We know that later on the apostles also [sang psalms and hymns], since not even in prison did they cease to sing. So, too, Paul speaks to the prophets of the church: "When you come together, each of you has a hymn, has an instruction, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." And again, in another…

The sin of one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is unpardonable. Compare with this judgment what is said in the book of Kings [Samuel]: "If one man shall sin against the Lord, who shall pray for him?" Thus, it is one and the same sin whether we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit or against God, and it is inexpiable. Hence, the nature of the Holy…

Surely it ought not to seem heavy or difficult, not even for a fragile body, to reserve a part of the week, the two nights of Saturday and Sunday, for the divine office. For with these two we can sanctify, so to speak, all the other five days or nights passed in the heavy sleep of the flesh and in the mud of mundane works. Nor should anyone blush at…

Moses again, when about to depart from this life, sang a fear-inspiring canticle in Deuteronomy. He left the song as a sort of testament to the people of Israel, to teach them the kind of funeral they should expect, if ever they abandoned God.

We must believe both his passion according to the flesh and his impassibility inasmuch as he was God.… Let us confess our oneness with Christ, lest we be separated from him. In the words of the apostle, "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him."

Praise issuing from a pure conscience delights the Lord, and so the same psalmist exhorts us, "Praise ye the Lord because a psalm is good; to our God be joyful and comely praise." With this in mind, aware of how pleasing to God is this ministry, the psalmist again declares, "Seven times a day I have given praise to you." To this he adds a further promise:…

How could anyone be silent in regard to the divine authority of the Holy Spirit? The ancient prophets cried out, "These things say the Lord." When Christ came, he also used this word "say" in his own person, "But I say unto you." Listen now to what the prophets of the New Testament proclaim. Take the prophet Agabus in the Acts of the Apostles, "Thus says…

If he is the Spirit of adoption and makes men sons of God, how can he be considered a slave, since no slave can legitimately make another free?

The more I meditate on the mind of the saints, the more I am reminded of something that is high and hard and beyond the powers of human nature. Call to mind what the same psalmist [David] has said: "If I shall go up into the bed wherein I lie; if I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids or rest to my temples; until I find out a place for…

Meditation during the day is, of course, good, but that at night is better. During the day, there is the clamor of our many cares, the mental distraction of our occupations. A double preoccupation divides our attention. The quiet and solitude of the night make it a favorable time for prayer and most suitable for those who watch. With worldly occupations…

"He ascended into heaven," from where he had descended. "No man has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven." "He sits at the right hand of the Father," according to what was said to David, typifying God the Father speaking to his Son: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." "Thence…

It can be proved, too, that just as the Father is good and the Son is good, so the Holy Spirit is good. Of the Father, the Only-Begotten speaks in the Gospel: "One there is who is good, that is God." Of himself he says, "I am the good Shepherd." So, too, of the Holy Spirit, David in his psalms says to the Lord, "Your good spirit shall lead me into the…