Carthage Must Be Destroyed

Three years ago at this time, I was at one of the lowest points in my life. Everything that I thought was important was being stripped away. If real suffering is akin to pneumonia, mine was more of a sniffle, but at the time, it was real, and I was hurting. Fear over finances. Physical pain. Despair. Nothing was interesting. Everything tasted bland. C.S. Lewis in the Great Divorce  mentions the main character standing in a bus queue that is going nowhere and noticing that his surroundings were stuck in that moment after sunset when all the colors are flat and dim but not dark enough for the light coming from the inside of houses to look cozy and inviting. Everything is neutral and nothing is appealing. That's how I felt. I was going nowhere and the whole damn world was gray. At one point, in one of those raw moments of honesty, I gave God an ultimatum: "Either you show me what you want me to do, or you'll lose me. I'm hanging on by a thread here. I need someth...

Upon the election of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, Cardinal Francis George, who at the time was Archbishop of Chicago, was noted to have a serene and contemplative look on his face when the new pope and all the cardinals were standing around the Loggia of St. Peter's. When asked what he was thinking about at that time he said: "I was gazing over toward the Circus Maximus, toward the Palatine Hill where the Roman Emperors once resided and reigned and looked down upon the persecution of Christians, and I thought, 'Where are their successors? Where is the successor of Caesar Augustus? Where is the successor of Marcus Aurelius? And finally, who cares? But if you want to see the successor of Peter, he is right next to me, smiling and waving at the crowds.'" Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter—the celebration of the office of the papacy. Pope Francis, who has so far captured the hearts of the world with his simplicity, humility and compassion, is the 265...

Today is the Feast Day of St. Anthony the Great, or Anthony of the Desert, as he is sometimes called. Although he is not the first monk or aesthetic, his austere lifestyle and influence in gaining hundreds of followers and to forsake everything to devote their lives to prayer and alms giving won him the honor as the Father of Monasticism. From the Life of St. Anthony by St. Athanasius of Alexandria When Anthony was about eighteen or twenty years old, his parents died, leaving him with an only sister. He cared for her as she was very young, and also looked after their home. Not six months after his parents’ death, as he was on his way to church for his usual visit, he began to think of how the apostles had left everything and followed the Saviour, and also of those mentioned in the book of Acts who had sold their possessions and brought the apostles the money for distribution to the needy. He reflected too on the great hope stored up in heaven for such as these. This was...

Feast of Holy Family An address by Pope Paul VI (Nazareth, January 5, 1964).  Taken from the Second Reading in the Office of Readings for the Sunday in the Octave of Easter. Nazareth, a model Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ’s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God’s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him. Here we can learn to realize who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief, everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. Here everything speaks to us, everything has meaning. Here we can learn the importance of spiritual discipline for all who wish to follow Christ and to live by ...

Sermon by St. Quodvultdeus for the Feast of Holy Innocents, Martyrs (mid 5th century). Taken from the Second Reading in the Office of Readings for December 28th. They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come. Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children. You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of ...

Sermon by St. Augustine of Hippo on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist (early 5th century). Taken from the Second Reading in the Office of Readings for December 27th.  Life itself was revealed in the Flesh We announce what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have touched with our own hands.  Who could touch the Word with his hands unless  the Word was made flesh and lived among us?   Now this Word, whose flesh was so real that he could be touched by human hands, began to be flesh in the Virgin Mary’s womb; but he did not begin to exist at that moment. We know this from what John says:  What existed from the beginning.  Notice how John’s letter bears witness to his Gospel, which you just heard a moment ago:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.   Someone might interpret the phrase the Word of life to mean a word about Christ, rather than Christ’s body ...

Sermon by St. Fulgentius of Ruspe on the Feast of St. Stephen (Circa AD 500) Taken from the Second Reading in the Office of Readings for December 26th Armament of Love Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King. Today we celebrate the triumphant suffering of his soldier. Yesterday our king, clothed in his robe of flesh, left his place in the virgin’s womb and graciously visited the world. Today his soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven. Our king, despite his exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet he did not come empty-handed. He brought his soldiers a great gift that not only enriched them but also made them unconquerable in battle, for it was the gift of love, which was to bring men to share in his divinity. He gave of his bounty, yet without any loss to himself. In a marvelous way he changed into wealth the poverty of his faithful followers while remaining in full possession of his own inexhaustible riche...