From a homily on Leviticus by Origen, priest
Once a year the high priest, leaving the people outside, entered that place where no one except the high priest might enter. In it was the mercy-seat, and above the…
From a treatise on John by Saint Augustine, bishop
The Lord tells us: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. In these…
From the Moral Reflections on Job by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
Holy Job is a type of the Church. At one time he speaks for the body, at another for the head. As he speaks of its members he is…
From the treatise On Prayer by Tertullian, priest
Prayer is the offering in spirit that has done away with the sacrifices of old. What good do I receive from the multiplicity of your sacrifices? asks God. I…
From the book addressed to Autolycus by Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop
A person’s soul should be clean, like a mirror reflecting light. If there is rust on the mirror his face cannot be seen in it. In the same way,…
From a sermon by Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop
There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains,…
From a letter by Saint Leo the Great, pope
Lowliness is assured by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one…
From a treatise on John by Saint Augustine, bishop
A woman came. She is a symbol of the Church not yet made righteous but about to be made righteous. Righteousness follows from the conversation. She came in ignorance, she found…
From the treatise on Flight from the World by Saint Ambrose, bishop
Where a man’s heart is, there is his treasure also. God is not accustomed to refusing a good gift to those who ask for one. Since he is good,…