Daily Contemplation
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Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now suffered for us and risen again,
is the Head of the Church, and the Church is His Body,
and in His Body the unity of the members and the bond of charity is, as it were, its sound health.
But whosoever grows cold in charity, has become enfeebled in the Body of Christ.…— St. Augustine -
“Weeping shall be for the evening, but joy shall be in the morning” (Ps 29:6 LXX)
Evening began when the light of wisdom withdrew from sinful man,
when he was condemned to death:
from this evening weeping will tarry,…— St. Augustine -
“So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him” (Lk 24:15-16).
Jesus appeared; He was visible to their eyes, yet He was not recognized…
When He was with them before His passion, He had foretold all—…— St. Augustine -
The hope of resurrection is the root of every kind of good work,
for the expectation of reward braces the soul to productive toil.
And whereas every worker is ready to sustain his toil if he can look forward to being repaid for his labors,
where toil has no recompense the soul is soon discouraged and the body flags with it.…— St. Cyril of Jerusalem -
The pure of heart will see God, according to the Lord’s infallible word (Mt 5:8),
according to his capacity, receiving as much as his mind can sustain;
yet the infinite and incomprehensible nature of the Godhead remains beyond all understanding.
For the magnificence of His glory has no end (Ps. 144:5),…— St. Gregory of Nyssa -
Spiritual meditation is constant and earnest expectancy of what will be after the resurrection.
The inception of this reflection in the mind is the borderline of repentance.
That which retains repentance in the soul is continual rumination upon future things.
The man who is moved by repentance has migrated through his hope to the world to come.…— St. Isaac the Syrian -
Wishing You a Blessed Resurrection Feast
Israel passes dry over that sea, while the Egyptian who crosses in its track is overwhelmed.
Each fares according to the disposition that he carries with him;
one walks lightly enough, the other is dragged into the deep water.…— St. Gregory of Nyssa -
Our Lord Jesus Christ performed miracles with this view:
that by those miracles He might signify something further,
that besides that they were wonderful and great, and divine in themselves,
we might also learn something from them.…— St. Augustine -
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God,…— James 2:20-26 -
Seeing that is a great thing to know the mystery, how He is David’s Son and David’s Lord –
how one Person is both Man and God;
how in the form of Man, He is less than the Father, in the form of God, equal with the Father;
how again He says, on the one hand, ”The Father is greater than I”,…— St. Augustine -
In your heart be persuaded of this:
It is impossible for a man to achieve good through evil means.
That is why our Savior told us to be watchful, saying,
“Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life,…— St. Isaiah the Solitary -
“O Lord, lead me forth in Your justice because of my enemies” (Ps 5:8).
“In Your justice,” not in that which seems so to men.
For to return evil for evil seems justice: but it is not His justice,
of whom it is said, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Mt 5:45).…— St. Augustine