Wisdom from the Church Fathers

A quote from one of the Fathers of the Church will be offered to you every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday, as a basis for meditation, followed by a prayer intention for the world's problems.

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WHO QUALIFIES AS A  “FATHER” OF THE CHURCH?

The title “Father” is reserved for the most prominent theologians of the ancient Church, from the fifth to the eighth centuries of our time. They were entrusted with pastoral responsibilities and led exemplary Christian lives that are models for us to follow.  However, certain Christian writers and theologians of the following centuries are also associated with them because of their own pastoral and spiritual guidance. 

“The Fathers of the Church […] through their preaching and their writings have inspired the development of Christian doctrine, and influenced the practice of Christian life because their own comportment combined the constant characteristics of sainthood, wisdom and faithfulness to the original tradition.” Pierre Beatrick

WHAT MODEL CAN WE POSSIBLY EMULATE?

Following the Apostle, the Fathers of the Church are the founders of the Christian civilization because their very lives were the image of the gospel. The Fathers of the Church made it possible for the Gospel to impose itself in other civilizations through their self-sacrifice all the way to martyrdom. Through this ultimate commitment, they help us understand the word of God and allow us to live in faith as we affirm our Christian identity. Through them, we better understand the depth of the liturgy in a world where “Christianity tends to become more of a cultural phenomenon rather than a way of life”. It is up to us now to follow in their footsteps and proclaim that the Gospel is still the Word of Life and the Way to Eternal life in our contemporary world.   

Hebrews 13:7 

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

Prayer from the community

St. Augustine

O Thou Good Omnipotent, Who so carest for every one of us, as if Thou carest for him alone; and so for all, as if all were but one! Blessed is the man who loveth Thee, and his friend in Thee, and his enemy for Thee. For he only loses none dear to him, to whom all are dear in Him who cannot be lost. And who is that but our God, the God that made heaven and earth, and filleth them, even by filling them creating them. And Thy law is truth, and the truth is Thyself. I behold how some things pass away that others may replace them, but Thou dost never depart, O God, my Father supremely good, Beauty of all things beautiful. To Thee will I intrust whatsoever I have received from Thee, so shall I lose nothing. Thou madest me for Thyself, and my heart is restless until it reposes in Thee. Amen.