St. Basil was a man who knew how to ask for a favor. In this letter he very gently appeals to a provincial governor’s love of reputation, suggesting that the surest way to earn wide fame is to be known for his good deeds. I am aware that your excellency is favorably receiving my letters, and I understand why. You love all that is good; you are ready in doing kindnesses. So whenever I give you the opportunity of showing... Read more
If you tell other people to behave themselves, says Lactantius, what will they think when they see how you act? If you do the things you tell them not to do, they’ll laugh at you, and rightly so. If anyone gives people rules to live by, and molds the character of others, is he bound to practice what he preaches or not? If he doesn’t practice what he preaches, his rules are worthless. For if the things he teaches are... Read more
You can be a martyr even without the bloodshed, says Commodianus, a North African bishop who wrote in the early 200s. Whenever you set aside your unhealthy desires and avoid the traps of sin, you are a martyr—a witness to the power of Jesus Christ. Birds are fooled, and the animals of the forest, by the very charms that bring their destruction. Caves as well as food deceive them. They do not know how to avoid evil, and they are... Read more
Insults, thefts, even torture—none of these things do any real harm to the person who suffers them, says St. John Chrysostom. But they do lasting harm to the person who does them. So if neither loss of money, nor slander, nor insult, nor banishment, nor diseases, nor tortures, nor what seems more formidable than all those, namely death, harms those who suffer them, but rather adds to their profit, how will you prove to me that anyone is injured, when... Read more
St. John Cassian tells how an earnest monk asked a hard question of the wise abbot Theodore: if dying brings a good person to eternal bliss, how can murdering a good person be a crime? Germanus: Well then, if a good man does not only suffer no evil by being killed, but actually gains a reward from his suffering, how can we accuse the man who has done him no harm but good by killing him? Theodore: We are talking... Read more
When the city of Antioch was in danger of total annihilation, St. John Chrysostom dared to tell his parishioners that there was nothing fearful about death. The only thing we need to fear, he said, is displeasing God. There is nothing to be dreaded in human ills except sin—not poverty, or disease, or insult, or ill treatment, or dishonor, or death, which people call the worst of evils. To those who love spiritual wisdom, these things are only the names... Read more
Whatever happens to sinners in hell, says St. John Chrysostom, their worst punishment is not being with God. Now, it’s true that most people who don’t have much sense expect to be content with avoiding hell. But I say it’s a far worse punishment than hell to be excluded from the glory of the other world. I think that someone who has failed to reach it should be sorry, not so much because of the miseries of hell, but because... Read more
In this episode of Off the Shelf Karlo Broussard and I discuss some of the many ways to share your faith with family and friends. In his book Prepare the Way: Overcoming Obstacles to God, the Gospel, and the Church, Karlo takes a look at questions one may encounter relative to Truth, God, Jesus, Christianity, the Church. If you are struggling with how to evangelize or how to explain your beliefs to friends and family outside the Catholic faith you will... Read more
St. John Chrysostom tells us that the person most to be pitied is the sinner who enjoys all the good things in life. Some people are punished here only; others suffer no ill here, but receive the whole punishment hereafter; still others are punished both here and hereafter. Which, then, of these three classes do you think is lucky? Without doubt, the first; those who are punished and purged from their sins here. But which class is second in order?... Read more
Why are the wicked often prosperous and happy, while the righteous struggle? It’s because they’re not in the game, says St. Ambrose. The spectators loaf about in their luxury boxes, but the athletes who do all the work win all the prizes. Perhaps you are saying, “Why are the wicked joyful? Why do they live in luxury? Why do they not toil with me?” It is because those who have not put down their names to strive for the crown... Read more
The Catholic Book Blogger
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In