“Give us this day our daily bread” may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. Just as we say, “Our Fr.” because He is the Fr. of those who understand and believe; we also call it “our bread,” because Christ is the – …

The following is excerpt from St. John Chrysostom’s Homily 87 on the Commentary on John found in Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, s. 1, v. 14, edited and published in Treasures of the Fathers Volume 4: The Holy Fifty Days, pp. 47-51. "…24Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, – …

“THE FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH” by Saint Augustine Sermon 80 (on John 6:9), NPNF, s. 1, v. 6, p. 1075. It was a great miracle that was wrought, dearly beloved, for five thousand men to be filled with five loaves and two fishes, and the remnants of the fragments to fill twelve baskets. A great miracle: but we shall not wonder much at what was done, if we give heed to Him That did – …

The Light of this World Again My Jesus, and again a mystery; not deceitful nor disorderly, nor belonging to Greek error or drunkenness (for so I call their solemnities, and so I think will every man of sound sense); but a mystery lofty and divine, and allied to the Glory above. For the Holy Day of the Lights, to which we have come, and which we are celebrating today, has for its origin the Baptism – …

I. BACKGROUND A. The Empire Theodosius the Great died in 395. His two sons replaced him: Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West. In the West, the Germanic tribes invaded the Western Empire and established a new kingdom. They applied their primitive, barbarian customs instead of the Roman law and most of them were Arians. Emperor Honorius lost his control of the Empire and lived in North Italy. The Visigoths defeated the Roman – …

“The Blessings of Egypt” By Saint Gregory the Theologian I will address myself as is right to those who have come from Egypt; for they have come here eagerly, having overcome ill will by zeal, from that Egypt which is enriched by the River, raining out of the earth, and like the sea in its season, — if I too may follow in my small measure those who have so eloquently spoken of these matters; – …

Now we find that three dead persons were raised by the Lord "visibly," thousands "invisibly." No, who knows even how many dead He raised visibly? For all the things that He did are not written. John tells us this, "Many other things Jesus did, the which if they should be written, I suppose that the whole world could not contain the books." So then there were without doubt many others raised: but it is not – …

+ Today the Lord is born, the life and salvation of mankind; today a reconciliation is made of Divinity to humanity, and of humanity to Divinity; today all creation has leapt for joy; those above sent toward those below; and those below towards those above; today occurred the death of darkness and the life of humanity; today a way was made toward God for man and a way for God into the soul. – Saint – …

"The Grace of God" by Saint Athanasius And that young man who went into a far country, and there wasted his substance, living in dissipation, if he receive a desire for this divine feast, and, coming to himself, shall say, ‘How many hired servants of my father have bread to spare, while I perish here with hunger!’ and shall next arise and come to his father, and confess to him, saying, ‘I have sinned against – …

Commentary on John, §18, ANF, v. 10; Treasures of the Fathers, v. 3. Now Jesus is the Word of God which goes into the soul that is called Jerusalem, riding on the donkey freed by the disciples from its bonds. That is to say, on the simple language of the Old Testament, interpreted by the two disciples who loose it: in the first place him who applies what is written to the service of the – …

The great cannot exist without the small, nor the small without the great. There is a certain mixing together in all things, and usefulness in such. Let us take our body. The head without the feet is not anything, neither are the feet without the head. For the most insignificant parts of our body are necessary and useful to the whole of the body. But all work together and employ a single state of submission – …

By the love which the saints show for God on account of the things they suffer for His name’s sake (when they endure straitness and do not forsake that which God loves), their hearts acquire the boldness to gaze toward Him without a veil and to beseech Him with confidence. Great is the power of bold prayer. For this reason God allows His saints to be tried by every sorrow, then to experience anew and – …