Fr. Juan Rodrigo Vélez

On Holy Thursday, the Catholic Church remembers the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. On that same evening, Jesus gave a  Mandatum Novum (new commandment).  In the Middle Ages, this day became known as  Maundy Thursday from the word, mandatum. St. John Henry Newman teaches us the relationship between Faith and Love in a sermon which bears this title. 

War is a great tragedy. It brings with it death, illness and destruction of civil and religious life of countries, of families and institutions, with lasting religious, psychological and physical wounds and all types of impoverishment

Prayer, like faith and love, is a central theme of the spiritual life. In his sermon, “Moral Effects of Union with God,”  St. John Henry Newman gives a general description of prayer without prescribing a specific method. 

t. John Henry reflects on the uniqueness of the soul of each human created by God, and on doctrine of judgment after death.

Christians often think of public prayer held in the Church as a duty. This is the frame of mind many frequently have in the Church.

“I fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the Church.” Colossians i. 24.

On October 2, the Church honors the Guardian Angels, our protectors and our friends, those magnificent spiritual beings created by God before the creation of the world.

The danger of riches is so often mentioned in the Scriptures that we have become accustomed to this warning, and ignore it. This is the way in which St. John Henry Newman begins a sermon “The Danger of Riches,” first preached on the feast of St. Matthew in 1835.

The saints are God’s athletes. This is what the Church calls St. Dominic on his feast day. All men and women are called to be such saints, but some are given more grace and correspond more fully.

In the sermon “Human Responsibility” John Henry Newman deals with the question: “Does God choose to send some people to heaven and others to hell? And if so, do people have any say in the matter?” He opens with Jesus’ words, “To sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.” Matt. xx. 23.