Toss out the image of the devil Heaping up useless wealth, says St. Ambrose, rips the image of God out of our souls and substitutes the image of Satan. What good does all your wealth do you if it earns you condemnation? Is it not a vain thing to heap up riches? For surely to look for fleeting things is vain enough. And when you have gathered them, how do you know that you will be able to keep them?... Read more
This week publisher Servant Books sponsors the giveaway. One lucky winner will receive one signed copy of 40 Days, 40 Ways: A New Look at Lent by Marcellino D’Ambrosio.(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 end 12AM EST 2/27 with a winner being announced later that day. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Read more
Be poor to be rich Only one who fears God is rich, says St. Ephrem the Syrian. All earthly riches are really poverty, because they lead us away from our true riches. No one in creation is rich but one who fears God; no one is truly poor but one who lacks the truth. How needy and not rich is the one whose need witnesses against him that even from the abject and the beggars he needs to receive a... Read more
Lent is a time for renewal…of new birth. It is a time to focus on making ourselves better and is so much more than giving up chocolate or soda. In his latest book 40 Days, 40 Ways: A New Look at Lent, Marcellino D’Ambrosio does exactly what the title suggests. He takes a fresh look at Lenten practices and provides readers with 40 activities they can partake in to cultivate spiritual growth. It’s a book that is well –suited for... Read more
Find God through continence Writing to a monk, St. Basil praises continence. It isn’t just the celibacy practiced by monks, he says: continence is a way of life for everyone, and it leads us to God. The fruit of continence is the companionship of God. For not to be corrupted is to have part with God; just as to be corrupted is the companionship of the world. Continence is denial of the body, and confession to God. It withdraws from... Read more
Marriage is good; virginity is better Following the doctrine of St. Paul, St. Athanasius tells us that marriage and consecrated virginity both have a place in God’s plan. Those who marry bear fruit for God, and they will receive great rewards. But virginity bears even greater fruit and brings even greater rewards. There are two ways in life. The first is more moderate and ordinary—I mean marriage. The second is angelic and unsurpassed—namely virginity. Now if someone chooses the way... Read more
Keep the soul pure to keep the body pure Barbarian invaders had violated many consecrated virgins in Rome. Was their chastity destroyed? No, says St. Augustine: the purity of the body depends on the purity of the soul, not on the violence of the unpredictable outside world. The sanctity of the body does not depend on the integrity of its members, or on their being untouched. After all, they are subject to various accidents that hurt them and wound them,... Read more
PETE: The new evangelization is really about evangelizing the de-christianised. With that realization how can your new book The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to Church help? SR. THERESA NOBLE: Evangelizing a culture that is bored of Jesus is really difficult. Evangelizing friends and family who are bored of Jesus, or hostile to him, is even more difficult. When I first entered the convent, I worked in the Pauline Books and Media center in St. Louis.... Read more
Lift up your hearts If you keep your gaze trained on things that are above, says St. Gregory the Great, you’ll be able to walk the right path through your life here on earth. Lift your faithful hearts, dear friends, to the gracious blaze of eternal light, and pay close attention, in adoration of the mysteries given for our salvation, to the things that have been done for you. Love the purity of a chaste life, because Christ is the... Read more
Hold yourself to your own standard St. John Chrysostom tells Christian husbands that they need to treat their wives with the respect they deserve. In a Christian marriage, a husband is as responsible to the wife as the wife is to the husband. If your wife is always going out in public assemblies, you’re severe in blaming her. But you spend whole days at public shows, and you don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. When it comes to your... Read more
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