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By: Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Book cover Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John

As regards the plan of the Epistle, it has been often asserted till lately that it was supposed to be but fragmentary, a series of aphorisms. Augustine, however, without formally announcing a plan as discovered by him in the Epistle, not only frequently affirms in his exposition that charity or love is the Apostle’s main theme, but so conducts the discussion, gathering his arguments and illustrations around this central thought, as to render it evident that in his view the purpose and plan of the Apostle is to set forth love in its essence and its scope, and that he intends to make this thought dominant in every part. - Summary by Philip Schaff

Book cover Expositions on the Book of Psalms Vol. 1

The Book of Psalms is commonly known as the Psalms or the Psalter, and is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". Most if not all are thought be composed by King David. The Psalms have always been an integral part of the prayers of the Christian church and especially among monks, who would generally chant all psalms in a week-long cycle...

Book cover Expositions on the Book of Psalms Vol. 2 - Psalms 37-52

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

Book cover Expositions on the Book of Psalms Vol. 3 - Psalms 53-75

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

Book cover On Lying

I have also written a Book on Lying, which though it takes some pains to understand, contains much that is useful for the exercise of the mind, and more that is profitable to morals, in inculcating the love of speaking the truth. This also I was minded to remove from my works, because it seemed to me obscure, and intricate, and altogether troublesome, for which reason I had not sent it abroad. - Summary by Augustine

Book cover Expositions on the Book of Psalms (Vol. 4 - Psalms 76-101)

These sermons on the Psalms of the Holy Prophet and King David are as poetic as the Psalms themselves. They are well-suited for inspirational and devotional listening. - Summary by The Reader

Book cover On Grace And Free Will

There are some persons who suppose that the freedom of the will is denied whenever God's grace is maintained, and who on their side defend their liberty of will so peremptorily as to deny the grace of God. This grace, as they assert, is bestowed according to our own merits. It is in consequence of their opinions that I wrote the book entitled On Grace and Free Will. This work I addressed to the monks of Adrumetum, in whose monastry first arose the controversy on that subject, and that in such a manner that some of them were obliged to consult me thereon. The work begins with these words: "With reference to those persons who so preach the liberty of the human will."

Book cover On The Predestination Of The Saints

Wherein the truth of predestination and grace is defended against the semi-Pelagians — those people to wit, who by no means withdraw altogether from the Pelagian heresy, in that they contend that the beginning of salvation and of faith is of ourselves; so that in virtue, as it were, of this precedent merit, the other good gifts of God are attained. Augustine shows that not only the increase, but the very beginning also of faith is in God's gift. On this matter he does not disavow that he once thought differently, and that in some small works, written before his episcopate, he was in error, as in that exposition, which they object to him, of propositions from the epistle to the Romans...

Book cover On Adulterous Marriages

One named Pollentius having written to him upon the question of separation in case of adultery, engaged him to write the books "On Adulterous Marriages". Pollentius maintained that the wife who separated from her husband, upon account of adultery on his side, might marry again; and what St. Paul says to the contrary he interpreted of her who marries again for any other reason. St. Augustine maintains that this prohibition regards her who has left her husband for the cause of adultery. Pollentius maintained also, that married persons who were believers, could not leave the unbelieving party; and St...

Book cover On the Spirit and the Letter

The Tribune Marcellinus having received the books ''On the Merit of Sins," wrote to St. Augustine that he was surprised at what he had there said, that man could be without sin if he would, with the help of God: and that, nevertheless, none in this world had been, was, or would be for the time to come, so perfect. "How," said he, ''can you say that a thing is possible, of which there is no example?" To answer this question, St. Augustine wrote the book, "On the Spirit and the Letter," where he explains the passage of the Apostle, "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life...

By: Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274)

Book cover St. Bonaventure's Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

Seeing himself as "unequal to so great a task", St. Bonaventure nevertheless endeavored to introduce his readers to the practice of "the most beneficial of all devout exercises, and that which is most capable of leading [them] to the summit of Christian perfection": the contemplation of the life of Our Lord. By "frequent and habitual meditations on that divine subject" even "very illiterate persons" have been raised to such "familiarity, confidence, and love of him" that they have become "profoundly versed in the most sublime mysteries of God"...

By: Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

Spiritual Dialogue Between the Soul, the Body, Self-Love, the Spirit, Humanity, and the Lord God by Saint Catherine of Genoa Spiritual Dialogue Between the Soul, the Body, Self-Love, the Spirit, Humanity, and the Lord God

Saint Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, born Genoa 1447 – 15 September 1510) is an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor. She was a member of the noble Fieschi family, and spent most of her life and her means serving the sick, especially during the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. She died in that city in 1510.In 1551, 41 years after her death, a book about her life and teaching was published, entitled Libro de la vita mirabile et dottrina santa de la Beata Caterinetta de Genoa...

By: Saint Clement of Alexandria

Book cover Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?

This short treatise by St. Clement's is an exposition on the words of Jesus Christ to the young rich man, recounted in the gospels. In the account, the man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. First, Jesus advises the man to obey the commandments, then Jesus adds: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." However, when he heard this, "he became very sorrowful because he was very wealthy....

By: Saint Cyprian of Carthage

Book cover Epistles of Cyprian

Little is known of the early history of Thascius Cyprian until the period of his intimacy with the Carthaginian presbyter Cæcilius, which led to his conversion A.D. 246. That he was born of respectable parentage, and highly educated for the profession of a rhetorician, is all that can be said with any degree of certainty. At his baptism he assumed the name of his friend Cæcilius, and devoted him self, with all the energies of an ardent and vigorous mind, to the study and practice of Christianity...

By: Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Book cover Of the Love of God

Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva from 1602, was a renowned spiritual director who produced two classic guidebooks for earthly wayfarers on their spiritual journey to God: Introduction a la vie devote (Introduction to the Devout Life, 1609) and Traite' de l'amour de Dieu (Treatise on the Love of God, or Of the Love of God, 1616). In the Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis shows how anyone, whatever his or her calling or station in life, can strive for and achieve a life a piety and devotion to God...

Book cover Introduction to the Devout Life

First published in the early 17th century, it has proven its value as a daily spiritual guide and helpful reference for living an authentic Christian life. Written specifically for laymen, it began as letters from Saint Francis to a married woman who was seeking holiness amidst the distractions of her life of wealth and status. It contains treasures of wisdom for every reader, from eager beginner to lifelong Christian. Summary by Wikipedia and Phil Chenevert.

By: Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

Book cover Selected Letters of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal is a Roman Catholic Saint, who founded The Congregation of the Visitation after the death of her husband. St. Francis de Sales was her Spiritual Director and a close friend. After St. Francis de Sales died, St. Vincent de Paul became her spiritual director. These letters, which date from a range of 1611-1641, were written to her saintly spiritual directors, her children and relatives, other nuns and religious, as well many others.

By: Saint Jerome (347-420)

Book cover Against Jovinianus

Jovinianus, had published at Rome a treatise containing the following opinions: "That a virgin is no better as such than a wife in the sight of God. Abstinence is no better than a thankful partaking of food. A person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin. All sins are equal. There is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state." Also he held the birth of our Lord to have been natural, rather than that Jesus passed through the walls of the womb as His Resurrection body afterwards did out of the tomb...

Book cover Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary

St. Jerome composed this essay against Helvidius, who stated that because the gospels mentioned Christ as having “sisters” and “brethren” the Virgin Mary must have had more children from Joseph her husband. In response Jerome asserts three propositions against Helvidius: 1) That Joseph was only putatively, not really, the husband of Mary. 2) That the “brethren” of the Lord were his cousins, not his own brethren. 3) That virginity is better than the married state. - Summary from the preface

Book cover Letter 22 to Eustochium

St. Jerome's most famous letter , written to St. Eustochium, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the Roman widow St. Paula. St. Jerome exhorts St. Eustochium to embrace virginity and teaches her the proper conduct of a young woman. It contains his: 1. view that God, though omnipotent, cannot restore a fallen virgin 2. vivid description of fasting and temptation 3. view of abortion, that it is murder 4. term superbiam sanctam, virginity a "holy pride" 5. praise of wedlock, that it gives him virgins 6...

By: Saint John of Damascus (c. 676-749)

Book cover Orthodox Faith

The Orthodox Faith is the classic epitome of the Early Greek Fathers. Writing just before the last of the truly Ecumenical Councils (787), he remains to this day, the last of the Eastern theologians whole-heartedly received by the West. This work, then, is an ecumenical touchstone that remains authoritative in Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism (through Peter Lombard's Sentances) and in all Reformation Churches interested in purging late medieval accretions and returning to the developed orthodoxy of Creedal Christianity.

By: Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Book cover My Life in Christ: Extracts from the Diary of Saint John of Kronstadt

Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation, of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God.

By: Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)

Book cover Ascent of Mount Carmel

The Ascent of Mount Carmel is one of the timeless classics of Christian contemplation, radical in its time and deeply influential in the world today. St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila worked together to reform the Carmelite Order in the Roman Catholic Church, in which he is honored as one of the Doctors of the Church. An active priest and teacher in his lifetime, this work is considered primary source material the training of Spiritual Directors, and an essential set of guidelines for all students of Revelation through Divine Love.

Book cover Obscure Night of The Soul

The Obscure Night of the Soul, better know today as The Dark Night of the Soul, is the distilled teaching of St John of the Cross, who reintroduced and revolutionized Christian Contemplation in the 16th Century. The text remains in print until this day, and has been an inspiration to seekers for centuries. St John's method is known as the Via Negativa, defined in Wikipedia as "a type of theological thinking that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God...

By: Saint Justin Martyr

The First Apology of Justin Martyr by Saint Justin Martyr The First Apology of Justin Martyr

The purpose of the Apology is to prove to the emperors, renowned as upright and philosophical men, the injustice of the persecution of the Christians, who are the representatives of true philosophy … Christians are the true worshipers of God, the Creator of all things; they offer him the only sacrifices worthy of him, those of prayer and thanksgiving, and are taught by his Son, to whom they assign a place next in honor to him. This teaching leads them to perfect morality, as shown in their teacher’s words and their own lives, and founded on their belief in the resurrection.

The Second Apology of Justin Martyr by Saint Justin Martyr The Second Apology of Justin Martyr

A defense of the Christian faith delivered by St. Justin Martyr to the Roman Senate in the second century AD

By: Saint Patrick (d. 461 or 493)

Collected Works of Saint Patrick by Saint Patrick Collected Works of Saint Patrick

St. Patrick’s Breastplate – This prayer is attributed to St. Patrick and his diciples. It is written with some celtic pagan elements, but is definitely a Christian prayer asking God for protection through daily life. A Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus – Patrick writes this letter to excommunicate the soldiers of Coroticus’ army who pillaged villages in Ireland and forced many Christian converts into slavery. Confession – A short autobiography by St. Patrick who tells of being abducted...

By: Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Book cover Relations of Saint Teresa of Avila

The Relations (in Spanish Relaciones) is an extention of St Teresa's Autobiography. In The Relations she tells of her inner and outer experiences in the form of letters.

Book cover Minor Works of St Teresa of Avila

The prayer and Exclamations, or Meditations, of St Teresa of Avila, recorded in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Saint's birth (March 28, 2015).

By: Saint Therese (1873-1897)

The Story of a Soul by Saint Therese The Story of a Soul

Marie Francoise Therese Martin, affectionately known as ‘The Little Flower’, was born on January 2, 1873, in Alencon, France to Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin. She was the youngest and one of five surviving sisters of the nine Martin children. When Therese was 3, her mother died. Louis Martin moved his family to Lisieux to be closer to his late wife’s brother and his family. It was there that Therese’s sister, Pauline, entered the Carmel at Lisieux on October 2, 1882. Therese at that time also heard the Divine Call to religious life...

By: Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Summa Theologica, Pars Prima by Saint Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica, Pars Prima

More than nine hundred years after it was first written, this unfinished work of a scholar saint still has the power to move our minds and hearts and set us thinking on the really important questions of life. Summa Theologica or simply the Summa as it is known, was written some time between 1265-74. It is a work that has had a profound and enduring influence on Western thought and literature. Designed to provide answers to Catholic theologians about the teachings of the Church, Thomas Aquinas' book instead goes far beyond its stated purpose...

Book cover Summa Theologica - 06 Pars Prima Secundae, On the Last End, On Human Acts

The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written between 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas, even though it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners and a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God...


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