St. Jerome: to Mortify the World
“For fear of hell I have condemned myself to such a dungeon.”
St. Thomas on the Doctrine of Music
St. Jerome does not absolutely condemn singing, but reproves those who sing theatrically in church not in order to arouse devotion, but in order to show off, or to provoke pleasure.
The Harp of the Holy Spirit
Against the Gnostic heretics, who sowed errors everywhere by means of song.
Doctor of the Church on the Holy Psalter
What the impressive effect of the people, acclaiming in church the refrain of Psalm 118 (His mercy endures forever) produced in the lackeys of Arius.
The Man of God Loves and Converts Violent Heretics
Above: the sacrileges of heretics in the Catholic cathedral of Antwerp, 1566. The example that he has bequeathed to us, not only in his works but especially with his life, is ever timely and of lasting value. He teaches clearly that the apostolic ministry is effective and produces fruits of salvation in hearts only if…
St. Isidore and Mozarabic Chant
Photo: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede, Seville, Spain. Three hundred years ago yesterday, on April 25, 1722, the last of the Christian Fathers of antiquity was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Innocent XIII: St. Isidore of Seville. Seventeen years after his death in 636, he was recognized by the the 8th…
The Man of God Against the Iconoclasts
Illuminated manuscript (above): depiction of the Second Council of Nicaea from the Menologion of Basil II His teaching thus finds its place in the tradition of the universal Church, whose sacramental doctrine foresees that material elements taken from nature can become vehicles of grace by virtue of the invocation (epiclesis) of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by…
Rad Trads and the Jerusalem Doctor of the Church
His life is woven of two dimensions: on the one hand, pastoral care, and on the other, his involvement, in spite of himself, in the heated controversies that were then tormenting the Church of the East” (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 27 June, 2007). St. Cyril of Jerusalem Born: 315 Died: 386 Proclaimed a Doctor…
A True Papal Shepherd Once Reformed the Liturgy
The whole medieval period bears what may be called the Gregorian imprint; almost everything it had indeed came to it from the Pontiff – the rule of ecclesiastical government, the manifold phases of charity and philanthropy in its social institutions, the principles of the most perfect Christian asceticism and of monastic life, the arrangement of…
The Common Doctor of the Church is Uncommon in Seminaries
We so heartily approve the magnificent tribute of praise bestowed upon this most divine genius that We consider that Thomas should be called not only the Angelic, but also the Common or Universal Doctor of the Church; for the Church has adopted his philosophy for her own (Studiorum Ducem, 29 June, 1923, Pope Pius XI).…
The Saint Who Faced the First Pornocracy
Editor’s note: OnePeterFive is beginning a series in which we will discuss the lives and teachings of the Doctors of the Church, with the articles released on the feast day of each saint. Each of these saints help us with our current crisis by reminding us that God raises up the saints to deal with…