Make use of your sins Even your former sins can lead others to Christ. Palladius of Galatia tells the story of Moses the robber, who, having turned monk, converted other robbers by his example. Precisely because he had been a robber, other robbers paid attention to him. A certain Moses—this was his name—an Ethiopian by race and black, was house-servant to a government official. His own master drove him out because of his immorality and brigandage. For he was said... Read more
Bear fruit that befits repentance It’s good to stop sinning—but it’s not enough, says St. John Chrysostom. We also need to bend over backwards to put things right. However we sinned, we should be doing the opposite to make up for it. By repentance I mean not just forsaking our former evil deeds, but also doing good deeds greater than the evil ones. “Bear fruit that befits repentance,” says John the Baptist (Matthew 3:8). But how shall we bear that... Read more
Uproot sin and sow spiritual seed St. Ambrose uses a farming metaphor to tell us about confession: you need to root out the weeds before you can grow the fruit you want. A perfect example, he says, is St. Paul, who sinned worse than almost any of us, actually persecuting believers for being Christians. So let us not be ashamed to confess our sins to the Lord. It’s true, we do feel shame when each one of us makes his... Read more
Learn to repent from Judas Christ gave Judas every opportunity to repent, not even holding back the Last Supper from him. St. Gregory the Great advises us to look to Judas as a good example of what not to do. When the Lord said, “Truly I tell you, one of you is about to betray me,” he showed that his betrayer’s conscience was well known to him. He did not confound the traitor by harsh and open rebukes, but met... Read more
This week publisher Sophia Institute Press sponsors the giveaway. One lucky winner will receive one copy of A.D. The Bible Continues Catholic Viewers Guide by Veronica Burchard (you can read my review here) and one copy of Ministers and Martyrs The Ultimate Catholic Guide to the Apostolic Age by Mike Aquilina (you can read my review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. The contest starts at midnight tonight EST and will... Read more
Excommunication is a last resort We see it all the time: politicians, professors, even priests who call themselves “Catholic” but embarrass the Church with their public denials of Church teaching. Why doesn’t the Church just throw them out right away? St. Ambrose answers that it is, and should be, a hard thing to cut a limb off the body. First the bishop tries everything in his power to heal the disease. The bishop should treat the clerics and attendants, who... Read more
A.D. The Bible Continues: Ministers & Martyrs tells the story of the early Church. Author Mike Aquilina takes us to the early days of Christianity to give the reader an overview of what exactly those first days after Pentecost were like. It serves as a great introduction to this period as well as the perfect companion book to the latest project from Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, A.D. The Bible Continues. It becomes pretty evident in the early pages of the... Read more
Repent for the sake of the Eucharist Against heretics who said that serious sinners could never be reconciled to the Church, St. Ambrose uses the example of the Prodigal Son. No matter how serious the sin, the Church always holds out the hope of reconciliation. Without the hope of the Eucharist, who would repent at all? And no wonder he was dying of starvation! He didn’t have the divine nourishment. Prompted by the lack of it, he says, “I will... Read more
On the night of Easter Sunday NBC will be debuting the latest series from Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. A.D. The Bible Continues tells the story of the early Church and first christians. Sophia Institute Press has been named publisher for books related to the 12-part series. Today I will be reviewing their book A.D. The Bible Continues: The Catholic Viewer’s Guide by Veronica Burchard. For those preparing to watch the series this is a great guide and rest assured... Read more
Trust your Physician, even if the cure hurts We trust medical doctors even though they do all sorts of unpleasant things to us, says St. John Chrysostom. Shouldn’t we trust God to heal our sin—even if the remedy is unpleasant? The physician is not to be praised only when he leads the patient into gardens and meadows, or baths and pools of water, or when he sets a well-furnished table before him. He is also to be praised when he... Read more
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