Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Thursday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to   read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of book of Lamentations (1:1-12, 18-20) entitled   "Jerusalem abandoned". Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse on the psalms by Saint Bruno, priest. Saint Bruno, was the founder of the Carthusians. He personally founded the order's first two communities.  Sa...

On Wednesday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Habakkuk (2:5-20) entitled   "Curses against the oppressors". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Bernard, abbot. Bernard of Clairvaux, venerated as Saint Bernard, was an early eleventh century abbot ,  mystic , co-founder of the  Knights Tem...

On Tuesday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and   reflect on a passage from the beginning of book of the prophet Habakkuk (1:1—2:4a) entitled   "A prayer in time of desolation". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Bernard, abbot. Bernard of Clairvaux, venerated as Saint Bernard, was an early eleventh century abbot ,  mystic , co-founder of...

Today, as our Church celebrates the Feast of the Birt of Mary, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the book of Genisis (3:9-20) entitled "A judgement against the sinner and the promise of salvation". Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop. The Catholic Church celebrates today the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its t...

On the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (37: 21; 38: 14-28) entitled   "Jeremiah, while in prison, encourages Zedekiah to seek peace". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristoc...

On Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (31: 15-22, 27-34) entitled   "A foretelling of salvation and the new covenant". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and...

On Friday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (30: 18---31: 9) entitled   "The promise of Israel's restoration". Our treasure, which follows, is a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first p...

On Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (29: 1-14) entitled   "Jerimiah's letter to Israel's exiles". Our treasure, which follows, is from the beginning of a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat,...

Today, September 3, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Sirach (39: 1-10), entitled "The wisdom of a man who is learned in the Scriptures". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily on Ezekiel by Saint Gregory the Great, pope. Saint Gregory was born at Rome around the year 540 is cer...

On Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and   reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (20: 7-18) entitled   "The prophet's anxieties". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Imitation of Christ. The Imitation of Christ , a deeply spiritual book by Thomas à Kempis which speaks often of humility, suffering for Christ, prayer, pur...

On Monday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and   reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (19: 1-5, 10—20:6) entitled   "A symbolic action: the broken flask". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Imitation of Christ. The Imitation of Christ , a deeply spiritual book by Thomas à Kempis which speaks often of humility, suffering for...

On the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and   reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (11: 18-20; 12: 1-13) entitled   "A prophet speaks from the heart". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth unt...

On Saturday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (7: 1-20) entitled   "A prophecy about the empty trust that is placed in the temple". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily on Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop. Saint John Chrysostom was an important, fourth century, Early Church F...

Today, August 29, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of the Beheading of John the Baptist, Martyr, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the second letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians (4: 7---5:8), entitled "The power of Christ is made manifest in our sufferings". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable, priest. Herod imprisoned J...

Today, August 28, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Augustine, Bishop and Doctor, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Sirach (39: 4-10), entitled "The wisdom of a man who is learned in the Scriptures". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Confessions of Saint Augustine, Bishop. A Bishop in Hippo (near modern-day Annaba, Algeria), Augustine was an influ...

Today, August 27, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Monica, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the first letter of the apostle Peter (3: 1-6, 8-17), entitled "Praise Christ in your hearts". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Confessions of Saint Augustine, Bishop. Saint Augustine was a late fourth century, theologian and philosopher, and Bishop of Hippo, Roman...

On Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and   reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of the prophet Jeremiah (1:) entitled "The call of the prophet Jeremiah". Our treasure, -which follows, is from a homily by Saint John Chrysostom. Saint John Chrysostom was an important, fourth century, Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Co...

Today, August 25, as our local Church celebrates the Solemnity of Louis, the patron saint of our Archdiocese, we are invited to read and reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul, to the Colossians (3:1–17), entitled "Your life is hidden with Christ in God". Our treasure, which follows, is from a spiritual testament to his son by St. Louis. St. Louis got its name  from Pierre Laclèd...

On the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of the prophet Zephaniah (1:1-7, 14---2:3) entitled   "The judgement of the Lord". Our treasure, which follows, is from the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council. Gaudium et spes  ("Joys and Hopes"), the Pastoral Constitut...

On Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (37:21-35) entitled   "Isaiah prophesies about the Assyrian king". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Explanations of the Psalms by Saint Ambrose, bishop. Saint Ambrose was born of a Roman family at Trier about the year 340. He studied at Rome and serv...

Today, August 22, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary we are invited to read and reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians (3:22 – – 4:7), entitled "Through faith we are the sons and heirs of God". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily by Saint Amadeus of Lausanne, Bishop. Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. Having declar...

On Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (11:1-16) entitled   "The root of Jesse and the return of the remnant of God's people". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise On the Hail Mary by Baldwin of Canterbury, bishop. Baldwin of Forde was  Archbishop of Canterbury  between 1185 and 1190....

Today, August 20, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Bernard, Abbot and Doctor, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Sirach (39:1-10), entitled "The wisdom of the man learned in Scriptures". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot. Saint Bernard was born in 1090 near Dijon in France. After a religious upbringing, he joined the C...

  Today, August 19, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of John Eudes, Priest, we are invited to reflect on a passage from Saint Paul's letter to the Philippians (3:7---4:1, 4-9), entitled "Rejoice in the Lord always". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on the admirable Heart of Jesus, by Saint John Eudes, priest. St. John Eudes was born in the diocese of Seez in France in the year...

On Monday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and   reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (3:1-15) entitled   "The prophet rebukes Jerusalem". Our treasure, which follows, is from the Moral Reflections on Job by Saint Gregory the Great, bishop. Doctor of the Church ; born at  Rome  about 540; died 12 March 604. Saint Gregory is certainly one of t...