Moses received the Law directly from God in the desert. A Christian, says St. Irenaeus, sees that the Law of Moses, and all the sights and sounds of the ancient Israelite religion, were symbolic foreshadowings of the perfect New Covenant that would come with Jesus Christ. In the wilderness Moses received the Law from God, the Ten Words on “tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18)—the finger of God means what is stretched forth from the... Read more
Revitalizing the Rosary is the Key to Edward Sri’s Praying the Rosary like Never Before Review by Katie Zumbrum Ask what prayer tends to come to mind when Catholicism is mentioned and chances are the answer will be the Rosary. From St. Bernadette to St. John Paul the Great, the Rosary has been a beloved prayer and solace in times of need. Yet it is not only a prayer for Catholics. Elvis Presley made the song “Miracle of the Rosary”... Read more
Explaining to the emperor what Christians are, Aristides is so bold as to say that the only reason the world still exists is because of the prayers of the Christians. Read the scriptures for yourself, he says, and you’ll discover the truth. As people who know God, they ask from him things that are proper for him to give and for them to receive: and this is how they live their lives. And because they acknowledge the goodnesses of God... Read more
St. John Cassian recalls a striking illustration a wise old abbot named Moses taught him. Your mind is like a flour mill: it keeps grinding all the time, but you are responsible for deciding what it grinds. A good way to illustrate the movement of the heart is by comparing it to a millstone driven by a waterwheel. The headlong rush of water whirls the wheel around, with revolving force, and the millstone can never stop its work so long... Read more
Fr. John Bartunek, comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. You might recognize Fr. John from... Read more
Scripture isn’t just for monks, says St. John Chrysostom. In fact, the more involved you are with the world, the more you need Scripture.. “I’m not a monk,” you might say. “I have a wife and children. I have to take care of my household.” But this is what ruins everything—your thinking that only monks need to read the divine Scriptures. You need it much more than they do. Those who live in the world and are wounded every day... Read more
St. Ephrem the Syrian reminds us of what it means to live as a Christian. We can’t just say we believe in these things: we actually have to do them. Do not resist evil, for whoever resists evil is evil from the evil one. Do not keep back anything from anyone, so that if he perishes you will not be blamed. Do not change your respect for someone according to his goods and possessions. Do everything as if nothing existed... Read more
St. Basil uses the example of an octopus to show us what a Christian shouldn’t be like. The octopus takes on the color of the rocks it hides among, and unsuspecting fish swim by and are caught. I will not pass in silence the cunning and trickery of the octopus, which takes on the color of the rock to which it attaches itself. Most fish swim idly up to the squid as they might to a rock, and become themselves... Read more
Palladius of Galatia tells us what he heard from two wise desert monks. No matter how good, intelligent, or reasonable what someone tells you seems, be wary if his life doesn’t match his words. And those men told us this too: “When you see a man irregular in his life but plausible in speech, remember the demon who conversed with Christ using the words of Scripture, and the witness that says, ‘Now the serpent was the most subtle of all... Read more
People go wild for shows and sports, says St. Basil, and waste all their time in frivolous things. Shouldn’t we Christians be at least as enthusiastic about the wonderful words of Scripture? There are towns where the inhabitants, from dawn to dusk, feast their eyes on the tricks of innumerable magicians. They never tire of hearing dissolute songs that cause much impurity to spring up in their souls, and they are often called happy, because they neglect the cares of... Read more
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