The homily draws on the Christological hymn of Colossians 1:15-20, describing Christ as ‘the firstborn of all creation’, the head of the Church, and the one in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. In emphasising that Christ is both ‘the beginning and the end’, Paul VI presents Jesus as the key to understanding human history and the destiny of each person. This is a deeply Pauline theology, with references not only to Colossians but also to Romans 5 and Philippians 2 [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On The Beatitudes | God Can Be Found In Man’s Heart
Saint Gregory begins by contrasting superficial knowledge of God with actual participation in God’s life. It is not enough to know about God; we must come to possess Him inwardly. Drawing on the doctrine of the imago Dei (image of God), Gregory teaches that the divine image implanted within us at creation has been tarnished by sin. Yet this image is not destroyed—it can be restored. The human heart, when purified, becomes like a polished mirror capable of reflecting divine light [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On The Beatitudes | The Hope Of Seeing God
Saint Gregory of Nyssa, of the great Cappadocian Fathers, offers a profound meditation on the beatific vision—the promise that the pure in heart shall see God. His homily explores not only the depth of this promise but the existential and theological tension between divine transcendence and human limitation. As a mystic and theologian, Gregory challenges us to move beyond despair at our weaknesses and embrace the hope made possible by grace [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On The Beatitudes | God Is Like An Inaccessible Rock
Saint Gregory takes seriously the words of Matthew 5:8: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ The Greek term used in the Gospel, katharoi tē kardia, implies not just moral innocence but interior single-heartedness—an undivided orientation toward God. The promise to ‘see’ God (opsontai ton Theon) recalls not physical sight, but the spiritual perception granted to those transformed by grace [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Aelred On Spiritual Friendship | True And Perfect Friendship | Jesus Christ
Saint Aelred was a 12th-century Cistercian abbot who lived within a spiritual tradition that emphasised both community life and the inner journey to God. His reflections on friendship are deeply shaped by Cistercian ideals of caritas—a love that is disinterested, holy and rooted in the life of Christ. Unlike worldly friendships based on advantage or pleasure, spiritual friendship seeks what is good for the other in God. It is a school of charity, a training ground for grace [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On Christian Perfection | We Must Show Jesus Christ In Our Whole Life
Saint Gregory’s theology is deeply shaped by the Eastern Christian doctrine of theosis, or divinisation. For Gregory, salvation is not merely juridical or moral but ontological: to be saved is to become by grace what Christ is by nature. When Gregory writes that Christians must examine their thoughts, words, and deeds to see whether they are ‘directed toward Christ’, he is describing a dynamic process of transformation. This process, which begins in baptism and continues throughout life, involves increasing conformity to the divine image. In this sense, Christian perfection is not a static achievement but an unending ascent towards God, as expressed in his Life of Moses [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On Christian Perfection | The Christian Is Another Jesus Christ
Saint Gregory, one of the Cappadocian Fathers and a central figure in fourth-century theology, explores what it means to bear the name ‘Christian’. Drawing heavily from the writings of Saint Paul, he lays out a vision of spiritual transformation in which the believer becomes an ‘alter Christus’ – another Christ [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 12, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Faustinus Luciferanus On The Trinity | Jesus Christ Is Priest And King Forever
Writing in a theological climate still shaped by the Arian controversy and the formulation of orthodox Trinitarian doctrine, Saint Faustinus insists upon the unique and eternal status of Christ, who is both anointed by the Holy Spirit and constituted by the Father as the one Messiah. This short treatise not only affirms the dual role of Jesus Christ but also contrasts Christ’s divine anointing with the temporary and hereditary nature of priesthood and kingship in Israel [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Prayer Both In Word And In Deed
Saint Cyprian begins by marvelling at the concise and powerful form of the Lord’s Prayer, a summary of all Christian petitions. He references Isaiah to underscore how God’s message is brief yet filled with justice and truth. This is a significant theological point: God’s wisdom is not obscure or elitist. The Lord’s Prayer, taught by Christ himself, is accessible to all – young and old, educated and uneducated. It reflects a democratic grace in Christian spirituality [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | The Peace Of God | We Are God’s Children
Saint Cyprian’s meditation on the Lord’s Prayer provides a vivid theological and pastoral reflection on the condition for receiving divine forgiveness: our own willingness to forgive others. This commentary weaves together profound scriptural insight, liturgical theology, and the early Church’s experience of persecution, showing that divine mercy and ecclesial unity are intimately bound together [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | We Ask For Bread And Then For Forgiveness Of Sins
This section of Saint Cyprian’s treatise on the Lord’s Prayer turns our attention to the profoundly interconnected petitions: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. Cyprian interprets these lines not merely in material or moral terms, but through a rich theology centred on the Eucharist, sin, and salvation [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done
Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr of 3rd-century Carthage, continues his reflection on the Lord’s Prayer by turning to its eschatological heart: ‘Thy kingdom come.’ At first glance, this might seem strange—surely God always reigns? Indeed, Cyprian affirms, God’s kingship is eternal. But the petition is not for God’s benefit; it is for ours. We pray not for the beginning of God’s rule, but for the realization of His kingdom in us and for us [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Hallowed Be Thy Name
Saint Cyprian of Carthage, writing in the 3rd century during times of persecution and doctrinal unrest, offers a spiritually profound and pastorally sensitive reflection on the opening petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. His meditation on ‘Hallowed be thy name’ invites us to reflect not only on what we say in prayer, but how we live as those who call God ‘Father’ [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Our Prayer Is Public And For All
In this portion of his treatise, Saint Cyprian of Carthage underscores the profoundly communal nature of Christian prayer, especially as it is expressed in the Our Father. Writing in the mid-third century amidst persecution and internal divisions, Cyprian offers not only theological reflection but also pastoral guidance on the meaning and practice of unity in prayer [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Let Prayer Be Made By A Humble Heart
Saint Cyprian’s reflections on prayer provide a timely reminder of the essential posture a Christian must adopt when approaching God: one of humility, modesty and inward sincerity. He addresses not only the physical form of prayer but the disposition of the heart, drawing together scripture and practice in a coherent and edifying whole [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 10, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourse Of Saint Ambrose On The Psalms | I Will Sing With The Spirit And I Will Sing With The Mind Also
Saint Ambrose begins his meditation on the Psalms by praising their special role in Scripture: not simply as theological texts, but as a unique blending of prayer, beauty, and doctrine. He writes that a psalm is ‘a blessing on the lips’, ‘a cry of happiness’, and ‘a promise of peace and harmony’. Such language reflects the early Christian sense that the Psalms were the heartbeat of both private devotion and public worship — the school of prayer, to use a phrase echoed by Saint Augustine and, centuries later, by Pope Benedict XVI [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 10, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourse Of Saint Ambrose On The Psalms | The Delightful Book Of The Psalms
Saint Ambrose opens with a sweeping affirmation: though all of Scripture breathes God’s grace, the Book of Psalms possesses a distinctive attractiveness. This is not mere literary charm; it is the fruit of divine inspiration that speaks directly to the human heart. The Psalms do not merely record history or doctrine—they pray, praise, plead, and weep with the reader. They give voice to every spiritual state, forming what Ambrose calls a gymnasium for the soul, a place where each believer can exercise the virtues and train for heaven [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 10, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Origen On The Book Of Joshua | The Conquest Of Jericho
Origen’s homily on the conquest of Jericho is far more than a meditation on ancient Israelite warfare. For Origen, the fall of Jericho symbolizes the decisive triumph of Christ over the world, sin, and spiritual blindness. It is a drama of redemption, where the unlikely heroine, Rahab the prostitute, becomes the image of the Church: redeemed, cleansed, and united to Christ [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 10, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Origen On The Book Of Joshua | The Crossing Of The Jordan
This remarkable homily from Origen, one of the most influential theologians of the early Church, invites the Christian to see biblical history not as distant or mythic, but as deeply personal and spiritually present. Drawing on the account of Israel’s miraculous crossing of the Jordan River in the book of Joshua, Origen constructs a rich allegory of Christian initiation, interpreting the Old Testament narrative as a prefiguration of the sacraments and the journey of the soul [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 10, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Saint Ignatius Of Antioch To The Romans | Earthly Longings Have Been Crucified
The reading expresses Saint Ignatius’ faith in Jesus Christ as he was escorted to Rome for Christian martyrdom, to be torn apart by wild beasts in the Coliseum. One crucial point of the reading to take away is that Saint Ignatius expresses possible doubt in his own confidence to go through with his martyrdom with courage. He prays that his fellow Christians might support him through prayer to enable him to embrace his witness – his martyrdom – to Jesus Christ and to Christian faith [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Ordinary Time Week 10, Monday | A Reading From The Letter Of Saint Ignatius Of Antioch To The Romans | Christian Witness | Martyrdom
This deeply moving letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch, composed on his journey to martyrdom in Rome around AD 107, is one of the earliest and most passionate testimonies to Christian witness through suffering. Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch and a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote this letter to the Christian community in Rome to plead that they not intervene in preventing his execution. Far from fearing death, he embraces it as the culmination of his discipleship in Christ. The letter is both a theological reflection and a spiritual testament on martyrdom, discipleship, and union with Christ [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Pentecost | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Irenaeus Against The Heresies | The Sending Of The Holy Spirit
This passage from Saint Irenaeus’ Against the Heresies provides a foundational second-century witness to the Church’s understanding of Pentecost, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the renewal of humanity through divine grace. Writing in a time when the Church faced doctrinal challenges—particularly from Gnostic sects that denied the goodness of creation—Irenaeus offers a vision of salvation that is incarnational, communal, and cosmic in scope [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Saturday | A Reading From An Unknown African Author Of The Sixth Century | The Church In Its Unity Speaks In Every Language | The Holy Spirit At Pentecost
This remarkable 6th century reflection from an anonymous African author offers a rich theology of Pentecost, drawing together ecclesiology, pneumatology, and missiology with great pastoral clarity. Writing within the context of the post-Roman North African Church—one marked by persecution, doctrinal strife, and cultural transition—this author bears witness to a theology of hope, rooted in the enduring and unifying presence of the Holy Spirit [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Friday | From The Treatise On The Trinity By Saint Hilary Of Poitiers | Gift Of The Father In Jesus Christ
Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a central figure in the development of Trinitarian theology during the fourth century, writes with clarity and conviction about the inner life of God and the role of the Holy Spirit. In this reflection, he meditates on the unity and diversity within the Trinity and on the Spirit’s role as the gift that allows us to participate in divine truth [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Thursday | A Reading From The Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John By Saint Cyril Of Alexandria | The Holy Spirit At Pentecost
Cyril begins by situating the sending of the Holy Spirit within the broader arc of salvation history. The Incarnation brought God into human history in the person of Jesus Christ; yet, it was not until Christ had completed his earthly mission – culminating in his Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension – that humanity could fully receive the indwelling of the Spirit [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Wednesday | A Reading From The Constitution Of The Second Vatican Council On The Church | The Mission Of The Holy Spirit
This passage from Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church promulgated at the Second Vatican Council, is a profound exposition on the life-giving, unifying and guiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. It articulates not only doctrinal truths about the Spirit’s nature and mission but also gives pastoral encouragement to the faithful to discern and receive the Spirit’s activity in their lives [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Tuesday | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Basil The Great On The Holy Spirit | The Power Of The Holy Spirit Fills The Whole Universe
Saint Basil the Great’s Treatise on the Holy Spirit was written during a time of doctrinal instability when the Church faced serious challenges regarding the nature and divinity of the Holy Spirit. Basil’s work is both an affirmation of the Spirit’s divine identity and a profound meditation on the Spirit’s activity in creation, revelation and sanctification [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Monday | A Reading From The Instructions Of Saint Cyril Of Jerusalem To The Catechumens | Living Water Of The Holy Spirit
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem’s catechetical reflection on the Holy Spirit, presented through the metaphor of ‘living water,’ offers an astonishingly rich meditation for catechumens and the faithful. His teaching, drawn from both Scripture and the lived experience of the Church, connects deeply with biblical imagery, theological reflection, liturgical practice, and mystical spirituality [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 7, Sunday | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On The Song Of Songs
Gregory centres his reflection on Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer: ‘That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.’ (John 17:21) For Gregory, this unity is not merely institutional but ontological and mystical—rooted in the shared life of the Trinity and mediated to believers through the Holy Spirit [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 6, Saturday After The Ascension | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Augustine On Saint John’s Gospel | Two Kinds Of Christian Life
Saint Augustine’s reflection presents a profound theological anthropology: that the human soul, redeemed and graced, is called to live out two complementary forms of life—the active and the contemplative. These are not merely individual spiritual preferences but dimensions of the Church’s total life and mission [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 6, Friday After The Ascension | A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great | The Lord’s Ascension Increases Our Faith
The Solemnity of the Ascension celebrates not only the glory of Christ returning to the Father, but also the exaltation of human nature in him. In his sermon, Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, offers a profound vision: Christ’s bodily ascension does not mean absence, but a deeper, more universal presence—one that strengthens faith, renews hope, and stirs charity [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide, Ascension | A Reading From The Sermons Of Saint Augustine | No-One Has Ascended Into Heaven But He Who Descended From Heaven
Saint Augustine opens with an exhortation to elevate our hearts: ‘Let our hearts ascend with him.’ Drawing from Colossians 3:1-2, he calls Christians to turn inward and upward—to orient the whole self toward heavenly things, not earthly distractions. This is not an abstract mystical piety, but a profound participation in Christ’s own heavenly life [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 6, Wednesday | A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great | The Days Between The Lord’s Resurrection And The Ascension
Leo begins by asserting that the forty days following the Resurrection were not idle or incidental. Rather, they were filled with ‘great mysteries’ and ‘deep truths’ revealed by Christ. This aligns with Luke’s account (Acts 1:3), where Jesus ‘presented himself alive… by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God’. The period is thus both transitional and transformational: it bridges the historical mission of Christ with the future mission of the Church, mediated by the Apostles [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 6, Tuesday | A Reading From The Commentary Of Saint Cyril Of Alexandria On Saint John’s Gospel | Jesus Christ Is The Bond Of Unity
Saint Cyril of Alexandria draws attention in this reading to the spiritual and sacramental union of believers with Christ and one another. His theology, formed during the height of the Trinitarian and Christological controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries, centres on the mystery of the Incarnation and the salvific unity it brings to humanity. This passage illustrates a core tenet of Cyril’s thinking: that through Christ’s incarnation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the faithful are mystically united both with Jesus Christ and with each other [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 6, Monday | A Reading From The Treatise Of Didemus Of Alexandria On The Trinity | The Holy Spirit Makes Us New In Baptism
Didymus the Blind of Alexandria offers a rich meditation on the work of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of baptism. Writing in the fourth century—a time of intense doctrinal development in the Church—Didymus articulates a pneumatology (doctrine of the Holy Spirit) that remains deeply relevant today. His vision of baptism is not merely as a ritual washing, but as a divine transformation, in which the Spirit, co-equal with the Father and the Son, recreates the human person and initiates them into divine life [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 5, Sunday | A Reading From The Commentary Of Saint Cyril Of Alexandria On The Second Letter To The Corinthians | God Has Reconciled Us Through Jesus
Saint Cyril begins with the assertion that Christians, having been filled with the Spirit and promised resurrection, can live as though the future glory has already broken into the present. His exposition of 2 Corinthians 5:17 (‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation’) emphasizes a radical transformation of the human person. This is not mere moral improvement but a mystical renewal in which believers are no longer defined by the limitations of the flesh or the corruptibility of sin [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 5, Saturday | A Reading From The Discourse Of Saint Augustine On The Psalms | Jesus And The Paschal Alleluia
Saint Augustine begins by asserting that our lives on earth should center on the praise of God because this is what we shall do eternally in heaven. His well-known anthropology, articulated in the Confessions (Book I), declares, ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.’ In this restlessness, Augustine sees a divine gift: a yearning that trains us for heaven. The joy of praising God is not merely a future reward but a present discipline that forms the soul in divine love [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Eastertide Week 5, Friday | A Reading From The Sermons Of Blessed Isaac Of Stella | Jesus Is The First Born Of Many Brethren
Blessed Isaac opens with a profound image: just as a human head and body form a single person, so too does Christ—head and Church—form a single, unified reality. This vision reflects a central doctrine of Christian theology: ‘Totus Christus’, or ‘the whole Christ’. The head is Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary; the body is the Church, composed of all who are joined to him in faith and baptism [ … ]