Saint John Chrysostom’s homily places before us a paradox central to Christian discipleship: strength is found not in aggression but in meekness; victory is won not by becoming like the wolves, but by remaining steadfastly sheep under the protection of the Shepherd. Throughout this reflection, Chrysostom exposes the spiritual logic of the Gospel: when we embrace weakness for the sake of Christ, divine power is revealed in us [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 34, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Attributed To Saint Macarius | Woe To The Soul Where Jesus Christ Does Not Dwell
The reading attributed to Saint Macarius is built on a series of striking and sobering images that diagnose the condition of the soul without Christ. The preacher’s language is vivid, even severe, yet always in service of a pastoral aim: to awaken desire for the indwelling Lord who alone restores the soul to beauty [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 34, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Homilies Of Saint Augustine On Saint John’s Gospel | You Will Come To The Fountain, And You Will See The Light Itself
Saint Augustine contemplates the Christian life under the image of light—a light already received, yet not the fullness promised. Believers, he says, are light ‘in the Lord’, but only by participation: the true day has not yet dawned. The distinction is crucial. Our present illumination is real, but partial; it guides but does not satisfy. Thus Scripture, prophecy, and apostolic witness serve as lamps in the night of this world—trustworthy, necessary, and God-given, yet preparatory [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 34, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great | According To A Man’s Works, So Are His Rewards
Saint Leo considers the Lord’s instruction that Christian justice must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. He frames this not as an expansion of legal detail but as a transformation of motive. The justice of the kingdom is marked by compassion, because mercy reflects the way God has acted toward humanity. Leo recalls the central Christian claim: God restores the guilty not by force of law but by forgiveness. The transition from sin to innocence is not earned but given, and this gift becomes the model for Christian conduct. Justice is therefore fulfilled when believers imitate the divine pattern—allowing mercy to rise above strict judgment [ … ]
Origen Of Alexandria | Life, Theology, Controversy And Legacy
Origen of Alexandria, also known as Origen Adamantius, lived during a formative period of Christian thought in the Roman East. His life was shaped by early Christian devotion, intense scriptural study, pastoral work, ecclesiastical conflict, and the intellectual currents of Alexandria and Caesarea. Origen’s writings occupy an important place in the history of biblical interpretation and early Christian theology. At the same time, doctrines associated with his name became sources of dispute long after his death, influencing the Catholic Church’s decision that he be not a saint [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 34, Sunday, Ordinary Time | Christ The King | A Reading From The Book Of Origen On Prayer | Thy Kingdom Come
Origen reflects on the petition ‘Thy kingdom come’ as a request not for an external spectacle but for an interior reality. He begins with Christ’s teaching that the kingdom does not arrive with visible signs, for it is ‘within us and in our hearts’. With this, Origen redirects attention away from expectation of outward change and towards the inner life in which God’s reign is established through grace. The prayer for the kingdom is therefore a prayer for transformation: that God’s life may take root, grow, and reach its intended fullness within the believer [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 33, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Conferences Of Saint Thomas Aquinas | I Shall Be Satisfied When Your Glory Is Seen
Saint Thomas Aquinas reflects on the final words of the Creed—life everlasting—and treats them not as an abstract topic but as the culmination of Christian desire. His account begins by situating eternal life within the relationship between God and the human person. God is not merely the giver of a reward; God is the reward. The end of human striving is not a state, nor even a place, but union with the living God. Aquinas therefore frames eternal life as a participation in God’s own life, achieved through a direct vision that surpasses all earthly knowing [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 33, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint John Eudes On The Kingdom Of Jesus | The Mystery Of Christ In Us And In The Church
Saint John Eudes reminds us that Christ’s mysteries are not only past events but living realities meant to take shape within us. Everything that Jesus lived on earth—his birth, his hidden life, his suffering, his rising, his glory—he desires to live again in his members. The Christian life, then, is not merely imitation from a distance; it is Jesus Christ quietly forming his own life in us, day by day [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 33, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Commentary Of Saint Gregory Of Nyssa On The Song Of Songs | A Prayer To The Good Shepherd
Saint Gregory of Nyssa reflects on the soul’s desire for Christ by placing the words of the Song of Songs on the lips of the believer. The soul addresses Christ as the Good Shepherd, the one who carries the whole of human nature on his shoulders. By doing so, Gregory emphasises both Christ’s universal work of salvation and the personal relationship he forms with each believer. The soul asks to be shown ‘the place of peace’ and ‘the good grass’, that is, the place where Christ nourishes, protects, and restores his people [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 33, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Sermons Of Saint Augustine | The Heart Of The Righteous Will Rejoice In The Lord
Saint Augustine reflects on the joy of the just, a joy rooted not in worldly circumstances but in God himself. He takes as his starting point the psalm’s declaration that ‘the just man will rejoice in the Lord’, and he invites the Christian to recognise this as both a present reality and a future promise. Joy in God is, for Augustine, a mark of the just because it springs from faith and hope—virtues that draw the soul beyond what it sees to what it awaits [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 33, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Addresses Of Saint Andrew Of Crete | Behold, Your King Is Coming To You, The Holy One, The Saviour
Saint Andrew of Crete reflects on Christ’s coming by drawing together three interconnected themes: Christ’s humble entry, his continual approach to the soul, and the revelation of his glory upon the cross. His starting point is the Church’s memory of Palm Sunday, but he immediately shifts our attention from outward gestures to the inward dispositions that welcome Christ rightly. The ‘palm branches’ he asks us to offer are works of mercy; the ‘garments’ spread beneath Christ’s feet are the thoughts and intentions of the heart submitted to him. In this way, the historical event becomes the pattern of the Christian life: Christ desires to enter not only a city, but the whole being of each believer [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Monday, Ordinary Time | From A Treatise On Forgiveness By Saint Fulgentius Of Ruspe, Bishop | He Who Conquers Death Shall Not Be Hurt By The Second Death
Saint Fulgentius reminds us that the great transformation of the resurrection begins now, in the hidden conversion of the heart. The ‘first resurrection’ is not merely an image but a real spiritual event: the passage from sin to grace, from darkness to light, from unbelief to faith. In this life, God works the first change within us — a change that prepares and guarantees the glorious change to come [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 33, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourses Of Saint Augustine On The Psalms | Let Us Not Resist Jesus’ First Coming, So That We May Not Dread The Second
Saint Augustine’s reflection takes Psalm 96 (Vg.95) as its starting point, focusing especially on the proclamation that the Lord ‘has come’ and ‘will come again’ to judge the earth. The psalm’s imagery of the natural world rejoicing allows Saint Augustine to address the relationship between Christ’s first and second comings. Saint Augustine’s interpretation moves between the biblical text, the lived experience of the Church, and the internal dispositions of the believer [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | Let Us Seek Righteousness So That In The End We Are Saved
The homily, continued, belongs to the early tradition of pastoral exhortation in which Christian teachers address communities facing both internal moral uncertainty and external cultural pressures. The homilist begins by locating himself within the same condition as his hearers. His confession of sin and susceptibility does not function as rhetorical modesty but as a reminder that Christian life is undertaken together. The salvation of each becomes bound up with the fidelity of all. This interdependence reflects an early understanding of the Church as a community shaped by shared discipline rather than by individual achievement [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | Let Us Turn To God Who Has Called Us
The homily reflects the concerns of an early Christian community navigating moral uncertainty, delayed fulfilment, and the practical demands of discipleship. Its tone is pastoral rather than speculative, grounding theological claims in concrete habits of life. The homilist’s central conviction is that the believer’s return to God is both possible and urgent, and that this return takes shape through self-control, repentance, charity, and mutual responsibility within the community [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | The Living Church Is The Body Of Jesus Christ
The homily, continued, turns from moral exhortation to ecclesial reflection. Its central concern is the integrity of Christian witness and the reality of the Church as the living body of Christ. The homilist moves between ethical warning and theological insight, showing that the credibility of the faith depends on the coherence between confession and conduct [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | Let Us Be Patient And Hope In Jesus
The early Christian homily continues by addressing the tension between present struggle and future fulfilment. The author writes with pastoral urgency, urging the community to hold fast in faith and to persevere in virtue despite delay, doubt, and the lure of worldly ease. The dominant theme is endurance in hope—the steadfast adherence to divine promise in the face of moral testing and temporal uncertainty [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | Repentance Of Sin From A Sincere Heart
The second-century homily develops early Christian theology of repentance that is both moral and eschatological. It presents repentance not as a fleeting emotion but as a transformative act that reshapes the believer’s life before the final judgment. The homilist combines vivid imagery with ethical exhortation, expressing the conviction that human freedom and divine mercy must meet in time if salvation is to be realised [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | Let Us Confess Our Faith In God By Deeds
This second-century homily continues the moral and theological emphasis of the early Church’s preaching: faith must be embodied in life. The anonymous author moves beyond profession to practice, showing that confession of Christ is meaningful only when it takes visible form in conduct. The text reveals a Christianity that is neither speculative nor merely devotional but practical, ethical, and communal [ … ]
Saint Catherine Of Siena A Devotional Portrait | Prayers Of Saint Catherine In Italian And English | Saint Catherine, Pray For Us | You Reveal The Love Of Jesus Christ
Saint Catherine of Siena was born in 1347 in the Italian city of Siena. She was the twenty-third child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa, a family of tradespeople. From her earliest years she showed a deep love for God. At the age of six she said she saw Christ in vision, clothed in papal robes and blessing her. This sense of the nearness of God shaped her whole life [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 32, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From A Homily Of A Second-Century Author | Jesus Christ Willed To Save Those Who Were About To Perish
This homily conveys the early Church’s wonder at the mystery of salvation. Its tone is both exhortative and contemplative, combining gratitude with a call to deeper awareness of what Christ has done for humanity. The preacher invites his listeners to recognise the full scope of their redemption and to live in proportion to so great a mercy [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Ambrose On The Blessing Of Death | Let Us Carry The Death Of Jesus In Our Bodies
Saint Ambrose interprets death not merely as an end but as a transformative process that begins within the believer’s earthly life. His language of ‘crucifixion’ and ‘death’ does not describe physical demise but spiritual participation in the death of Christ. The Christian is called to manifest Christ crucified in conduct and intention, allowing the power of the cross to reorder the inner life [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Addresses Of Saint Gregory Nazianzen | It Is A Holy Thought To Pray For The Dead | All Souls | Purgatory
Saint Gregory Nazianzen reflects on the mystery of human existence and the continuity between life, death, and resurrection. His meditation joins theological insight with pastoral realism: to live as a creature of God is to occupy a space between mortality and immortality, frailty and glory [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Instructions Of Saint Cyril Of Jerusalem To Catechumens | On The Creed | True Faith | Christian Faith
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem sets out the function and authority of the Creed within Christian teaching. His concern is to ensure the integrity of the faith as it is received, memorised and lived by the baptised. The Creed, for Cyril, is not a private reflection or personal interpretation but the concentrated form of the Church’s collective witness, drawn from Scripture and confirmed by tradition [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Instructions Of Saint Cyril Of Jerusalem To Catechumens | The Power Of Faith Transcends Man’s Powers
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem offers a rich and disciplined reflection on the nature of faith, distinguishing between its doctrinal content and its charismatic power. Cyril explores how belief engages both the intellect and the divine grace that enables action beyond natural capacity. He presents faith not simply as assent to truth but as participation in the life of God [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World Of The Second Vatican Council | Gaudium Et Spes | Christian Duty Of Working For Peace
This passage from Gaudium et Spes moves from principle to application, describing the Christian obligation to promote peace through justice, solidarity, and practical service. The Council presents this not as an abstract ideal but as a concrete expression of discipleship within a world divided by inequality and conflict [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World Of The Second Vatican Council | Gaudium Et Spes | Re-education For Peace
This passage from Gaudium et Spes develops the Council’s moral and spiritual understanding of peace as a human vocation requiring renewal of thought and will. Peace is not sustained merely by diplomatic measures or institutional structures but depends on an inner conversion of persons and societies. The Council describes this as ‘re-education’ — a reshaping of conscience and culture to overcome hostility, prejudice, and indifference [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 31, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World Of The Second Vatican Council | Gaudium Et Spes | On Fostering Peace
The reading from Gaudium et Spes presents one of the most concise theological accounts of peace in the modern magisterium. The Council situates peace not in the suspension of conflict or equilibrium of force but in a moral and spiritual order. Peace, it declares, ‘is the work of justice,’ an expression drawn from Isaiah and later from the tradition of Catholic social thought. Justice here is understood not only as distributive equity but as the right ordering of relationships among persons, societies, and nations according to divine law [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Dialogue Of Saint Catherine Of Siena On Divine Providence | How Good, How Delightful Is Your Spirit, Lord, Dwelling In All Men
Saint Catherine records a divine address from God the Father, expressing the logic and tenderness of divine providence. The text presents a theological anthropology — an account of what it means to be human in relation to God — rooted in creation, memory, intellect, and will. Each faculty corresponds to a mode of divine communication: memory preserves awareness of God’s goodness, intellect apprehends divine truth through the Son, and will loves the good revealed by the Holy Spirit [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Works Of Baldwin Of Canterbury | The Word Of God Is Living And Active
Baldwin of Canterbury’s reflection centres on the divine Word as the active presence of God in creation, revelation, and redemption. His argument develops from the scriptural assertion that “the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.” The Word, identified with Christ himself, is not merely speech or symbol but a reality that possesses life, communicates life, and effects change [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Discourses Of Saint Athanasius Against The Arians | Wisdom’s Likeness And Image Is In God’s Works
In his discourse, Saint Athanasius explores how divine Wisdom—identified with the eternal Word, the Son—imprints itself within creation. Saint Athanasius’s argument responds to Arian claims that the Son was a created being. For Athanasius, the phrase ‘The Lord created me in his works’ cannot mean that the eternal Wisdom itself was made; rather, it refers to the reflection or imprint of Wisdom in the created order [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Wednesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Pope Saint Clement I To The Corinthians | Let Us Follow The Way Of Truth
Saint Clement’s letter turns from theological reflection to moral exhortation. Its concern is the interior and social coherence of the Christian community at Corinth, expressed through humility, discipline, and collective worship. The passage belongs to the part of the epistle where Clement seeks to restore harmony after the divisions that had arisen within the Church—a recurring concern in early Christian correspondence, notably in Paul’s own letters to the same community [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Tuesday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Pope Saint Clement I To The Corinthians | God Is Ever True To His Word
Saint Clement’s reflection on divine fidelity presents an early instance of Christian reasoning that links observation of the natural order with trust in the promise of resurrection. The structure of the argument proceeds by analogy: the visible alternation of night and day, the decay and renewal of seed, the continuous pattern of the seasons, all provide evidence that death does not end a process but belongs within it. The ordered rhythm of nature is treated not as mere metaphor but as a form of testimony, available to perception and open to interpretation by faith [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Monday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Pope Saint Clement I To The Corinthians | We Must Not Run Away From God’s Will
Saint Clement reflects on the discipline of Christian life within the early Church, focusing on the relationship between divine presence, moral conduct, and communal order. He addresses the need to align human action with God’s will and to avoid hypocrisy or self-deception in faith [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 30, Sunday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Pope Saint Clement I To The Corinthians | The Lord Of The Universe Has Enjoined Peace And Harmony For The Good Of All Alike
Saint Clement’s letter to the Corinthians, written in the late first century, is among the earliest post-apostolic Christian documents. Addressing a community divided by internal strife, he presents the created order as both mirror and lesson. In creation, Clement finds an image of obedience, regularity, and peace. What human discord disrupts, divine order maintains [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 29, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Sermons Of Saint Peter Chrysologus | The Word, The Wisdom Of God, Was Made Flesh
Saint Peter Chrysologus contrasts the two Adams to show the transformation of human nature through Christ. The first man, Adam, is the origin of the human race in its mortality; the second, Christ, is the origin of its renewal and life. Both share the same humanity, but they differ absolutely in their source and purpose. Adam received life; Christ gives it. Adam was shaped from the earth; Christ took flesh from the Virgin, raising human nature into union with God [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 29, Friday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Saint Augustine To Proba | The Spirit Intercedes For Us
Saint Augustine concludes his teaching on prayer by returning to its centre: the movement of the Holy Spirit within the believer. The true object of all prayer is the vision of God — the ‘life of happiness’ in which body and soul, made incorruptible, will behold the divine goodness for ever. Every other request is secondary and derives its meaning from this one desire. Without it, even good things lose their worth; with it, nothing is lacking [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Week 29, Thursday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Letter Of Saint Augustine To Proba | We Do Not Know How To Pray As We Ought
Saint Augustine turns to one of the most searching truths about prayer: that we do not always know what to ask of God. This confession, drawn from Saint Paul’s words in the Letter to the Romans, does not express ignorance of the Lord’s Prayer, but humility before the mystery of divine providence. Prayer is not the confident manipulation of outcomes but the surrender of the will into the wisdom of God [ … ]