St. Peter

St. Irenaeus

The writings of entitle him to a high place among the fathers of the Church, for they not only laid the foundations of theology but, by exposing and refuting the errors of the gnostics, they delivered the from the real danger of the doctrines of those heretics.

He was probably born about the year 125, in one of those maritime provinces of where the of the was still cherished and where...

St. Cyril of Alexandria

St. Cyril of Alexandria, and of the Church (June 27) Cyril was born at Alexandria, Egypt. He was nephew of the of that city, Theophilus. Cyril received a classical and theological at and was ordained by his uncle. He accompanied to in 403 and was present at the of the Oak that deposed Chrysostom, whom he believed guilty of the charges against him. He succeeded his uncle

St. Anthelm

Carthusian and bishop, defender of papal authority. Anthelm was born in 1107 in a castle near Chambery, in Savoy, France. He was ordained a and visited the Carthusian at Portes, where he entered the Order at the age of thirty. Two years later, in 1139, he was appointed of Le Grande Chartreuse, which had been damaged. Anthelm made the monastery a worthy motherhouse of the Carthusians, constructing a defensive wall and a...

Reading 1, Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19

² The pitilessly engulfed all the of Jacob; in his fury he tore down the fortresses of the daughter of Judah; he threw to the ground, he desecrated the kingdom and its princes.

¹⁰ Mute, they sit on the ground, the elders of the daughter of Zion; they have put dust on their heads and wrapped themselves in sackcloth. The young girls of bow their heads to the ground.

...

Reading 1, Acts 12:1-11

¹ It was about this that King started persecuting certain members of the church.

² He had the brother of beheaded,

³ and when he saw that this pleased the he went on to arrest Peter as well.

⁴ As it was during the days of Unleavened Bread that he had arrested him, he put him in prison, assigning four sections of four soldiers each to guard him, meaning to try him in pub...

Reading 1, Second Kings 24:8-17

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

⁹ He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ At that the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon a...

Reading 1, Second Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3

⁸ The high Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, 'I have found the Book of the in the of Yahweh.' And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Shaphan the secretary went to the king, reporting furthermore to him as follows, 'Your servants have melted down the silver which was in the and have handed it over to the masters of works attached to the of Yahweh.' ...

Reading 1, Second Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-35, 36

⁹ on hearing that Tirhakah king of was on his way to attack him.

¹⁰ Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 'Tell king of Judah this, "Do not let your on whom you are relying deceive you with the promise: not fall into the king of Assyria's clutches.

¹¹ You have learnt by now what the of have done to all the other countri...

Reading 1, Second Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18

⁵ The king of invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three years.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of captured and deported the to Assyria. He settled them in Halah on the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ This happened because the had sinned against their who had brought ...

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” (Communion Rite)

Across the English-speaking world, people are stumbling through a new translation of the Mass, relearning phrases and prayers that have been in place for decades. More than a few people have exchanged sheepish glances as they have caught themselves saying something like: “And also with your Spirit!”

But this new translation includes...

The angel of the Lord … delivers all who fear God. (Psalm 34:8)

This scene sounds a lot like a suspenseful movie, doesn’t it? A hostage languishes in captivity until a heli­copter is heard in the distance. The chopper brings a group of highly-skilled forces who enter and snatch the hostage out of the mouth of dan­ger, whisking him to safety.

In today’s readings, both Peter and Paul rejoice in being rescued by God. Peter’s story in the ...

“The winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” (Matthew 7:27)

The citizens of Jerusalem expe­rienced just such a collapse. After numerous infidelities to God, he permitted Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to conquer them. He dashed their city to the ground, deposed their king, and dragged him into exile along with all the powerful and skilled people of the land.

In the face of such devastation, there are two equally disastro...

“The king made a covenant before the Lord.” (2 Kings 23:3)

Josiah wasn’t your average eighteen-year-old learning to be responsible. He already had too much responsibility—he was king of Judah! What’s more, the odds were against him. His father, Amon, and his grandfather, Manasseh, had been terrible rulers. Manasseh revived idol worship and various occult practices. He even murdered his own son. Amon continued with more of the same, until he himself was murdere...

“Enter through the narrow gate.” (Matthew 7:13)

That narrow gate! It’s tighter than the gap between the do’s and don’ts that we’re all familiar with. So you don’t lie, injure or kill—but what about forgiving a person who has grievously hurt you? You steer clear of coveting, cheating, and stealing— but what about giving financially, even though finances are tight? That’s a constricted road, for sure.

And how do you take time to encourage someone else...

We find the defendant guilty as charged. The judge’s gavel strikes: Crack! Crack! Crack! Bailiff, take him away. This scene is repeated count­less times on countless television shows. It is splashed over newspaper headlines and is a hot topic in books and blockbuster movies. In case you haven’t noticed, crime-and-punish­ment justice gets a lot of attention. And that side of justice isn’t a bad thing. It...