INTRODUCTION “Breath of God” at Priory of the Holy Spirit, Oxford, for Pentecost 2021 This homily comes from the hand of the former Master of the Order of Preachers, the Dominican Friar, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP. With a simplicity style, Fr. Timothy emulates the...
Catholic
Sayings of Abba Moses
Abba St. Moses
INTRODUCTION Abba St. Moses, called "the Robber," or "the Black," or "the Strong," was one of the great Egyptian Desert Fathers of the late 4th century. He was likely originally from Nubia, or perhaps present-day Sudan. In any case, he was a released slave who lived...
Waiting on the Holy Spirit
Saint Basil the Great the Great
INTRODUCTION Born in 4th century Turkey, in a region called Cappadocia, Saint Basil first pursued education and a career in the law. Eventually he found himself drawn to a monastic vocation through his holy sister Macrina. Saint Basil would become revered in both...
God’s Mercy for the World
St. Cyril of Alexandria
INTRODUCTION St. Cyril played a pivotal role in guiding the early Church, having been selected as bishop in the bustling and prominent city of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the Apostolic churches of antiquity. He would also participate in the Council of Ephesus in the 5th...
Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom
St. John Chrysostom
INTRODUCTION St. John Chrysostom (chrysostomos - the 'Golden-mouthed' in Greek), Archbishop of Constantinople from 397-404, was one of the great giants of the high patristic era of the 4th-6th centuries. A champion of Nicene orthodoxy, he is accorded the title Doctor...
Relentless Mercy
Bishop Robert Barron
INTRODUCTION The liturgical celebration of Easter continues as we celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death on this Divine Mercy Sunday. In this sermon, Bishop Barron reflects on the active and relentless nature of God’s mercy. How have we responded to God’s mercy...
Sermon on the Passion
Mgr. Ronald Knox
In this homily, we are drawn into some vivid closing scenes of Christ’s earthly life, “The Trial.” We are invited to ponder His silence, and then the significance of his few choice words during, both of which point to who He claims to be. Knox proceeds to canvass before roundly rejecting currents of Biblical criticism, which sought to gainsay Christ’s divinity.
The Mercy of God to the Penitent
Saint Maximus the Confessor
INTRODUCTION Saint Maximus, as a learned abbot and theologian in the 7th century, was responsible for leading his community and discerning the truth in the controversies of his time. His words in the sermon below, are given greater weight when we consider his...
On Pride
St. John Climachus
The great monastic father St. John of Sinai, known as ‘Climachus’, authored his 30-step spiritual guide for monastics, the Ladder of Divine Ascent, in the early 7th century. Received by all the apostolic churches as a supreme guide to the spiritual life, through its call to combat the passions and acquire virtue, it retains a unique place in the Lenten daily liturgy of the Byzantine rite. While written for monks, it speaks powerfully to all those who seek to earnestly live the life in Christ.
Homily 21
St. Macarius the Great
INTRODUCTION St. Macarius the Egyptian was a Coptic desert father of the early 4th century. While details of his life are scant, he is thought to have been born around the year 300 A.D. He is mentioned in the Apophthegmata ('Sayings') of the Desert Fathers and was...