Divine Office | As the father sent me, so I am sending you

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from a commentary on the gospel of John by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (370-444 A.D.). Cyril entered a monastery, became a priest and in 412 succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Alexandria. Alexandria was the largest city in the ancient world. Rather like Los Angeles, it was a sprawling mixture of races and creeds; and it was a byword for the violence of its sectarian politics, whether of Greeks against Jews or of orthodox Christians against heretics. He fought strongly against the teachings of Nestorius and took the lead at the Council of Ephesus, plunging into the turbulent politics of the time and defending the Catholic faith through to its ultimate victory. Cyril wrote many works to explain and defend the Catholic faith. For a reflection, "As the father sent me, so I am sending you," please click on the image. Peace be with you!

Divine Office | My name is great among the nations

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from a commentary on Haggai by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (370-444 A.D.). Cyril entered a monastery, became a priest and in 412 succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Alexandria. Alexandria was the largest city in the ancient world. Rather like Los Angeles, it was a sprawling mixture of races and creeds; and it was a byword for the violence of its sectarian politics, whether of Greeks against Jews or of orthodox Christians against heretics. He fought strongly against the teachings of Nestorius and took the lead at the Council of Ephesus, plunging into the turbulent politics of the time and defending the Catholic faith through to its ultimate victory. Cyril wrote many works to explain and defend the Catholic faith. For a reflection, "My name is great among the nations," please click on the image. Peace be with you!

Saints Alive! | St. Cyril of Alexandria

Cyril succeeded his uncle in the See of Alexandria in 412. Nestorius, his counterpart in Constantinople, was preaching sermons in which he called Mary the “Christ-bearer” rather than the traditional title “God-bearer” (Theotokos). Cyril responded to Nestorius by explaining the danger of the term “Christ-bearer”: it divided the human and the divine in the person of Christ, threatening the meaning of the Incarnation, God-become-man. Cyril’s assessment was confirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Revered in the East as the “guardian of exactitude,” Cyril was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1882 (credit Magnificat.net).

For more about this great saint, and for an excerpt of one of his writings of Orthodox teaching, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

Divine Office | If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from a commentary on the gospel of John by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (370-444 A.D.). Cyril entered a monastery, became a priest and in 412 succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Alexandria. Alexandria was the largest city in the ancient world. Rather like Los Angeles, it was a sprawling mixture of races and creeds; and it was a byword for the violence of its sectarian politics, whether of Greeks against Jews or of orthodox Christians against heretics. He fought strongly against the teachings of Nestorius and took the lead at the Council of Ephesus, plunging into the turbulent politics of the time and defending the Catholic faith through to its ultimate victory. Cyril wrote many works to explain and defend the Catholic faith. For a reflection, "If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you," please click on the image. Peace be with you!

Divine Office | What binds us together is Christ

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from a commentary on the gospel of John by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (370-444 A.D.). Cyril entered a monastery, became a priest and in 412 succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Alexandria. Alexandria was the largest city in the ancient world. Rather like Los Angeles, it was a sprawling mixture of races and creeds; and it was a byword for the violence of its sectarian politics, whether of Greeks against Jews or of orthodox Christians against heretics. He fought strongly against the teachings of Nestorius and took the lead at the Council of Ephesus, plunging into the turbulent politics of the time and defending the Catholic faith through to its ultimate victory. Cyril wrote many works to explain and defend the Catholic faith. For a reflection, "What binds us together is Christ," please click on the image. Peace be with you!