“God did not tell us to follow Him because he needed our help, but because He knew that loving Him would make us whole.” St. Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century) From discipleship part 1, February 2006 “To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek...
“For whereas the Word of God was without flesh, He took upon Himself the holy flesh by the holy Virgin, and prepared a robe which He wove for Himself, like a bridegroom, in the sufferings of the cross, in order that by uniting His own power with our mortal body,...
“Watch with the heart, watch with faith, watch with hope, watch with charity, watch with good works; and then, when you shall sleep in your body, the time will come that you shall rise. And when you shall have risen, make ready the lamps. Then shall they go out no...
“’And [Naaman] dipped himself…seven times in the Jordan.’ It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water...
“Let the cross, as our seal, be boldly made with our fingers upon our brow, and on all occasions: over the bread we eat, over the cups we drink, in our comings and in our goings, before sleep…it is a grace from God, a badge of the faithful, and a...
“We don’t walk to God with the feet of our body, nor would wings, if we had them, carry us to Him; but we go to Him by the affections of our soul.” St. Augustine (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church) “Lord, since eternity is Yours, are You unaware of...
“Once, in Cana of Galilee, He turned water into wine, resembling blood. Is it incredible, then, that He should have turned wine into blood? When called to a bodily marriage, He miraculously worked that wonder. Shall He not rather be acknowledged to have given the fruit of His body and...
“Let [the Christian] examine his charity, to be able to say: I am born of God. If he lacks it, he is a deserter running away, even if he bears the seal of a Christian.” St. Augustine of Hippo (4th-5th centuries, Doctor of the Church) “Love, by its nature, is...
“So it falls out that in this world, in evil days like these, the Church walks onward like a wayfarer stricken by the world’s hostility, but comforted by the mercy of God. Nor does this state of affairs date only from the days of Christ’s and His Apostles’ presence on...
“Quiet is the first step in our sanctification, the tongue purified from the gossip of the world; the eyes unexcited by fair color or comely shape; the ear not relaxing the tone of the mind by voluptuous songs, nor by that special mischief, the talk of comedians and clowns.” St....