“Annunciations are frequent; incarnations are rare.” – St. BasilGregory of Nanzianzus: He is also one of the four Great Greek Fathers and one of the three Cappadocian Fathers. He was a good friend of Basil and Archbishop of Constantinople. He was also influential in helping developing our Trinitarian theology and the theology concerning the nature of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who first used the idea that “the Spirit proceeds from the Father”. Gregory was also an ardent opponent of Arianism. His most well-known writings include two autobiographical poems, De Vita Sua and De Se Ipso, as well as many letters and sermons.
“Grace is given not to them who speak [their faith] but to those who live their faith.” – St. Gregory of NanzianzusAthanasius: He is the third of the four Great Greek Fathers and a contemporary of Basil and Gregory of Nanzianzus. He was Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, for 45 years. Athanasius was also an opponent of Arianism and attended the First Council of Nicaea as a deacon, assisting his bishop. After his death, Gregory of Nanzianzus hailed him as a “Pillar of the Church”. He was also the first person to identify the 27 books of the New Testament that we still use today. Among his writings are Against the Heathens, The Incarnation of the Word of God, Life of Antony, Discourse on Virginity, and Love and Self Control. Many of his letters and treatises also still exist, including his Letters to Serapion and his Epistle to Marcellinus.
“Christ was made man that we might be made God.” – St. AthanasiusBonaventure: He was a Franciscan and Cardinal Bishop of Albano who lived in the 13th century. He was a student together with Thomas Aquinas in Paris and is known as the Seraphic Doctor. Bonaventure’s contributions at the Second Council of Lyon led to a union of the Greek and Latin Churches. He made numerous contributions to theology and philosophy, namely in the areas of faith and reason, teaching that the goal of all the arts and sciences is the direct contemplation of God. Among his writings are Commentary on the Sentences of Lombard, Journey of the Soul into God, Reduction of the Arts to Theology, The Life of Christ, The Tree of Life, and The Life of St. Francis.
Let meditation of Christ's life be your one and only aim, your rest, your food, your desire, your study." – St. BonaventureAnselm: Known as the Magnificent Doctor and the Marian Doctor, he was a Benedictine monk and the Archbishop of Canterbury between 1093 and 1109. He is known as the “father of scholasticism”. His theology can be summarized with the phrase “faith seeking understanding”. Among his writings are A Monologue on the Reason for Faith, An Address on God’s Existence, Cur Deus Homo, On the Virgin Conception and Original Sin, and his dialogues: De Grammatico, De Veritate, De Libertate Arbirtrii, and On the Devil’s Fall.
“For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe-that unless I believe I shall not understand.” – St. AnselmIsidore of Seville: He was the Archbishop of Seville, Spain, between 600 and 636. He eradicated Arianism and presided over the second and third Councils of Seville and the Fourth Council of Toledo. He established a seminary in every diocese in Spain and made sure that the arts and medicine were taught in seminaries. His most famous work, Etymologiae, is an encyclopedia of the universal knowledge of the time. He wrote many books on various topics ranging from grammar, geography, astronomy, mathematics, history, scripture, and monasticism. Among them, Chronica Majora, On the Nature of Things, De Differentiis Verborum, Questions on the Old Testament, On the Origin and Death of the Fathers, and On Church Duties.
"If a man wants to be always in God's company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray, we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us." – Isidore of SevilleCome back next week, as we continue looking at the Doctors of the Church, including Bernard de Clairvaux and Alphonsus Liguori.
Deacon Pedro explores the ins and outs of a modern Conclave, and asks, "Where is the Holy Spirit in all this?"
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In his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis continued this cycle of catechesis on "Jesus Christ our Hope," as part of the Jubilee 2025. This week he reflected on the Magnificat, the Virgin Mary's Song of Praise after she is greeted by her cousin Elizabeth.
Reflecting on the vision given to St. Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew, Pope Francis said that "He dreams of the miracle that God fulfils in Mary’s life, and also the miracle that he works in his own life: to take on a fatherhood capable of guarding, protecting, and passing on a material and spiritual inheritance."