of a man of culture, an ascetic and a guide of souls.
What can we learn from St Jerome? It seems to me, this above all; to love the Word of God in Sacred Scripture. St Jerome said: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”. It is therefore important that every Christian live in contact and in personal dialogue with the Word of God given to us in Sacred Scripture. This dialogue with Scripture must always have two dimensions: on the one hand, it must be a truly personal dialogue because God speaks with each one of us through Sacred Scripture and it has a message for each one. We must not read Sacred Scripture as a word of the past but as the Word of God that is also addressed to us, and we must try to understand what it is that the Lord wants to tell us. However, to avoid falling into individualism, we must bear in mind that the Word of God has been given to us precisely in order to build communion and to join forces in the truth on our journey towards God. Thus, although it is always a personal Word, it is also a Word that builds community, that builds the Church. We must therefore read it in communion with the living Church. The privileged place for reading and listening to the Word of God is the liturgy, in which, celebrating the Word and making Christ’s Body present in the Sacrament, we actualize the Word in our lives and make it present among us. We must never forget that the Word of God transcends time. Human opinions come and go. What is very modern today will be very antiquated tomorrow. On the other hand, the Word of God is the Word of eternal life, it bears within it eternity and is valid for ever. By carrying the Word of God within us, we therefore carry within us eternity, eternal life.
I thus conclude with a word St Jerome once addressed to St Paulinus of Nola. In it the great exegete expressed this very reality, that is, in the Word of God we receive eternity, eternal life. St Jerome said: “Seek to learn on earth those truths which will remain ever valid in Heaven” (Ep. 53, 10).
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: catholic, catholic podcast, catholic prayer, cathollc spirituality, Church, matthew bunson, sacred scripture, St Jerome
This entry was posted on Monday, November 25th, 2013 at 9:53 am
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The story and history of Saint Clement.
First, start with the podcast above featuring the son of the Fathers, Mike Aquilina talking about St. Clement, then…
Clemens Romanus was born in Rome in Italy during the time that the Christian faith was being spread and Christians were being persecuted by the Roman Emperors. He is believed to be of Jewish descent and a freeman of Rome. He worked as a tanner
during the early part of his life. He was then converted to Christianity and became a disciple of St. Peter and of St. Paul. Following the death of Saint Peter he took over his position and became the fourth Pope and Bishop of Rome continuing to convert Romans from the religion of the old Roman gods to Christianity.
Saint Clement was banished from Rome during the reign of the Emperor Trajan (September 18, 53 – August 9, 117) due to his beliefs and unpopularity with the Roman rabble. He was banished to Chersonesus, which was an ancient Greek colony under Roman rule, in the south western part of Crimea (part of the Ukraine). In Chersonesus he was sentenced to work with other prisoners in a sto
ne quarry where he continued to convert people. The number and success of his conversions attracted the attention of the Roman prefect who sentenced him to death. Clement was he was bound to an anchor and cast into the sea. He died in A.D.100.
How blessed and amazing are God’s gifts, dear friends Life with immortality, splendor with righteousness, truth with confidence, faith with assurance, self-control with holiness And all these things are within our comprehension. Clement of Rome
Basilica of Saint Clement
The Basilica di San Clemente is an early Christian basilica in Rome dedicated to Pope St. Clement. Its beautiful interior is especially notable for its three historical layers.
The main upper church is one of the most richly decorated churches in Rome. The vast majority of its architecture and art dates from its construction in the early 12th century. The entrance is on the left aisle.
The most striking sight is the 12th-century apse mosaic, in a golden-bronze color and featuring a large cross in the center. In the center of the apse is a throne, whose back is part of a martyr’s tomb.
The high altar contains the relics of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. Faded frescoes decorate many of the walls, and date from the 6th to 11th centuries. They depict New Testament scenes and lives of several saints.
Tags: basilica di san clemente, Church, churches in rome, clement of rome, emperor trajan, father of the church, fathers mike, mike aquilina, rome, saint clement, st clement of rome
This entry was posted on Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 at 12:02 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo (part 2)
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Augustine of Hippo [
-Â Confessions
-Â Letters
-Â City of God
-Â Christian Doctrine
-Â On the Holy Trinity
-Â The Enchiridion
-Â On the Catechising of the Uninstructed
-Â On Faith and the Creed
-Â Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen
-Â On the Profit of Believing
-Â On the Creed: A Sermon to Catechumens
-Â On Continence
-Â On the Good of Marriage
-Â On Holy Virginity
-Â On the Good of Widowhood
-Â On Lying
-Â To Consentius: Against Lying
-Â On the Work of Monks
-Â On Patience
-Â On Care to be Had For the Dead
-Â On the Morals of the Catholic Church
-Â On the Morals of the Manichaeans
-Â On Two Souls, Against the Manichaeans
-Â Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichaean
-Â Against the Epistle of Manichaeus Called Fundamental
-Â Reply to Faustus the Manichaean
-Â Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the Manichaeans
-Â On Baptism, Against the Donatists
-Â Answer to Letters of Petilian, Bishop of Cirta
-Â Merits and Remission of Sin, and Infant Baptism
-Â On the Spirit and the Letter
-Â On Nature and Grace
-Â On Man’s Perfection in Righteousness
-Â On the Proceedings of Pelagius
-Â On the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin
-Â On Marriage and Concupiscence
-Â On the Soul and its Origin
-Â Against Two Letters of the Pelagians
-Â On Grace and Free Will
-Â On Rebuke and Grace
-Â The Predestination of the Saints/Gift of Perseverance
-Â Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount
-Â The Harmony of the Gospels
-Â Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament
-Â Tractates on the Gospel of John
-Â Homilies on the First Epistle of John
-Â Soliloquies
-Â The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms
After his Baptism, Augustine decided to return to Africa with his friends, with the idea of living a community life of the monastic kind at the service of God. However, while awaiting their departure in Ostia, his mother fell ill unexpectedly and died shortly afterwards, breaking her son’s heart. Having returned to his
homeland at last, the convert settled in Hippo for the very purpose of founding a monastery. In this city on the African coast he was ordained a priest in 391, despite his reticence, and with a few companions began the monastic life which had long been in his mind, dividing his time between prayer, study and preaching. All he wanted was to be at the service of the truth. He did not feel he had a vocation to pastoral life but realized later that God was calling him to be a pastor among others and thus to offer people the gift of the truth. He was ordained a Bishop in Hippo four years later, in 395. Augustine continued to deepen his study of Scripture and of the texts of the Christian tradition and was an exemplary Bishop in his tireless pastoral commitment: he preached several times a week to his faithful, supported the poor and orphans, supervised the formation of the clergy and the organization of mens’ and womens’ monasteries. In short, the former rhetorician asserted himself as one of the most important exponents of Christianity of that time. He was very active in the government of his Diocese – with remarkable, even civil, implications – in the more than 35 years of his Episcopate, and the Bishop of Hippo actually exercised a vast influence in his guidance of the Catholic Church in Roman Africa and, more generally, in the Christianity of his time, coping with religious tendencies and tenacious, disruptive heresies such as Manichaeism, Donatism and Pelagianism, which endangered the Christian faith in the one God, rich in mercy.
And Augustine entrusted himself to God every day until the very end of his life: smitten by fever, while for almost three months his Hippo was being besieged by vandal invaders, the Bishop – his friend Possidius recounts in his Vita Augustini - asked that the penitential psalms be transcribed in large characters, “and that the sheets be attached to the wall, so that while he was bedridden during his illness he could see and read them and he shed constant hot tears” (31, 2). This is how Augustine spent the last days of his life. He died on 28 August 430, when he was not yet 76. We will devote our next encounters to his work, his message and his inner experience.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: beauty, Church, matthew bunson, mother, old testament, truth
This entry was posted on Monday, November 18th, 2013 at 3:17 pm
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo (part 1)
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Augustine of Hippo [
-Â Confessions
-Â Letters
-Â City of God
-Â Christian Doctrine
-Â On the Holy Trinity
-Â The Enchiridion
-Â On the Catechising of the Uninstructed
-Â On Faith and the Creed
-Â Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen
-Â On the Profit of Believing
-Â On the Creed: A Sermon to Catechumens
-Â On Continence
-Â On the Good of Marriage
-Â On Holy Virginity
-Â On the Good of Widowhood
-Â On Lying
-Â To Consentius: Against Lying
-Â On the Work of Monks
-Â On Patience
-Â On Care to be Had For the Dead
-Â On the Morals of the Catholic Church
-Â On the Morals of the Manichaeans
-Â On Two Souls, Against the Manichaeans
-Â Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichaean
-Â Against the Epistle of Manichaeus Called Fundamental
-Â Reply to Faustus the Manichaean
-Â Concerning the Nature of Good, Against the Manichaeans
-Â On Baptism, Against the Donatists
-Â Answer to Letters of Petilian, Bishop of Cirta
-Â Merits and Remission of Sin, and Infant Baptism
-Â On the Spirit and the Letter
-Â On Nature and Grace
-Â On Man’s Perfection in Righteousness
-Â On the Proceedings of Pelagius
-Â On the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin
-Â On Marriage and Concupiscence
-Â On the Soul and its Origin
-Â Against Two Letters of the Pelagians
-Â On Grace and Free Will
-Â On Rebuke and Grace
-Â The Predestination of the Saints/Gift of Perseverance
-Â Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount
-Â The Harmony of the Gospels
-Â Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament
-Â Tractates on the Gospel of John
-Â Homilies on the First Epistle of John
-Â Soliloquies
-Â The Enarrations, or Expositions, on the Psalms
n Milan, Augustine acquired the habit of listening – at first for the purpose of enriching his rhetorical baggage – to the eloquentpreaching of Bishop Ambrose, who had been a representative of the Emperor for Northern Italy. The African rhetorician was fascinated by the words of the great Milanese Prelate; and not only by his rhetoric. It was above all the content that increasingly touched Augustine’s heart. The great difficulty with the Old Testament, because of its lack of rhetorical beauty and lofty philosophy was resolved in St Ambrose’s preaching through his typological interpretation of the Old Testament: Augustine realized that the whole of the Old Testament was a journey toward Jesus Christ. Thus, he found the key to understanding the beauty and even the philosophical depth of the Old Testament and grasped the whole unity of the mystery of Christ in history, as well as the synthesis between philosophy, rationality and faith in the Logos, in Christ, the Eternal Word who was made flesh.
Augustine soon realized that the allegorical interpretation of Scripture and the Neo-Platonic philosophy practised by the Bishop of Milan enabled him to solve the intellectual difficulties which, when he was younger during his first approach to the biblical texts, had seemed insurmountable to him.
Thus, Augustine followed his reading of the philosophers’ writings by reading Scripture anew, especially the Pauline Letters. His conversion to Christianity on 15 August 386 therefore came at the end of a long and tormented inner journey – of which we shall speak in another catechesis -, and the African moved to the countryside, north of Milan by Lake Como – with his mother Monica, his son Adeodatus and a small group of friends – to prepare himself for Baptism. So it was that at the age of 32 Augustine was baptized by Ambrose in the Cathedral of Milan on 24 April 387, during the Easter Vigil.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: beauty, catholic, catholic podcast, catholic prayer, cathollc spirituality, Church, matthew bunson, old testament, Pauline Letters
This entry was posted on Friday, November 8th, 2013 at 9:05 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Ambrose of Milan (part 2)
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Dear brothers and sisters, I would like further to propose to you a sort of “patristic icon”, which, interpreted in the light of what we have said, effectively represents “the heart” of Ambrosian doctrine. In the sixth book of the Confessions, Augustine tells of his
meeting with Ambrose, an encounter that was indisputably of great importance in the history of the Church. He writes in his text that whenever he went to see the Bishop of Milan, he would regularly find him taken up with catervae of people full of problems for whose needs he did his utmost. There was always a long queue waiting to talk to Ambrose, seeking in him consolation and hope. When Ambrose was not with them, with the people (and this happened for the space of the briefest of moments), he was either restoring his body with the necessary food or nourishing his spirit with reading. Here Augustine marvels because Ambrose read the Scriptures with his mouth shut, only with his eyes (cf. Confessions, 6, 3). Indeed, in the early Christian centuries reading was conceived of strictly for proclamation, and reading aloud also facilitated the reader’s understanding. That Ambrose could scan the pages with his eyes alone suggested to the admiring Augustine a rare ability for reading and familiarity with the Scriptures. Well, in that “reading under one’s breath”, where the heart is committed to achieving knowledge of the Word of God – this is the “icon” to which we are referring -, one can glimpse the method of Ambrosian catechesis; it is Scripture itself, intimately assimilated, which suggests the content to proclaim that will lead to the conversion of hearts.
Thus, with regard to the magisterium of Ambrose and of Augustine, catechesis is inseparable from witness of life. What I wrote on the theologian in the Introduction to Christianity might also be useful to the catechist. An educator in the faith cannot risk appearing like a sort of clown who recites a part “by profession”. Rather – to use an image dear to Origen, a writer who was particularly appreciated by Ambrose -, he must be like the beloved disciple who rested his head against his Master’s heart and there learned the way to think, speak and act. The true disciple is ultimately the one whose proclamation of the Gospel is the most credible and effective.
Like the Apostle John, Bishop Ambrose – who never tired of saying: “Omnia Christus est nobis! To us Christ is all!” – continues to be a genuine witness of the Lord. Let us thus conclude our Catechesis with his same words, full of love for Jesus:Â “Omnia Christus est nobis! If you have a wound to heal, he is the doctor; if you are parched by fever, he is the spring; if you are oppressed by injustice, he is justice; if you are in need of help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire Heaven, he is the way; if you are in the darkness, he is light…. Taste and see how good is the Lord:Â blessed is the man who hopes in him!” (De Virginitate, 16, 99). Let us also hope in Christ. We shall thus be blessed and shall live in peace.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: Church, heart, hope, matthew bunson
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 30th, 2013 at 9:55 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St.  Ambrose of Milan (part  1)
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Until that moment, Ambrose had been the most senior magistrate of the Empire in northern Italy. Culturally well-educated but at the same time ignorant of the Scriptures, the new Bishop briskly began to study them. From the works of Origen, the indisputable master of the “Alexandrian School”, he learned to know and to comment on the Bible. Thus, Ambrose transferred to the Latin environment the meditation on the Scriptures which Origen had begun, introducing in the West the practice of lectio divina. The method of lectio served to guide all of Ambrose’s preaching and writings, which stemmed precisely from prayerful listening to the Word of God. The famous introduction of an Ambrosian catechesis shows clearly how the holy Bishop applied the Old Testament to Christian life: “Every day, when we were reading about the lives of the Patriarchs and the maxims of the Proverbs, we addressed morality”, the Bishop of Milan said to his catechumens and neophytes, “so that formed and instructed by them you may become accustomed to taking the path of the Fathers and to following the route of obedience to the divine precepts” (On the Mysteries 1, 1). In other words, the neophytes and catechumens, in accordance with the Bishop’s decision, after having learned the art of a well-ordered life, could henceforth consider themselves prepared for Christ’s great mysteries. Thus, Ambrose’s preaching – which constitutes the structural nucleus of his immense literary opus – starts with the reading of the Sacred Books (“the Patriarchs” or the historical Books and “Proverbs”, or in other words, the Wisdom Books) in order to live in conformity with divine Revelation.
It is obvious that the preacher’s personal testimony and the level of exemplarity of the Christian community condition the effectiveness of the preaching. In this perspective, a passage from St Augustine’s Confessions is relevant. He had come to Milan as a teacher of rhetoric; he was a sceptic and not Christian. He was seeking the Christian truth but was not capable of truly finding it.
What moved the heart of the young African rhetorician, sceptic and downhearted, and what impelled him to definitive conversion was not above all Ambrose’s splendid homilies (although he deeply appreciated them). It was rather the testimony of the Bishop and his Milanese Church that prayed and sang as one intact body. It was a Church that could resist the tyrannical ploys of the Emperor and his mother, who in early 386 again demanded a church building for the Arians’ celebrations. In the building that was to be requisitioned, Augustine relates, “the devout people watched, ready to die with their Bishop”. This testimony of the Confessions is precious because it points out that something was moving in Augustine, who continues: “We too, although spiritually tepid, shared in the excitement of the whole people” (Confessions 9, 7).
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. Â His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: Church, Italy, matthew bunson, Milanese Church, testimony, Wisdom Books
This entry was posted on Sunday, October 20th, 2013 at 8:56 pm
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The Place of the Bible in the Church
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You know, as Catholics we believe that the Bible is God’s Holy and Inspired Word.
However, we don’t hold that our Lord intended the Bible alone to be our sole teacher in the Christian faith.
Just think how easily the meaning of our e-mails can be misinterpreted, sometimes causing great strife between people. Then take the Bible, which is infinitely longer, more complex, and written over a millennia ago in a world very different from our own, and we can begin to see why Jesus wouldn’t leave His teaching to just a book.
The Church looks to what it calls Sacred Tradition—which is rooted in things like Church Councils, Creeds, and the early Fathers of the Church—to safeguard our interpretation of God’s Word. All of the Catholic Church’s beliefs can be traced back to the earliest Christians.
Our Lord also chose the twelve apostles to go out and make disciples of all nations1 and promised them the assistance of the Holy Spirit.2 The apostles ordained bishops who have succeeded them down to this present day.3 The Catholic Church is a living voice that rings out for all to hear, proclaiming and interpreting God’s Word to every generation.4
1 -Â Mt. 28:20
2 -Â Jn. 14:26
3 -Â cf. Acts 14:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-8; 2 Tim. 1:6; 2:2; Tit. 1:5; Js. 5:14; 1 Pt. 5:1; Jd. 8ff
4 -Â cf. 1 Tim. 3:15; Mt. 16:18
Tags: bible, catholic apologetics, catholic church, Church, Faith Check, holy spirit
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 at 12:35 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Gregory of Nazianzus
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It was because of these orations that Gregory acquired the nickname: “The Theologian”.
This is what he is called in the Orthodox Church: the “Theologian”. And this is because to his way of thinking theology was not merely human reflection or even less, only a fruit of complicated speculation, but rather sprang from a life of prayer and holiness, from a persevering dialogue with God. And in this very way he causes the reality of God, the mystery of the Trinity, to appear to our reason.
In the silence of contemplation, interspersed with wonder at the marvels of the mystery revealed, his soul was
engrossed in beauty and divine glory.
While Gregory was taking part in the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, he was elected Bishop of Constantinople and presided over the Council; but he was challenged straightaway by strong opposition, to the point that the situation became untenable. These hostilities must have been unbearable to such a sensitive soul.
What Gregory had previously lamented with heartfelt words was repeated: “We have divided Christ, we who so loved God and Christ! We have lied to one another because of the Truth, we have harboured sentiments of hatred because of Love, we are separated from one another” (Orationes 6: 3; SC 405: 128).
Thus, in a tense atmosphere, the time came for him to resign.
In the packed cathedral, Gregory delivered a farewell discourse of great effectiveness and dignity (cf. Orationes 42; SC 384: 48-114). He ended his heartrending speech with these words: “Farewell, great city, beloved by Christ…. My children, I beg you, jealously guard the deposit [of faith] that has been entrusted to you (cf. I Tm 6: 20), remember my suffering (cf. Col 4: 18). May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (cf. Orationes 42: 27; SC 384: 112-114).
Gregory returned to Nazianzus and for about two years devoted himself to the pastoral care of this Christian community. He then withdrew definitively to solitude in nearby Arianzo, his birthplace, and dedicated himself to studies and the ascetic life.
It was in this period that he wrote the majority of his poetic works and especially his autobiography: the De Vita Sua, a reinterpretation in verse of his own human and spiritual journey, an exemplary journey of a suffering Christian, of a man of profound interiority in a world full of conflicts.
He is a man who makes us aware of God’s primacy, hence, also speaks to us, to this world of ours: without God, man loses his grandeur; without God, there is no true humanism.
Consequently, let us too listen to this voice and seek to know God’s Face.
In one of his poems he wrote, addressing himself to God: “May you be benevolent, You, the hereafter of all things” (Carmina [dogmatica]Â 1: 1, 29;Â PGÂ 37: 508).
And in 390, God welcomed into his arms this faithful servant who had defended him in his writings with keen intelligence and had praised him in his poetry with such great love.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. Â His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: Church, Gregory Nazianzen, matthew bunson, SC
This entry was posted on Friday, October 11th, 2013 at 8:30 am
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