Church Fathers, Day 200: St. John Chrysostom says don’t rely on worldly things

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:55 pm By Pete Socks

Don’t rely on worldly things The ex-slave Eutropius ruled Constantinople by controlling a puppet emperor, who abolished the right of churches to shelter fugitives. When Eutropius himself ended up a fugitive in a church, St. John Chrysostom gave him shelter— but on Sunday he revealed the cowering Eutropius to the whole congregation. Then he preached one of the most memorable sermons of his career. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:1). This saying ought to be written on our... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 199: St. John Chrysostom says apply what you hear in church to yourself

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:48 pm By Pete Socks

Apply what you hear in church to yourself In the homilies we hear at Mass, says St. John Chrysostom, the priest usually praises virtue and condemns vice, but doesn’t talk about individuals. That gives all of us the chance to apply the lesson to ourselves. You heard yesterday how I extolled the power of prayer, and how I reproached those who pray lazily, without exposing any of them publicly. So those who knew in themselves that they prayed earnestly accepted... Read more

CBB Review: CSS International The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

Last updated on: February 1, 2015 at 11:44 am By Pete Socks

Catholic Scripture Study International has recently released a new study in their ongoing series. The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians was written by Dr. Scott Hahn and Mark Shea. The study comes in at 10 lessons and, like the other offerings by CSS, is a well-polished, professionally presented study. From the introduction: “In this study, we are going to see how the Church relates to Christ, to the entire universe that the Father has redeemed through the Son, and... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 198: Aphrahat points out that it takes sacrifice to be a good shepherd

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:43 pm By Pete Socks

It takes sacrifice to be a good shepherd The word “pastor” is just the Latin word for “shepherd.” Why were so many of the famous leaders of God’s people actual shepherds? asks Aphrahat. It’s because they needed to know how to care for creatures that were completely helpless. Jacob was a pastor, and Joseph was a pastor and his brothers were pastors. Moses was a pastor, and David also was a pastor. So Amos was a pastor. These all were... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 197: St. Augustine advises us to listen to God in your elders

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:37 pm By Pete Socks

Listen to God in your elders St. Augustine tells a familiar tale of peer pressure. As a teenager, he was ashamed to be thought of as a “good boy,” so he ignored the advice of his mother. Many years later, he realized that God was speaking to him through her warnings. Whose words were they, God, but yours that your poured into my ears by my mother, your faithful servant? None of them sank into my heart to change my... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 196: St. Irenaeus tells us to flee to the Church

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:32 pm By Pete Socks

Flee to the Church St. Irenaeus of Lyons was an expert on heresies—you might say he wrote the book on them. Everyone who thinks he’s smarter than the Church, says St. Irenaeus, is doomed to failure. To keep from being caught up in that failure, we should run to the Church and stay there. Those who desert the preaching of the Church call into question the teachings of the holy elders. They don’t even consider how much more a religious... Read more

CBB Interview with Daniel P. Horan

Last updated on: February 1, 2015 at 11:12 am By Pete Socks

PETE: As a Franciscan friar, a number of your books have an obvious Franciscan theme running through them. When you approached this book on Merton, were you always planning on highlighting the influence of Francis of Assisi on Thomas Merton? DANIEL P. HORAN: Yes, it was my intention to do precisely that – to highlight the Franciscan themes that ground and inform so much of Merton’s thought, writing, and personal life. I had the idea to write this book... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 195: St. Irenaeus tells us to eat from the right fruit

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:27 pm By Pete Socks

Eat from the right fruit St. Irenaeus of Lyons warns us against people who claim to know what they can’t possibly know. Listen to the teaching of the Church, and ignore those who claim to know better. The Church has been planted in this world like a Garden of Eden. Thus the Spirit of God says, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden” (Genesis 2:16)—that is, “Eat from every Scripture of the Lord, but you must not... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 194: St. Jerome says submit to the teaching of the Church

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:20 pm By Pete Socks

Submit to the teaching of the Church The book of Tobit is one of the Old Testament books left out of the Jewish canon; yet although St. Jerome tended to agree with the Jews, he believed it was more important to submit to the decision of the bishops, as he says here in a letter accompanying his translation of the book. One man can’t set Church doctrine aside, no matter how smart he is. Jerome, to Cromatius and Heliodorus, bishops... Read more

Church Fathers, Day 193: St. Ignatius of Antioch tells us to love unity, avoid divisions

Last updated on: December 28, 2014 at 8:16 pm By Pete Socks

Love unity, avoid divisions St. Ignatius of Antioch tells the church in Magnesia, which had suffered from divisive politics, that God is not to be found in strife and division. When I was with you, I shouted, I spoke with a loud voice, “Listen to the bishop, and to the priests and deacons.” Some suspected that I said this because I had inside information beforehand about the division caused by some among you. But he for whose sake I am... Read more