Tag: John Chrysostom
For the greatest thing is charity
Do you see that our practice has more power to do good? By practice I mean, not your fasting, nor yet your strewing sackcloth and ashes under you, but if you despise wealth, as it ought to be despised; if you be kindly affectioned, if you give your bread to the hungry, if you control… Read More ›
God never tires of forgiving us
“But if thou scoffest at hearing of hell and believest not that fire, remember Sodom. For we have seen, surely we have seen, even in this present life, a semblance of hell. For since many would utterly disbelieve the things to come after the resurrection, hearing now of an unquenchable fire, God brings them to… Read More ›
The Biblical Roots of the Sign of the Cross
Few actions so clearly distinguish a person as a Catholic in our culture as the Sign of the Cross. Contrary to what some Protestants would have you think, the Sign of the Cross dates back to the earliest times. In third century, Tertullian wrote, “At every forward step and movement, at every going in and… Read More ›
Psalm 19(18): God Creator creates brilliance of Sun
1. The sun, with its increasing brilliance in the heavens, the splendour of its light, the beneficial warmth of its rays, has captivated humanity from the outset. In many ways human beings have shown their gratitude for this source of life and well-being, with an enthusiasm that often reaches the peaks of true poetry. The… Read More ›
All Saints
Let us be filled with confidence and let us discard everything so as to be able to meet this onslaught. Christ has equipped us with weapons more splendid than gold, more resistant than steel, weapons more fiery than any flame and lighter than the slightest breeze[…]. These are weapons of a totally new kind for… Read More ›
Psalm 148: Praise to him who sits upon the throne
1. Psalm 148 that we have just lifted up to God is a true “canticle of creatures”, a kind of Old Testament Te Deum, a cosmic “alleluia” that involves everyone and everything in divine praise. This is how a contemporary exegete has commented on it: “The Psalmist, calling them by name, puts beings in order…. Read More ›
Psalm 63(62): My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord
Commentary: 1. Psalm 63(62) on which we are reflecting today is the Psalm of mystical love, which celebrates total adherence to God based on an almost physical yearning and reaching its fullness in a close and everlasting embrace. Prayer becomes longing, thirst and hunger, because it involves the soul and the body. As St Teresa… Read More ›
The Importance of Attentiveness to the Readings
If a man should come here with earnestness – even though he does not read the Scriptures at home – and if he pays attention to what is said here, within the space of even one year he will be able to obtain a considerable acquaintance with them. For we do not read these Scriptures… Read More ›
Nothing is as precious as a human soul
Nothing is as precious as a human soul. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? Yet the love of money has perverted and destroyed all our values; it has driven out the fear of God and holds our souls in its power,… Read More ›
Seek to Save Others
There is nothing colder than a Christian who does not seek to save others. You cannot plead poverty here; the widow putting in her two small coins will be your accuser. Each one can help his neighbor if only he is willing to do what is in his power. Look at the trees that do… Read More ›