One thing can definitively be said about Pope Francis….he is the Pope of the unexpected. From the moment he became Pope he has repeatedly done things differently than his predecessors. From the night he was elected and returned to the hotel in his papal garments, on a bus, with the cardinals who had just elected him. That same day he went to the front desk of the hotel and tried to pay for his room. He decided to live among... Read more
Angels confess their ignorance Angels see the majesty of God, says St. Gregory the Great, but they cannot understand it. Like Job, we should be ready to admit that we can’t debate on equal terms with God. “God, whose wrath no man can resist, and under whom they stoop that bear up the world” ( Job 9:13). When it says “under whom they stoop that bear up the world,” we may also understand the angelic powers. They “bear up the world” in... Read more
Review by Michele Craig Father Jonathan Morris, a Catholic Priest in the Archdiocese of New York, beautifully examines, contemplates, prays and explains the ever popular “Serenity Prayer” in his book The Way of Serenity. Father Jonathan encourages us to pray it daily and even hourly and even sometimes minute by minute- and with good reason! Father Jonathan explains the importance of this practice. “…I would remind you once again to be praying it every day, even several times a day,... Read more
Even angels can’t really see God St. Augustine, quoting St. Jerome, tells us that we will never really know everything about God, because that is impossible for any creature. We’ll be made equal to the angels, but even angels can’t really see God’s true nature. St. Jerome says, “The human eye cannot see God as he is in his own na- ture. And this is not true only of human beings. Neither angels, nor Thrones, nor Powers, nor Principalities, nor... Read more
To Christ through Christ The truth is the way, says St. Augustine. The only way to Christ is through Christ. We eat the bread of angels because “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” If you are looking for truth, stick to the Way—for the truth is the Way. The truth is the destination to which you are going, and it is the Way by which you go. You are not going by one thing as your way to something else... Read more
The Son has the unceasing praise of angels Christ didn’t perform miracles because he wanted to show off, says St. Hilary of Poitiers. After all, he has all the hosts of heaven praising him without ceas– ing. No, his miracles were performed so that we might believe and be saved. There is no deception in these miracles of God, no subtle pretense to please or to deceive. These works of the Son of God were not done from any desire to show... Read more
Angels know the Father through the Son Only the Son truly knows the Father, says St. Ephrem the Syrian. No matter how far superior the angels are to us, they—like us—cannot know the Father except through the Son. No mind can reach the mighty height of its Maker. To go above this height, or below it, is merely to pry like the over-curious. They harry themselves to come up with some likeness of him who is only like himself. They all... Read more
Angels hide their faces from the Triune mystery If Christ, the only-begotten Son, has existed from eternity, how was he begotten? Even the angels, says St. Ambrose, hide their faces from that mystery, and we should follow their example. Do you ask me how he is a Son, if he does not have a Father existing before him? Then I ask you: when or how do you think the Son was begotten? For me the knowledge of the mystery of... Read more
This week we have another TWO titles to give away! One lucky winner will receive a copy of Marry Him and Be Submissive by Costanza Miriano sponsored by Tan Books (you can read Julie’s review here) and one copy of Life Lessons: Fifty Things I Learned in My First Fifty Years by Patrick Madrid and sponsored by Augustine Institute/Ignatius Press (you can read my review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. a Rafflecopter giveaway Read more
The vocal silence of God St. Ephrem the Syrian meditates on the mysteriously intimate communication between the Father and the Son. If we could understand the language of the angels, he says, we still would not comprehend the silence in which the Father speaks to the Son. The human ear cannot hear the mighty crash, nor can it hear the still silence. Then how will it hear the voice of the Son, or the silence of the Father— when the silence... Read more
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