Bl. John Paul II, Tertio Millenio Adveniente

Going in search of man through his Son, God wishes to persuade man to abandon the paths of evil which lead him farther and farther afield. "Making him abandon" those paths means making man understand that he is taking the wrong path; it means overcoming the evil which is everywhere found in human history.…  » More

Pseudo-Macarius

Ever since the Fall, the soil of our heart bears thorns and thistles. Man works and exerts himself, but still the thorns of the evil spirits spring up. Then the Holy Spirit himself takes human weakness in hand, and the Lord scatters heavenly seed into the soil of the heart and cultivates it. Even if this seed fails where it should,…  » More

St. Athanasius, from Against the Arians, III.20

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa III, 73, 5

The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the "dispensation of the mystery" the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy…  » More

Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1076

The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the "dispensation of the mystery" the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy…  » More

NOTE:  In most dioceses in the United States, Ascension Thursday is celebrated on the following Sunday (the Seventh Sunday of Easter).  In only a few Dioceses, Ascension Thursday retains its traditional place on the fourtieth day after Easter.  The sketchbook below is prepared with Ascension Thursday (Sunday) in mind.

Pope Benedict XVI, Regina Coeli…  » More

BENEDICT XVI

"In the Acts of the Apostles one reads that the deacon Philip brought the Gospel to a city of Samaria; the people enthusiastically adhered to his teaching, also seeing the wondrous signs that he worked for the sick: "So there was much joy in that city" (8: 8). This is the sense of the Church's mission and in particular of priests: to…  » More

Preacher's Sketchbook 

St. Irenaeus, Against the Heresies

Just as those who see the light are in the light and share in its brightness, so those who see God are in God and receive His splendor. Now the splendor of God gives life; those who see God, therefore, receive life. That is why He who is uncontainable and incomprehensible and invisible presented…  » More