Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On the Third Sunday of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (22:20---23:9) entitled "The law concerning aliens and the poor (The Book of the Covenant)". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on John by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth u...

On Saturday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (20:1-17) entitled "The Law is given on Mount Sanai". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on Flight from the World by Saint Ambrose, bishop. Saint Ambrose was born of a Roman family at Trier about the year 340. He studied at Rome and served in the imperial governm...

On Friday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (19:1-19; 20:18-21) entitled "The promise of the covenant and the revelation of the Lord on Mount Sinai)". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop. Saint Irenaeus was a late second century Greek bishop noted for his role in gui...

On Thursday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (18:13-27) entitled "The judges are appointed under Moses". Our treasure, which follows, is from the treatise on the psalms by Saint Hilary, bishop. Saint Hilary was a fourth century bishop of Poitiers, France and a Doctor of the Church. His name comes from the Latin word for...

On Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (17:1-16) entitled "The water from the rock. The war against Amaleh". Our treasure, which follows, is from the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop. Saint Irenaeus was a late second century Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian com...

On Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (16:1-18, 35) entitled "The manna in the desert". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth until he was converted to...

On Monday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (14:10-31) entitled "The crossing of the Red Sea". Our treasure, which follows, is from   the Catechesis by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop. Saint John Chrysostom was an important, fourth century, Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his...

On the Second Sunday of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (13:17---14:9) entitled "The crossing of the Red Sea". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been called "the Great". Saint Leo is known as one...

On Saturday of the First Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (12:37-49, 13:11-16) entitled "The Hebrews depart. The law of the Passover and of the firstborn". 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 C...

On Friday of the First Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (12:21-36) entitled "The plague inflicted on the firstborn". Our treasure, which follows, is from The Mirror of Love by Saint Aelred, abbot. Saint Aelred, a twelfth century English Cistercian monk, was a writer, historian, and outstanding abbot who influenced monasticism in medi...

On Thursday of the First Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (12:1-20) entitled "The Passover and the unleavened bread". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily by Saint Asterius of Amasea, bishop. Saint Asterius of Amasea, bishop and preacher , was born in Cappadocia in 350. Saint Asterius, having specialized in rhetoric and the...

On Wednesday of the First Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (10:21---11:10) entitled "The plague of darkness and the warning of the plague to be visited upon the firstborn". Our treasure, which follows, is from a demonstration by Aphraates, bishop. Among the early Syriac Christian authors, Aphraates, known as the "Persian Sage," stand...

On Tuesday of the First Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (6:29---7:25) entitled "The first plague sent upon Egypt". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr. Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and practice in the third century, especially in nor...

On Monday of the First Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (6:2-13) entitled "Another account of the call of Moses". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Gregory of Nazianzen, bishop. Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, was an early Roman Christian theologian and prelate who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 380 to 3...

On the First Sunday of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (5:1---6:1) entitled "The oppression of the people". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth until he was converted to the fai...

On Saturday after Ash Wednesday our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (3:1-20) entitled   "The call of Moses and the revelation of the Lord's name". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop. On Jan. 21, 2022, Pope Francis named a Saint Irenaeus as a Doctor of the Church. Although he has just now been n...

On Friday after Ash Wednesday our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (2:1-22; 18:4) entitled   "The birth and flight of Moses". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop. Saint John Chrysostom was an important, fourth century, Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preach...

On Thursday after Ash Wednesday our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of Exodus (1:1-22) entitled   "The oppression of Israel". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat, and was the first pope to have been called "the Great". Saint Leo is...

On Ash Wednesday our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (58:1-12) entitled "Concerning fasting that pleases God". Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope. Catholics celebrate Ash Wednesday as the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and repentance leading up to Easter, which...

Today, February 17, as our Church celebrates the optional Memorial of Seven Founders of the Order of Servites, we are first invited to reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Romans (12:1-21), entitled "The Christian life, spiritual worship". Our treasure, which follows, is from an account of the Servite Order. Of all the letters of Paul, that to the Christians at Rome has...

On Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of Proverbs (3:1-20) entitled "How one finds wisdom". 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 Cistercians in 1111 and later was chosen...

On Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of Proverbs (1:1-7, 20-23) entitled "An exhortation to choose wisdom". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the Diatessaron by Saint Ephrem, deacon. Saint Ephrem, also known as Ephrem of Syria, was born around the year 306 in the city of Nisibis (modern...

Today, February 14 th, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Cyril Monk and Methodius, Bishop, we are encouraged to reflect on a passage from the first letter of Saint Peter the apostle (5:1-11), entitled "The duties of pastors and laity". Our treasure, which follows, is from an Old Slavonic Life of Constantine. The first letter of Saint Peter begins with an address by Peter to Christian commun...

On Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians (5:1-25) entitled "The freedom of those who live by faith". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo became pope in the year 440. Saint Leo was a Roman aristocrat and was the first pope to have be...

On Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians (4:8-31) entitled "Our divine inheritance and the Freedom of the new covenant". Our treasure, which follows, is from an explanation of Paul's letter to the Galatians by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 35...