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The Catholic Book Blogger

Mike Aquilina

Select a Category A Year with Mary A Year with the Angels A Year with the Church Fathers Book News Children's Review Featured CD Giveaway Guest Post Interview Linked Review Media review Movie Review New Releases Off the Shelf Review speakers Teen Review The Clergy Speaks The Laity Speaks The Open Book Podcast Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

January 2018

January 01, 2018

Let your life match your words; Church Fathers: Day 160

Palladius of Galatia tells us what he heard from two wise desert monks. No matter...

December 2017

December 31, 2017

Show your enthusiasm for God; Church Fathers: Day 159

People go wild for shows and sports, says St. Basil, and waste all their time...

December 29, 2017

Think about what your entertainment is teaching; Church Fathers: Day 158

Just as in our own time, the ancient Roman public flocked to lowbrow enter­tainment full...

December 28, 2017

Be Christian in your entertainment; Church Fathers: Day 157

The pagans, says Tertullian, behave one way in real life and a completely dif­ferent way...

December 27, 2017

Hate only evil; Church Fathers: Day 156

There is only one thing we’re allowed to hate, says St. Gregory of Nyssa, and...

December 26, 2017

Only you can hurt your own salvation; Church Fathers: Day 155

No one can take salvation away from you, but you can reject it, says St....

December 25, 2017

Don’t give an opening to rumor; Church Fathers: Day 154

Living properly isn’t always enough, St. Basil tells a bishop who had been the victim...

December 24, 2017

Give praise instead of blasphemy; Church Fathers: Day 153

I can’t help it,” we often say when we’ve cursed and used bad language. St....

December 23, 2017

Ignore insults and keep silent; Church Fathers: Day 152

Is someone abusing or insulting you? Best to keep silent, says St. Ambrose. You will...

December 22, 2017

Don’t return insult for insult; Church Fathers: Day 151

The devil tempts us to snap back when someone insults us, says St. Ambrose. Or,...

December 21, 2017

Run away from mockery; Church Fathers: Day 150

Making fun of people makes us like Satan, says St. Ephrem the Syrian. Not only...

December 20, 2017

Don’t even listen to slander; Church Fathers: Day 149

The visionary Shepherd of Hermas was a very influential book in early Christian times. Here...

December 19, 2017

Learn to tell good jokes from bad; Church Fathers: Day 148

It’s quite reasonable to joke about people when you know it will actually make them...

December 18, 2017

Always avoid insults; Church Fathers: Day 147

Watch what you say to the people around you, says St. Clement of Alexandria. A...

December 17, 2017

Lying is always a sin; Church Fathers: Day 146

We often think a lie is good, or at least harmless, if it brings some...

December 15, 2017

Keep silent until the right moment; Church Fathers: Day 144

St. Ambrose, one of the great thinkers in Christian history, weighed his words carefully. When...

December 14, 2017

Think before you speak; Church Fathers: Day 143

It’s easy to get carried away when we start talking, says St. John Chrysostom. We...

December 13, 2017

Train your tongue to serve righteousness; Church Fathers: Day 142

What we say can be as important as what we do. St. John Chrysostom reminds...

December 12, 2017

Be Christian in your conversation; Church Fathers: Day 141

The things we say even in casual conversation can have profound effects on the people...

December 11, 2017

Live and talk like a Christian; Church Fathers: Day 140

In his letter “On the Perfection of the Life of Solitaries,” St. Basil gives advice...

December 10, 2017

Hear the silence of Jesus; Church Fathers: Day 139

Jesus left us many sayings, commandments, and sermons. But he also taught us by doing....

December 09, 2017

Live a life worthy of your baptism; Church Fathers: Day 138

Can people tell that you’re a Christian? St. John Chrysostom says we should live lives...

December 08, 2017

God’s mercy works through us; Church Fathers: Day 137

Babies are born into the world helpless, completely dependent on the people who take care...

December 07, 2017

Don’t blame God for what bad people do; Church Fathers: Day 136

God gave us free will, and we often misuse it. When Christians are persecuted, says...

December 06, 2017

See the big picture; Church Fathers: Day 135

In the natural world, things grow, die, and decay. Is God’s creation imperfect, then? No,...

December 05, 2017

Everything in good order; Church Fathers: Day 134

St. Clement of Rome tells us that we’re all different for a reason. Not everyone...

December 04, 2017

Don’t try to limit God; Church Fathers: Day 133

God is always beyond the grasp of our reason, as St. Hilary of Poitiers tells...

December 02, 2017

Loss is only temporary; Church Fathers: Day 131

This isn’t the sort of thing we usually hear at a funeral these days, but...

December 01, 2017

Work through your grief; Church Fathers: Day 130

To a congregation that had lost its pastor, St. Basil sends his condolences. Grief is...

November 2017

November 30, 2017

Beware of depression; Church Fathers: Day 129

Are you feeling gloomy? That’s good if it leads you to repent your sins, says...

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