+ When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep” Although there is a grave sin that you cannot wash away yourself with the tears of your penitence, let the mother of the church weep for you. She who intercedes for all...
+ All the good works which a person has performed will be in vain if he [or she] does not possess a genuine charity which extends to his enemies as well as to his friends. The blessed Apostle Paul, in whose person Christ speaks, does not lie when he says,...
+ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5). “Lord,” Peter answered, “we have fished all night and have caught nothing.” Perhaps if St. Peter had caught some little fish, Jesus would...
+ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life (2 Cor. 2:15-16). The aroma...
+ “He Himself was called the Way, the Door, the Rock. Why the Rock? That you might understand the secure and unshaken character of the faith. Why was He called the Foundation? That you might understand that He upholds all things. Why was He called the Shepherd? Because He feeds...
+ When the Lord was going through Jericho to Jerusalem for His Holy Passion, a very noble and notable man of Jericho, Zacchaeus, desired to see the Lord but was unable to do so because he was “little of stature.” So Zacchaeus made himself a laughing stock and climbed up...
+ Blessed Feast of the Cross “Our Lord has lifted up for us His hands on the Cross, and stretched out were His hands for us. And why were His hands stretched out on the Cross? In order that our hands might be stretched out to do good works since...
+ “But no one is persecuting us to the point of death. How then can we prove that we love our friends? But there is something we should do during times of peace in the Church to make clear whether we are strong enough to die for the sake of...
+ A Blessed Feast of the Martyrs, Ecclesiastical New Year, & Feast of St. Verena The earth has been filled with the blood of martyrs as with seeds, and from that seed have sprung the crops of the church. The martyrs asserted Christ’s cause more effectively when dead than when...
+ “The root and source of all evils is when we overlook the concerns of our neighbors. For if we are members of one another, the welfare of our neighbor is not just his own concern but that of the whole body, and the injury of our neighbor is not...
