Category: Part 4: The Future

About the text: St. Aphrahat (c. 280–c. 345) lived in the Sasanian Empire, in what is today Iran. He lived most of his life as a monk and later in life wrote a series of Demonstrations. Here we present an excerpt from his twenty-second demonstration, wherein he reflects on the futility of wisdom and prestige in…

About the text: Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 125–c. 202) was the disciple of Polycarp, who was in turn the disciple of John the Apostle. As bishop of Lyons, he wrote five books against the Gnostic heresies, wherein he both refuted their errors and presented the truth of the Catholic Tradition. In the fifth book, he…

About the text: Marius Victorinus was an African rhetorician and philosopher who lived during in the mid-fourth century. While he spent most of his life as a pagan, he converted to Christianity in old age and continued to write in defence of the Nicene Creed’s use of “homoousios”—consubstantial. One of his extant works is a…

About the text: When John the Apostle was taken up into ecstasy while offering the Mass, he saw a vision of the New Jerusalem, that is, the Church, descending from heaven. The city is founded on the Apostles, is watered from the fount of living water, and is nourished from the fruit of the Cross,…

Boethius About the text: St. Boethius (c. 480–524) was a Roman senator and philosopher who was executed for his opposition to the Ostrogothic king. During his imprisonment awaiting execution, Boethius wrote his most famous work, the Consolation of Philosophy—a work that continues to have influence in Christian and non-Christian circles alike. The Consolation is a dialogue between himself…

About the text: In this chapter of his second letter, St. Peter reminds us that the Lord will return and for that we must be ready. It may seem that He is slow to come, but to God a thousand years are but a day; He waits to return so that we may have sufficient…

Thomas à Kempis About the text: Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471) was a canon regular—a priest living in community with other priests and following a rule—and a member of the Brethren of the Common Life, founded by Gerard de Groote in the Lowlands. Little is known of his life, but we have a number of…

About the text: In this passage, our Lord reminds to place our trust in Him. Just as he cares for the sparrows and the lilies, so He cares for us—and much more so! All that belongs to the Father He has given to us His children. Why should we be concerned about what we are…

Unlike the present and the past, both of which are set and we can know much about them, the future is uncertain and unknown. Indeed, there seems to be an infinite number of possible futures, though, certainly, there are far fewer probable futures. While we may have any number of plans for the future, we…