Category Archives: Patristiblogging

Formerly NAPLAM – For Patristibloggers – blog posts concerning the Fathers of the Church

PODCAzT 44: St. Monica dies, Augustine weeps; Pope Benedict greets American seminarians

Today we hear from our frequent guest, St. Augustine of Hippo who speaks to us about the death of his mother, St. Monnica in 357 at Ostia, the port of Rome.  Augustine describes his mother’s life and death in Book … Read More

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St. Monica – avoided alcoholism

From Serge Lancel’s Augustine, the best biography I know of the great Bishop of Hippo (p. 8 ff – emphases mine): Before devoting himself entirely to Mother Church, as he approached the age of forty, Augustine had had a concubine … Read More

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27 August: St. Monica, widow – her tomb

This is the chapel in the church of St. Augustine in Rome (literally across the street from my back door) where the mortal remains of St. Monica (+387), the mother of Augustine of Hippo now rest.  To the right is … Read More

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Augustine on waiting for web pages to download

Have you ever felt like a webpage takes forever to download?? Did you know that St. Augustine reflected on waiting for web pages to download?  Well… sort of. Well… not really. He does, however, reflect on the concept of time … Read More

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PODCAzT 42: St. Augustine on St. Lawrence and how to be a Christian

Here is a fast, patristiblogger PODCAzT inspired by the second selection from today’s Office of Readings on this feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr in Rome. We hear St. Augustine of Hippo’s sermo 304, preached probably in Hippo Regius … Read More

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St. Ambrose on the martyrdom of St. Lawrence

St. Ambrose of Milan (+397) in his work De officiis ministrorum, echoing Cicero, spoke about martyrs. He lingers over the conversation between St. Pope Sixtus II (whose feast we had the other day) and his great deacon, the Spanish born … Read More

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St. Augustine on St. Lawrence, deacon

St. Augustine of Hippo preached various sermons on St. Lawrence. Here is one the bishop preached around A.D. 401.  It might not be quite what you expect, however!  It sure wasn’t what Augustine himself expected! Put yourself in the cathedral … Read More

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Patristic Rosary Project: 4th Luminous Mystery – Transfiguration

Some of you newcomers to WDTPRS might not know that I built up something called the Patristic Rosary Project.  When I looked at the Transfiguration, 4th of the Luminous Mysteries, here is what I provided: ____________ We continue our Patristic … Read More

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PODCAzT 40: Eusebius of Vercelli in exile; my column in The Wanderer about detractors of Summorum Pontificum

In today’s PODCAzT you will hear excerpts of a tender letter (ep. 2) from an exiled St. Eusebius of Vercelli to his flock. I have a rather longer selection of the Latin original this time. Also, I read my latest … Read More

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1 August: Feast of the Seven Maccabee brothers

I am sure you already know that today, in the new calendar, is the feast of St. Alphonsus Maria de’Liguori, the bishop and doctor of the Church so famous for his contributions to moral theology. However, today is also the … Read More

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