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Divine Office | The celebration of the Eucharist

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from the first apology in defense of the Christians by Saint Justin, martyr (ca. -165 A.D.). He was born 100 A.D., martyred 165 A.D., and is considered the first Christian lay apologist. He is also recognized by Catholics, Orthodox, and mainline Protestants as an apostolic Church Father. In his first of two apologies, St. Justin expounds on the Eucharist (from the Greek for "thanksgiving"), which, for the first 1,500 years of Christianity all Christians believed what the Catholic Church still believes today. He also touches on how the early Christians gathered together in the worship of God: "We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week ... and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead." Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, we must remember these words written by Saint Justin were not only written in the earliest 2nd century, but were written as a record from early Christianity; and they witness to how the earliest Church gathered in Jesus' name. These words should sound and feel very familiar to you because, even 2,000 years later, we witness to these apostolic traditions in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass, proclaimed in every Catholic Church, every hour of every day, around the globe. Thanks be to God! Saint Justin Martyr was a disciple of Saint Iraneaus, who was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, who was a disciple of Saint John the Apostle (the Gospel writer and author of the Book of Revelation and his New Testament letters), who was a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are disciples of such apostolic tradition - an unbroken line - who holds the truth of Jesus Christ, and worship today as the earliest Christians worshiped, as recorded by Saint Justin and others. For a reflection, "The celebration of the Eucharist," please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Justin Martyr

Born at the turn of the 2nd Century, studied in the pagan philosophy of the day, he became a bold witness of the Christian Faith and among the earliest Christian martyrs in history. St. Justin Martyr's rhetorical skills and writings are captured in his famous "Apologies," a defense of Christianity for a budding Church. He is the patron saint of speakers, apologists, and philosophers. For more about this saint please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Divine Office | I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from the Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Justin and his companion saints. Saint Justin Martyr (ca. -165 A.D.) was born at the beginning of the second century in Nablus, in Samaria, of a pagan Greek family. He was an earnest seeker after truth, and studied many systems of philosophy before being led, through Platonism, to Christianity. While remaining a layman, he accepted the duty of making the truth known, and travelled from place to place proclaiming the gospel. In 151 he traveled from Ephesus to Rome, where he opened a school of philosophy and wrote defenses and expositions of Christianity, which have survived to this day and are the earliest known writings of their kind. In the persecution of 165, in the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, he was denounced as a Christian, arrested and beheaded.    Justin treats the Greek philosophy that he studied as mostly true, but incomplete. In contrast to the Hebrew tendency to view God as making revelations to them and to no-one else, he follows the parable of the Sower, and sees God as sowing the seed of wisdom throughout the world, to grow wherever the soil would receive it. For a reflection, "I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians," please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Divine Office | The celebration of the Eucharist

In today's Office of Readings we encounter a reading from the first apology in defense of the Christians by Saint Justin, martyr (ca. -165 A.D.). He was born 100 A.D., martyred 165 A.D., and is considered the first Christian lay apologist. He is also recognized by Catholics, Orthodox, and mainline Protestants as an apostolic Church Father. In his first of two apologies, St. Justin expounds on the Eucharist (from the Greek for "thanksgiving"), which, for the first 1,500 years of Christianity all Christians believed what the Catholic Church still believes today. He also touches on how the early Christians gathered together in the worship of God: "We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week ... and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead." Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, we must remember these words written by Saint Justin were not only written in the earliest 2nd century, but were written as a record from early Christianity; and they witness to how the earliest Church gathered in Jesus' name. These words should sound and feel very familiar to you because, even 2,000 years later, we witness to these apostolic traditions in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass, proclaimed in every Catholic Church, every hour of every day, around the globe. Thanks be to God! Saint Justin Martyr was a disciple of Saint Iraneaus, who was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, who was a disciple of Saint John the Apostle (the Gospel writer and author of the Book of Revelation and his New Testament letters), who was a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are disciples of such apostolic tradition - an unbroken line - who holds the truth of Jesus Christ, and worship today as the earliest Christians worshiped, as recorded by Saint Justin and others. For a reflection on "the celebration of the Eucharist" please click on the image. Peace be with you!