Society today is facing one of the worst epidemics it has faced in a long time. It can be referred to as a pandemic, an epidemic that has spread through human populations and continents. It knows no borders and its victims are not limited to any age, gender, race or culture. The problem I am talking about is porn addiction. Matt Fradd tackles this topic and overturns the various justifications society has made for porn use in his latest book... Read more
Didymus was a famous theologian who had been blind since childhood. The historian Socrates Scholasticus recounts his many accomplishments, and then tells us about a famous piece of advice St. Anthony gave to this illustrious scholar. About the same period God brought into observation another faithful per- son, deeming it worthy that through him faith might be shown: this was Didymus, a most admirable and eloquent man, instructed in all the learning of the age in which he flourished. At a... Read more
Writing to Christians facing a sentence of death, Tertullian tells them to think of their hardships as training for victory. You don’t win the star athlete’s wreath without hard work and sweat, and in the spiritual realm the Holy Spirit is their personal trainer, getting them in shape to win a “wreath of angelic essence.” Even in peace soldiers get themselves used to war by work and chal- lenges, marching in arms, running over the plain, working at the ditch, drilling... Read more
Still meditating on the instructions in Revelation “to the angel of the Church in Ephesus,” St. Augustine tells us that Christ himself set the example of tolera– tion by tolerating Judas, his betrayer, in the midst of his disciples. I know I’ve left out many examples. If you are willing and able, read the divine records for yourself: you’ll find that all the holy servants and friends of God have always had to bear with some among their own people. They... Read more
Citing the instructions “to the angel of the church in Ephesus,” St. Augustine says that toleration for the sake of unity earns us high praise. In the Revelation of John (2:1-5) we read, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lamp stands. “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but... Read more
St. Augustine’s advice to soldiers: Peace is your goal, and everything you do must work toward it. The peace we desire on earth is only a shadow of that peace God gives the angels now and will give us after our trials here. Think, then, of this first of all, when you are arming for the battle: that even your bodily strength is a gift of God. If you think about this, you will not employ the gift of God against God.... Read more
A definite challenge the church faces today is how to catechize our youth. One concern is how disengaged many parents are in the process. If you have a religious education program, you have likely been witness to the amount of parents who drop their kids off and leave. Likely they do not even attend Mass on a weekly basis as required. What can we do to fix this? Sophia Institute Press has introduced a product that is innovative, promising and... Read more
St. Ambrose recommends the life of a much-respected monk as an example to us all. To spend your days in praising God and celebrating the Lord with hymns— this is the way the angels live, he says, and you can do it too. But now I think we have said enough of the teacher. Let us now follow up the lives of his disciples, who have given themselves to praise the divine Name, and celebrate it with hymns night and day. For... Read more
Review by Maura Zagrans If I could, I would thrust a copy of Wendell Berry and the Given Life by Ragan Sutterfield into the hands of everyone I know. Here’s why: Sutterfield’s book is a terrific introduction to an esteemed man of letters. Wendell Berry is a poet, novelist, essayist, conservation activist, and pioneering agrarian who advocates for sustainable agriculture. Thus Berry is a man whose legacy is equally remarkable for his literary writings as well as for his pioneering... Read more
In his commentary on the Apostles’ Creed, Rufinus of Aquileia explains what Christ means when he says the resurrected will be like angels in Heaven. We will live with the angels then, but only if we live like angels here on earth— which we can do with the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in Heaven” (Mark 12:25). This means that the power... Read more
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