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Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love only what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me so, O Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
Amen.
Tags: all saints, communion of saints, heart, holiness, work
This entry was posted on Friday, November 1st, 2013 at 11:10 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Ambrose of Milan (part 2)
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Dear brothers and sisters, I would like further to propose to you a sort of “patristic icon”, which, interpreted in the light of what we have said, effectively represents “the heart” of Ambrosian doctrine. In the sixth book of the Confessions, Augustine tells of his
meeting with Ambrose, an encounter that was indisputably of great importance in the history of the Church. He writes in his text that whenever he went to see the Bishop of Milan, he would regularly find him taken up with catervae of people full of problems for whose needs he did his utmost. There was always a long queue waiting to talk to Ambrose, seeking in him consolation and hope. When Ambrose was not with them, with the people (and this happened for the space of the briefest of moments), he was either restoring his body with the necessary food or nourishing his spirit with reading. Here Augustine marvels because Ambrose read the Scriptures with his mouth shut, only with his eyes (cf. Confessions, 6, 3). Indeed, in the early Christian centuries reading was conceived of strictly for proclamation, and reading aloud also facilitated the reader’s understanding. That Ambrose could scan the pages with his eyes alone suggested to the admiring Augustine a rare ability for reading and familiarity with the Scriptures. Well, in that “reading under one’s breath”, where the heart is committed to achieving knowledge of the Word of God – this is the “icon” to which we are referring -, one can glimpse the method of Ambrosian catechesis; it is Scripture itself, intimately assimilated, which suggests the content to proclaim that will lead to the conversion of hearts.
Thus, with regard to the magisterium of Ambrose and of Augustine, catechesis is inseparable from witness of life. What I wrote on the theologian in the Introduction to Christianity might also be useful to the catechist. An educator in the faith cannot risk appearing like a sort of clown who recites a part “by profession”. Rather – to use an image dear to Origen, a writer who was particularly appreciated by Ambrose -, he must be like the beloved disciple who rested his head against his Master’s heart and there learned the way to think, speak and act. The true disciple is ultimately the one whose proclamation of the Gospel is the most credible and effective.
Like the Apostle John, Bishop Ambrose – who never tired of saying: “Omnia Christus est nobis! To us Christ is all!” – continues to be a genuine witness of the Lord. Let us thus conclude our Catechesis with his same words, full of love for Jesus:Â “Omnia Christus est nobis! If you have a wound to heal, he is the doctor; if you are parched by fever, he is the spring; if you are oppressed by injustice, he is justice; if you are in need of help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire Heaven, he is the way; if you are in the darkness, he is light…. Taste and see how good is the Lord:Â blessed is the man who hopes in him!” (De Virginitate, 16, 99). Let us also hope in Christ. We shall thus be blessed and shall live in peace.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: Church, heart, hope, matthew bunson
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 30th, 2013 at 9:55 am
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Episode 4- Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran - Preparation for  the Coming of the Messiah (PART 2) 
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Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.†An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion for scripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your every day life.
Episode 4 –
This 2 part lecture is a “must listen to†as Sharon gives us the Biblical basis for the perpetual … (more info)virginity of Mary as well as for her Immaculate Conception. Drawing from both Old and New Testament scripture, Sharon shows us how Mary was filled with grace 
from the moment of her conception and remained sinless throughout her entire life.
We also learn that through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary becomes Theotokos, God-Bearer, and is the Ark of the New Covenant. Like the Ark of the Old Covenant, Mary is not meant to be touched, and she remains perpetually virgin.Â
 But wait! There’s more! Sharon also reveals to us the amazing fulfillment of Old Testament Messianic Prophecies through the birth of John the Baptist.Â
You won’t want to miss this foundational lecture.
“Seeking Truth†is an in depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:www.seekingtruth.net
Tags: holy spirit, New Testament, scripture, Sharon Doran
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 29th, 2013 at 5:57 am
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BTP#33 St. Bernard and “On Loving God” Â – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints. Â In this episode Dr. Lilles continues the discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his teachings found in “On Loving God”.
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Dr. Lilles offers 4 key points we should keep in mind as we move forward in this series
1. Â Â The Search for God
2. Â Â Listening to God -Â Lectio Divnia
3. Â Â Conversion to God – Conversatio Morum
4. Â Â Living with oneself and letting God fashion one into His image
Dr. Lilles’ continues his discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “On Loving God”:
[gview file="http://www.old.discerninghearts.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/onlovinggod.pdf"]
To obtain a copy of Dr. Lilles’ book click here
Dr.Anthony Lilles is a Catholic husband and father of three teaching Spiritual Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. He  teaches spiritual theology and spiritual direction to transitional deacons, and the spiritual classics to the men who enter the Spirituality Year, a year of prayer in preparation for seminary formation.  He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”  Catholic blog spot.
For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles
Here is the bibliography that Dr. Lilles spoke of in this episode:
The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints
Saints, other figures, dates and bibliographic information
St. Benedict of Nursia – b. 480 - d. 547.
St. Benedict.  The Rule. Edited by Timothy Fry, O.S.B. New York: Vintage Books, Random House, 1981, 1998. (more…)
Tags: Anthony Lilles, Blessed Sacrament, Child Jesus, Spirituality Year
This entry was posted on Monday, October 21st, 2013 at 1:17 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St.  Ambrose of Milan (part  1)
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Until that moment, Ambrose had been the most senior magistrate of the Empire in northern Italy. Culturally well-educated but at the same time ignorant of the Scriptures, the new Bishop briskly began to study them. From the works of Origen, the indisputable master of the “Alexandrian School”, he learned to know and to comment on the Bible. Thus, Ambrose transferred to the Latin environment the meditation on the Scriptures which Origen had begun, introducing in the West the practice of lectio divina. The method of lectio served to guide all of Ambrose’s preaching and writings, which stemmed precisely from prayerful listening to the Word of God. The famous introduction of an Ambrosian catechesis shows clearly how the holy Bishop applied the Old Testament to Christian life: “Every day, when we were reading about the lives of the Patriarchs and the maxims of the Proverbs, we addressed morality”, the Bishop of Milan said to his catechumens and neophytes, “so that formed and instructed by them you may become accustomed to taking the path of the Fathers and to following the route of obedience to the divine precepts” (On the Mysteries 1, 1). In other words, the neophytes and catechumens, in accordance with the Bishop’s decision, after having learned the art of a well-ordered life, could henceforth consider themselves prepared for Christ’s great mysteries. Thus, Ambrose’s preaching – which constitutes the structural nucleus of his immense literary opus – starts with the reading of the Sacred Books (“the Patriarchs” or the historical Books and “Proverbs”, or in other words, the Wisdom Books) in order to live in conformity with divine Revelation.
It is obvious that the preacher’s personal testimony and the level of exemplarity of the Christian community condition the effectiveness of the preaching. In this perspective, a passage from St Augustine’s Confessions is relevant. He had come to Milan as a teacher of rhetoric; he was a sceptic and not Christian. He was seeking the Christian truth but was not capable of truly finding it.
What moved the heart of the young African rhetorician, sceptic and downhearted, and what impelled him to definitive conversion was not above all Ambrose’s splendid homilies (although he deeply appreciated them). It was rather the testimony of the Bishop and his Milanese Church that prayed and sang as one intact body. It was a Church that could resist the tyrannical ploys of the Emperor and his mother, who in early 386 again demanded a church building for the Arians’ celebrations. In the building that was to be requisitioned, Augustine relates, “the devout people watched, ready to die with their Bishop”. This testimony of the Confessions is precious because it points out that something was moving in Augustine, who continues: “We too, although spiritually tepid, shared in the excitement of the whole people” (Confessions 9, 7).
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. Â His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: Church, Italy, matthew bunson, Milanese Church, testimony, Wisdom Books
This entry was posted on Sunday, October 20th, 2013 at 8:56 pm
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CW4 Our Lady of the Rosary – Praying with the Blessed Virgin Mary – The 
Great Cloud of Witnesses: Guides for Prayer with Fr. Mark Cyza
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Fr. Mark Cyza discusses praying with Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Â He speaks of the history of the devotion., as well as, Â the importance of spending time in contemplation of the saving mysteries of our salvation. Â Fr. Cyza explains why should welcome the opportunity to pray with Blessed Virgin Mary and how she walks with us in her great garden of prayer.
Resources:
Visit the
Discerning Hearts
Holy Rosary Page
here
Tags: blessed virgin mary, contemplation, Mark Cyza, mysteries, prayer
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 12th, 2013 at 3:05 pm
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Gregory of Nazianzus
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It was because of these orations that Gregory acquired the nickname: “The Theologian”.
This is what he is called in the Orthodox Church: the “Theologian”. And this is because to his way of thinking theology was not merely human reflection or even less, only a fruit of complicated speculation, but rather sprang from a life of prayer and holiness, from a persevering dialogue with God. And in this very way he causes the reality of God, the mystery of the Trinity, to appear to our reason.
In the silence of contemplation, interspersed with wonder at the marvels of the mystery revealed, his soul was
engrossed in beauty and divine glory.
While Gregory was taking part in the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, he was elected Bishop of Constantinople and presided over the Council; but he was challenged straightaway by strong opposition, to the point that the situation became untenable. These hostilities must have been unbearable to such a sensitive soul.
What Gregory had previously lamented with heartfelt words was repeated: “We have divided Christ, we who so loved God and Christ! We have lied to one another because of the Truth, we have harboured sentiments of hatred because of Love, we are separated from one another” (Orationes 6: 3; SC 405: 128).
Thus, in a tense atmosphere, the time came for him to resign.
In the packed cathedral, Gregory delivered a farewell discourse of great effectiveness and dignity (cf. Orationes 42; SC 384: 48-114). He ended his heartrending speech with these words: “Farewell, great city, beloved by Christ…. My children, I beg you, jealously guard the deposit [of faith] that has been entrusted to you (cf. I Tm 6: 20), remember my suffering (cf. Col 4: 18). May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (cf. Orationes 42: 27; SC 384: 112-114).
Gregory returned to Nazianzus and for about two years devoted himself to the pastoral care of this Christian community. He then withdrew definitively to solitude in nearby Arianzo, his birthplace, and dedicated himself to studies and the ascetic life.
It was in this period that he wrote the majority of his poetic works and especially his autobiography: the De Vita Sua, a reinterpretation in verse of his own human and spiritual journey, an exemplary journey of a suffering Christian, of a man of profound interiority in a world full of conflicts.
He is a man who makes us aware of God’s primacy, hence, also speaks to us, to this world of ours: without God, man loses his grandeur; without God, there is no true humanism.
Consequently, let us too listen to this voice and seek to know God’s Face.
In one of his poems he wrote, addressing himself to God: “May you be benevolent, You, the hereafter of all things” (Carmina [dogmatica]Â 1: 1, 29;Â PGÂ 37: 508).
And in 390, God welcomed into his arms this faithful servant who had defended him in his writings with keen intelligence and had praised him in his poetry with such great love.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. Â His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: Church, Gregory Nazianzen, matthew bunson, SC
This entry was posted on Friday, October 11th, 2013 at 8:30 am
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BTP#31 St. Bernard and the 12 Steps to Humility and Pride  – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints.  In this episode Dr. Lilles begins the discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his teachings found in “The 12 Steps to Humility and Pride”.
[powerpress]
Dr. Lilles offers 4 key points we should keep in mind as we move forward in this series
1. Â Â The Search for God
2. Â Â Listening to God -Â Lectio Divnia
3. Â Â Conversion to God – Conversatio Morum
4. Â Â Living with oneself and letting God fashion one into His image
Dr. Lilles’ begins his discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux and “The 12 Steps of Humility and Pride”:
[gview file="http://www.old.discerninghearts.com/PDF/12-Degrees-Humility-and-Pride.pdf"]
To obtain a copy of Dr. Lilles’ book click here
Dr.Anthony Lilles is a Catholic husband and father of three teaching Spiritual Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. He  teaches spiritual theology and spiritual direction to transitional deacons, and the spiritual classics to the men who enter the Spirituality Year, a year of prayer in preparation for seminary formation.  He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”  Catholic blog spot.
For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles
Here is the bibliography that Dr. Lilles spoke of in this episode:
The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints
Saints, other figures, dates and bibliographic information
St. Benedict of Nursia – b. 480 - d. 547.
St. Benedict.  The Rule. Edited by Timothy Fry, O.S.B. New York: Vintage Books, Random House, 1981, 1998. (more…)
Tags: Anthony Lilles, Blessed Sacrament, Child Jesus, Spirituality Year
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 5th, 2013 at 1:28 pm
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(Vatican Radio) Have you ever read anything Saint Thérèse of Lisieux wrote? If you have or even if you haven’t be sure to
listen to this programme focusing on the writings of this Doctor of the Church to mark the day the Church remembers her on October 1st.
Saint Thérèse was a Carmelite nun who died of tubercolosis in 1897 at the age of 24. Pope Pius XI who canonised her declared that the life she lived in Carmel did not go beyond the common order of things. However she sublimated that life to such an extent that she was proposed by four popes in succession as an example to follow.
She left us her autobiography, by the title: ” The Story of a Soul” . It became a best seller and is considered one of the greatest books of spirituality ever written.
In this programme written and presented by Jill Bevilacqua and produced by Sean Patrick Lovett we bring you a selection of readings from this book.
For a PDF download from Discerning Hearts of  St. Therese’s “The Story of a Soul“…click here
Tags: Discerning Hearts, PDF, Saint Th, St. therese little flower, st. therese of lieseux, vatican radio
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 at 7:30 am
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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of  St. Cyril of Jerusalem
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For more on St. Cyril and his teachings
Taken as a whole, Cyril’s homilies form a systematic catechesis on the Christian’s rebirth through Baptism.
He tells the catechumen: “You have been caught in the nets of the Church (cf. Mt 13: 47). Be taken alive, therefore; do not escape for it is Jesus who is fishing for you, not in order to kill you but to resurrect you after death. Indeed, you must die and rise again (cf. Rom 6: 11, 14)…. Die to your sins and live to righteousness from this very day” (Procatechesis, 5).
From the doctrinal viewpoint, Cyril commented on the Jerusalem Creed with recourse to the typology of
the Scriptures in a “symphonic” relationship between the two Testaments, arriving at Christ, the centre of the universe.
The typology was to be described decisively by Augustine of Hippo: “In the Old Testament there is a veiling of the New, and in the New Testament there is a revealing of the Old” (De catechizandis rudibus 4, 8).
As for the moral catechesis, it is anchored in deep unity to the doctrinal catechesis: the dogma progressively descends in souls who are thus urged to transform their pagan behaviour on the basis of new life in Christ, a gift of Baptism.
The “mystagogical” catechesis, lastly, marked the summit of the instruction that Cyril imparted, no longer to catechumens but to the newly baptized or neophytes during Easter week. He led them to discover the mysteries still hidden in the baptismal rites of the Easter Vigil.
Enlightened by the light of a deeper faith by virtue of Baptism, the neophytes were at last able to understand these mysteries better, having celebrated their rites.
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. Â His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: AD, Church, Israel, matthew bunson, mysteries
This entry was posted on Saturday, September 28th, 2013 at 7:54 am
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There’s no doubt that Gary Michuta has a great love  for the Blessed Virgin Mary. In “Making Sense of Mary“, he offers  
rich insight and research in regards to the teachings on Our Lady. Â Steeped in Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Fathers of the Church, Gary shines a beautiful light on the multi-facet diamond which is Mary, the Mother of God. Wonderful.
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You can find the book here
“The world is full of nonsense when it comes to the Blessed Virgin Mary from simple confusion and ignorance to disrespect and blasphemy. Michuta has done us a great service by blowing away the fog and shining the light of clarity on a matter so important to the story of God’s salvation. Drawing from Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Councils and the Fathers of the Church, Gary helps scholars and beginners alike to understand the ABC’s of the person and role of Mary.”
Stephen K. Ray, Author of Crossing The Tiber and Host of The Footprints of God video Series “
Tags: fathers of the church, gary michuta, the Blessed Virgin Mary
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 19th, 2013 at 7:40 pm
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Episode 21 Beginning to Pray: Â St. Hildegard von Bingen and “The Iron Mountain”
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From Dr. Lilles’ “Beginning to Pray” blog site:
September 17 is the feast of St. Hiildegard of Bingen. She lived from 1098-1179. A Benedictine Nun, at the age of 42, she was given visions and commanded rise up and cry out what she saw. She obeyed and produced a set of writings known today as Scivias.
Her first vision is of a hidden mountain, the mountain of God’s throne, an iron mountain of immutable justice hidden in divine glory. A purifying Fear of the Lord contemplates this splendor. Not the kind of fear that pulls away to protect itself. Rather the kind of fear that is vigilant and sees the truth. Eyes which gaze with this holy fear can never be satisfied with the merely mediocre. They guard against every form of compromise. The glory they behold demands absolute allegiance, complete surrender, and total humility.
In this description, is St. Hildegard suggesting a way by which we might enjoy the same vision she has shared in? This is no exercise in esoteric navel gazing. Her vision demands a journey beyond our own self-pre-occupation and into real friendship with God, a friendship protected by the strength of divine justice. She sees the truth in a way that demands an ongoing conversion of life.
She is well-formed in St. Benedict’s conversatio morum. The mountain she sees is not a truth we scrutinize so much as the truth that scrutinizes us: a scrutinizing of all our thoughts and actions in light of the Gospel. The truth she beholds demands repentance from the lack of justice we allow ourselves to slip into. The iron mountain she contemplates renders futile every effort to conform the Gospel to our own ways and invites us to be transformed by its just demands.
Today, where all kinds of cruelty are so easily excused and any form of self-indulgence so readily lifted up to the level of a fundamental human right, we need to rediscover the shadow of the iron mountain from which St. Hildegard cries out to us. Only under the glory of this mountain can we find the peace that the Lord has come to give. Only in the blinding light into which Holy Fear gazes can we find the humility to love one another the way Christ has loved us.
Dr. Anthony Lilles is a Catholic husband and father of three teaching Spiritual Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. He  teaches spiritual theology and spiritual direction to transitional deacons, and the spiritual classics to the men who enter the Spirituality Year, a year of prayer in preparation for seminary formation.  He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”  catholic blog spot.
For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles
The music that is used comes from 
This the text we use  for our readings comes from:
Tags: Anthony Lilles, catholic, catholic podcast, catholic prayer, cathollc spirituality, father, mystic, mystic of the Church, spiritual direction, Spirituality Year, st hildegard of bingen
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 17th, 2013 at 4:16 am
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[powerpress]
Born: 310 AD,
Died: May 2, 367 AD
For more on St. Hilary of Poitiers and his teachings
Hilary of Poitiers
-Â On the Councils, or the Faith of the Easterns
-Â On the Trinity
-Â Homilies on the Psalms
To sum up the essentials of his doctrine, I would like to say that Hilary found the starting point for his theological reflection in baptismal faith. In De Trinitate, Hilary writes: Jesus
“has commanded us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (cf. Mt 28: 19), that is, in the confession of the Author, of the Only-Begotten One and of the Gift. The Author of all things is one alone, for one alone is God the Father, from whom all things proceed. And one alone is Our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things exist (cf. I Cor 8: 6), and one alone is the Spirit (cf. Eph 4: 4), a gift in all…. In nothing can be found to be lacking so great a fullness, in which the immensity in the Eternal One, the revelation in the Image, joy in the Gift, converge in the Father, in the Son and in the Holy Spirit” (De Trinitate 2, 1). God the Father, being wholly love, is able to communicate his divinity to his Son in its fullness. I find particularly beautiful the following formula of St Hilary: “God knows not how to be anything other than love, he knows not how to be anyone other than the Father. Those who love are not envious and the one who is the Father is so in his totality. This name admits no compromise, as if God were father in some aspects and not in others” (ibid., 9, 61).
For this reason the Son is fully God without any gaps or diminishment. “The One who comes from the perfect is perfect because he has all, he has given all” (ibid., 2, 8). Humanity finds salvation in Christ alone, Son of God and Son of man. In assuming our human nature, he has united himself with every man, “he has become the flesh of us all” (Tractatus super Psalmos 54, 9); “he took on himself the nature of all flesh and through it became true life, he has in himself the root of every vine shoot” (ibid., 51, 16). For this very reason the way to Christ is open to all – because he has drawn all into his being as a man -, even if personal conversion is always required: “Through the relationship with his flesh, access to Christ is open to all, on condition that they divest themselves of their former self (cf. Eph 4: 22), nailing it to the Cross (cf. Col 2: 14); provided we give up our former way of life and convert in order to be buried with him in his baptism, in view of life (cf. Col1: 12; Rom 6: 4)” (ibid., 91, 9).
Fidelity to God is a gift of his grace. Therefore, St Hilary asks, at the end of his Treatise on the Trinity, to be able to remain ever faithful to the baptismal faith. It is a feature of this book: reflection is transformed into prayer and prayer returns to reflection. The whole book is a dialogue with God.
I would like to end today’s Catechesis with one of these prayers, which thus becomes our prayer:
“Obtain, O Lord”, St Hilary recites with inspiration, “that I may keep ever faithful to what I have professed in the symbol of my regeneration, when I was baptized in the Father, in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. That I may worship you, our Father, and with you, your Son; that I may deserve your Holy Spirit, who proceeds from you through your Only Begotten Son… Amen” (De Trinitate 12, 57).
For more visit Vatican.va
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. Â His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
Tags: alone, Church, matthew bunson, work
This entry was posted on Friday, September 13th, 2013 at 9:36 am
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Mike Aquilina shares with Bruce and I the life and teaches of St. John Chrysostom.
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John Chrysostom born in 347, his father died soon after his birth, leaving his mother,  Anthusa, a widow at the age of 20.  She never married, sticking with the teachings of St. Paul to stay unmarried; she was a devout Christian and was very committed to her son; they loved and cared for each other very much. She would raise up a son who had a great love for Jesus Christ and who would become of the greatest preachers of all time (imagine him the Billy Graham of his day). He would become the Archbishop of Constantinople, and an important Early Church Father. His denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders would get him in big trouble, but it didn’t stop him. After his death (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek surname chrysostomos, meaning “golden mouthed”, rendered in English as Chrysostom.
Many Christian Churches love and claim St. John Chrysostom. The Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches honor him as a saint and count him among the Three Holy Hierarchs, together with Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church as a saint and Doctor of the Church. Churches of the Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglican provinces, and parts of the Lutheran Church, commemorate him on 13 September. Some Lutheran and many Anglican provinces commemorate him on the traditional Eastern feast day of 27 January. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria recognizes John Chrysostom as a saint.
Spiritual Writings:
 - Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew
-Â Homilies on Acts
-Â Homilies on Romans
-Â Homilies on First Corinthians
-Â Homilies on Second Corinthians
-Â Homilies on Ephesians
-Â Homilies on Philippians
-Â Homilies on Colossians
-Â Homilies on First Thessalonians
-Â Homilies on Second Thessalonians
-Â Homilies on First Timothy
-Â Homilies on Second Timothy
-Â Homilies on Titus
-Â Homilies on Philemon
-Â Commentary on Galatians
-Â Homilies on the Gospel of John
-Â Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews
-Â Homilies on the Statues
-Â No One Can Harm the Man Who Does Not Injure Himself
-Â Two Letters to Theodore After His Fall
-Â Letter to a Young Widow
-Â Homily on St. Ignatius
-Â Homily on St. Babylas
-Â Homily Concerning “Lowliness of Mind”
-Â Instructions to Catechumens
-Â Three Homilies on the Power of Satan
-Â Homily on the Passage “Father, if it be possible . . .”
-Â Homily on the Paralytic Lowered Through the Roof
-Â Homily on the Passage “If your enemy hunger, feed him.”
-Â Homily Against Publishing the Errors of the Brethren
-Â First Homily on Eutropius
-Â Second Homily on Eutropius (After His Captivity)
-Â Four Letters to Olympias
-Â Letter to Some Priests of Antioch
-Â Correspondence with Pope Innocent I
-Â On the Priesthood.
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Prayer is the light of the soul
A reading from the homilies of St John Chrysostom (Hom 6 on Prayer)
“There is nothing more worthwhile than to pray to God and to converse with him, for prayer unites us with God as his companions. As our bodily eyes are illuminated by seeing the light, so in contemplating God our soul is illuminated by him. Of course the prayer I have in mind is no matter of routine, it is deliberate and earnest. It is not tied down to a fixed timetable; rather it is a state which endures by night and day.
Our soul should be directed in God, not merely when we suddenly think of prayer, but even when we are concerned with something else. If we are looking after the poor, if we are busy in some other way, or if we are doing any type of good work, we should season our actions with the desire and the remembrance of God. Through this salt of the love of God we can all become a sweet dish for the Lord. If we are generous in giving time to prayer, we will experience its benefits throughout our life.
Prayer is the light of the soul, giving us true knowledge of God. It is a link mediating between God and man. By prayer the soul is borne up to heaven and in a marvellous way embraces the Lord. This meeting is like that of an infant crying on its mother, and seeking the best of milk. The soul longs for its own needs and what it receives is better than anything to be seen in the world.
Prayer is a precious way of communicating with God, it gladdens the soul and gives repose to its affections. You should not think of prayer as being a matter of words. It is a desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not of human origin, but the gift of God’s grace. As Saint Paul says: we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
Anyone who receives from the Lord the gift of this type of prayer possesses a richness that is not to be taken from him, a heavenly food filling up the soul. Once he has tasted this food, he is set alight by an eternal desire for the Lord, the fiercest of fires lighting up his soul.
To set about this prayer, paint the house of your soul with modesty and lowliness and make it splendid with the light of justice. Adorn it with the beaten gold of good works and, for walls and stones, embellish it assiduously with faith and generosity. Above all, place prayer on top of this house as its roof so that the complete building may be ready for the Lord. Thus he will be received in a splendid royal house and by grace his image will already be settled in your soul.
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The four statues of Doctors of the Church at the base of the Chair of St. Peter: St. Ambrose, St. Anthanasius (left); and St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine (right).
The Altar of the Immaculate Conception at St. Peter’s in Rome Beneath the altar are the remains of St. John Chrysostom and relics of St. Francis and St. Anthony.
Tags: doctor of the church, eastern catholic churches, father of the church, fathers mike, heaven, John Chrysostom, mike aquilina, mother, prayer, st john chrysostom
This entry was posted on Friday, September 13th, 2013 at 7:12 am
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Stunning…simply stunning. I love “Mysteries of the Virgin Mary: Living Our Lady’s
Graces”! A beautiful and lovingly assembled collection of and meditations on the 13 principal Marian mysteries celebrated by the Church. From the sound theological foundations for our devotion to Our Lady to the reflections and teachings of the saints, Fr. Peter John Cameron, founding editor-in-chief of the monthly worship aid Magnificat, has given us a wonderful resource to deepen our walk with the Blessed Mother of God.
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You kind find this book at www.servantbooks.org
Here is the extended web-exclusive edition of our “Inside the Pages” interview with Fr. Cameron[powerpress url=”http://www.old.discerninghearts.com/interviews/Inside_the_Pages-Fr_Peter_John_Cameron_special_extended_edition.mp3″]Download (right click & choose “Save Link As”)
Tags: blessed mother, Church, devotion, graces, marian, meditations, mother of god, mysteries, peter john cameron, reflections, saints, servant books, virgin mary
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 12th, 2013 at 11:13 am
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