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January 2, 2017 Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church Reading 1 1 Jn 2:22-28 Beloved:Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well. Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you,then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise...

From Vatican Radio:  Pope Francis has declared Armenian poet and monk, Saint Gregory of Narek, a Doctor of the Universal Church.  Meeting with Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints on Saturday ahead of his departure for Aricca on Lenten retreat, the Pope confirmed the proposal put forward by the Plenary Session of the Congregation to confer the title of Doctor of the Universal Church on the 10th century saint.St. Gregory of Narek is widely revered as one of the greatest figures of medieval Armenian religious thought and literature. Born in the city of Narek in...

ST LEO THE GREAT IS THE FIRST BORN POPE DOCTOR. HIS GREATNESS IS EVIDENT FROM HIS ROLES AS PEACEMAKER AMIDST TERROR, UNIFIER AMIDST CONTROVERSY AND PASTORAL CONCERN AMIDST WAR, DISEASES AND FAMINE. FOR TWO DECADES DURING HIS PONTIFICATE THE POWER OF TERRORISTS AND HELL ATTACKED AND PLUNDERED ROME AND ITS CITIZENS. LEO BELIEVED AND TRUSTED IN GOD THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF ST PETER, THE ROCK OF THE CHURCH, AND JESUS CHRIST. IT WAS HE WHO GAVE PETER AND HIS SUCCESSORS THAT POWER OVER ALL MORTALS WHO WOULD CHALLENGE HIS CHURCH ON EARTH. IN ADDITION TO WRITING, LEADING AND EXEMPLYING...

July 15, 2005Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the Church Psalm: Friday 31 Reading IEx 11:10—12:14 Although Moses and Aaron performed various wondersin Pharaoh's presence,the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate,and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,"This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;you shall reckon it the first month of the year.Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this monthevery one of your families must procure for itself a lamb,one apiece for each household.If a family is...

  ATHANASIUS Also known asAthanasius of Egypt; Athanasius the Great; Champion of Christ's Divinity; Champion of Orthodoxy; Father of Orthodoxy; Greek Doctor of the Church; Holy Hierarch; Pillar of the Church Memorial2 MayProfileStudied the classics and theology in Alexandria. Deacon and secretary to bishop Alexander of Alexandria. Attended the Council of Nicea in 325 where he fought for the defeat of Arianism and acceptance of the divinity of Jesus. Formulated the doctrine of homo-ousianism which says that Christ is the same substance as the Father; Arianism taught that Christ was different from and a creation of the Father, a...

St. Catherine of Siena by Mary Ann Sullivan St. Catherine of Siena deliberately told popes, queens and kings how to behave. She was spontaneous, unafraid of authority and fearless in the face of death. She was a Dominican religious who corresponded with Popes and peasants alike. Born in 1347, at Siena, Italy, Saint Catherine lived through the Black Death, famine and numerous civil wars. During her lifetime the papal residence moved from Rome to Avignon and back again, and the great western Schism pitted Pope against anti-pope. Even at a young age, Catherine sensed the troubled society around her and...

SAINT ANSELM OF CANTERBURY; ARCHBISHOP, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH—1033-1109 A.D. Feast: April 21 If William the Conqueror in 1066[1] deprived the English nation of its liberty and of many of its possessions, he was responsible also for bringing into England from various parts of Europe eminent men who were to serve the country well as leaders in church and state. Among the great churchmen were the two archbishops of Canterbury, Lanfranc[2] and his successor, St. Anselm. The latter was born about the year 1033 of noble parents at Aosta, in northern Italy. Under the influence of a pious mother,...