Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Deacon Richard Vehige
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Daily readings from one of the Fathers of the Church, Saints or Catholic official documents.

  1. 22h ago

    I am a Christian as well as a leader

    On Sunday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of book of the prophet Ezekiel (1:3-13, 22-28) entitled "The vision of God's glory in the land of exile". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon On Pastors by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He is perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. The legacy of Saint Augustine of Hippo is immense, shaping both Catholic theology and Western thought as a whole. He is best known for his profound writings—especially Confessions and City of God—which explore the human heart's restless search for God, the reality of sin and grace, and the meaning of history. In short, his legacy is that of a master teacher who showed that the journey to God is both deeply personal and firmly grounded in truth. Saint Augustine is a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His most important teachings shape not only Western theology but the entire intellectual tradition of the Church. His thought deeply influenced later figures such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and remains foundational in Catholic doctrine. He died in 430. The work commonly called "On Pastors" by Saint Augustine is a series of sermons, especially Sermon 46, On the Shepherds, where God condemns shepherds who feed themselves instead of caring for His flock. Its most significant teaching is that Christ alone is the true Good Shepherd; human pastors serve faithfully only when they love Christ's sheep as His own, seeking not themselves but the salvation of those entrusted to their care—and therefore genuine pastoral love sometimes requires both tender encouragement and courageous correction. Ezekiel was an Old Testament priest and prophet who ministered among the Jewish exiles in Babylon during the sixth century BC, beginning around 593 BC, after many people of Judah had been deported from Jerusalem. The central teaching of the Book of Ezekiel is that God is holy, each person is responsible for responding to Him with repentance and obedience, and God desires not the sinner's destruction but conversion and new life. God does not merely repair our external circumstances; He desires to transform us from within, replacing hearts hardened by sin with hearts capable of knowing, loving, and faithfully following Him. Taken together, these two readings teach that those called to serve God and lead His people must never forget that they themselves remain disciples who depend completely upon God's grace and must first listen to Him before speaking for Him. In our first reading from the opening of Ezekiel, the prophet is living among an exiled and discouraged people when he receives an overwhelming vision of God's glory, showing that God remains present, sovereign, and active even far from Jerusalem and amid suffering and apparent defeat; then, in our "treasure" from the beginning of On Pastors, Saint Augustine humbly distinguishes between being a Christian and being a bishop—being Christian is a grace shared with the people, while leadership is a serious responsibility exercised for their salvation. Together these readings teach that Christian leadership begins not with status or authority but with encountering God, recognizing our dependence upon Him, and humbly serving His people; the faithful shepherd does not lead others to himself but helps them recognize and follow the God who remains present and faithful even in times of suffering, uncertainty, and exile.

  2. 2d ago

    God will forgive no sin without the Church

    On Friday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of book of Lamentations (3:1-33) entitled "Hope in time of mourning". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Blessed Issac of Stella, abbot. Blessed Isaac of Stella (c. 1100–c. 1170) was a Cistercian abbot, theologian, and spiritual writer. He is best known for his sermons on the spiritual life and his profound teaching on the mystery of Christ and the Church, especially the union of Christ the Head with His members: what Christ possesses is meant to become visible in His Body, the Church. His example remains especially relevant because he reminds Christians that holiness is not primarily about religious knowledge or external accomplishment, but about allowing grace to transform us into Christ and make His love visible in our relationships with others. The Book of Lamentations is a collection of five poetic laments written in response to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC. It was written for the devastated people of Judah, helping them bring their grief, suffering, guilt, and confusion honestly before God after the loss of their city, Temple, homeland, and many of their people. Lamentations teach us how to suffer with faith: grieve honestly, acknowledge sin, turn back to God, wait patiently, and trust that suffering and destruction never have the final word because God's mercy remains. Taken together, today's two readings teach that even in the sorrow caused by sin, suffering, and loss, Christians have reason for hope because God's mercy remains faithful and Christ has entrusted His saving and reconciling work to His Church. In our first reading from Lamentations, a devastated people acknowledge their suffering yet discover that "the Lord's mercies are not exhausted" and therefore turn back to Him with repentance and hope; in our "treasure" from his sermon, Blessed Isaac of Stella explains that Christ and His Church are inseparably united as Head and Body, so that the forgiveness Christ won for sinners is ordinarily communicated through the ministry of His Church, especially the sacraments. Together these readings teach that sin and suffering should never lead us to despair but to conversion: we honestly acknowledge our failures, trust in God's inexhaustible mercy, and return to Christ, who through His Church offers forgiveness, healing, reconciliation, and the hope of restored communion with God.

  3. 3d ago

    If I should forget you Jerusalem

    On Thursday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of book of Lamentations (1:1-12, 18-20) entitled "Jerusalem abandoned". Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse on the psalms by Saint Bruno, priest. Saint Bruno (c. 1030–1101) was a German priest, scholar, and teacher who left a successful ecclesiastical career to seek God more completely through silence, solitude, prayer, simplicity, and contemplation, eventually founding the Carthusian Order in 1084 in the French Alps. He is honored as a saint because of his extraordinary holiness, humility, detachment, prayer, obedience, and wholehearted desire for union with God. For Catholics today, Bruno offers an especially important lesson in a noisy and distracted world: we do not necessarily need to become hermits, but we do need periods of silence and prayer in which we withdraw from distractions, listen to God, surrender our attachments, and allow Him to transform our hearts. The Book of Lamentations is a collection of five poetic laments written in response to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BC. It was written for the devastated people of Judah, helping them bring their grief, suffering, guilt, and confusion honestly before God after the loss of their city, Temple, homeland, and many of their people. Lamentations teach us how to suffer with faith: grieve honestly, acknowledge sin, turn back to God, wait patiently, and trust that suffering and destruction never have the final word because God's mercy remains. Taken together, these two readings teach that the loss of Jerusalem represents not only physical destruction and exile but the deeper tragedy of becoming separated from God through sin, while remembering Jerusalem expresses the heart's longing to return to communion with Him. In our first reading from the opening of Lamentations, Jerusalem sits abandoned and grieving after her destruction, revealing the painful consequences of Israel's unfaithfulness; in today's "treasure", in his discourse on the Psalms, Bruno of Cologne interprets the longing for Jerusalem spiritually, pointing beyond the earthly city toward the heavenly Jerusalem—our eternal homeland with God—which Christians must never allow worldly attractions, suffering, or distractions to make them forget. Together these readings teach that sin and attachment can lead us away from God and leave the heart spiritually empty, but suffering can awaken repentance and a renewed longing for Him; therefore, we should live in this world without making it our final home, keeping our hearts fixed on God and the eternal communion with Him for which we were created.

  4. 5d ago

    The old has passed away, all things are made new

    Today, as our Church celebrates the Feast of the Birth of Mary, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the book of Genisis (3:9-20) entitled "A judgement against the sinner and the promise of salvation". Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop. The Catholic Church celebrates today the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its traditional fixed date of September 8, nine months after the December 8 celebration of her Immaculate Conception as the child of Saints Joachim and Anne. The circumstances of the Virgin Mary's infancy and early life are not directly recorded in the Bible, but other documents and traditions describing the circumstances of her birth are cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church. Saint Andrew of Crete, also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was an eighth century bishop. His primary contribution to the teachings of the Catholic Church lies in his profound development of sacred hymnody as a vehicle for theology, most especially through the Great Canon. His contribution is not a new doctrinal formulation, but a powerful way of teaching and interiorizing doctrine—especially repentance and salvation—through liturgical prayer, shaping the spiritual life of the Church in a lasting way. Nine canons are assigned to him. The Catholic Church teaches that Genesis is the inspired Word of God and communicates real truths about God, humanity, sin, and salvation, but it need not be interpreted in every detail as a literal scientific or historical account. Catholics are called to believe its essential truths: God created everything; creation is good; human beings are uniquely made in God's image and created for communion with Him; humanity freely turned away from God through a primordial fall; and sin brought disorder and death into human existence. Taken together, these readings teach that although humanity's sin brought alienation, suffering, and death into God's good creation, God did not abandon His children but immediately began His plan to restore and renew them in Christ. In our first reading from Genesis, after Adam and Eve disobey God, He confronts them with the consequences of their sin, yet within the judgment appears the first promise of salvation—the offspring of the woman will ultimately triumph over the serpent and evil. Today's "treasure" from his discourse, Andrew of Crete sees the coming of the Virgin Mary, and ultimately the birth of Christ from her, as part of the fulfillment of that promise: through Christ, the damage caused by the Fall begins to be reversed and "the old has passed away; all things are made new." Together, therefore, the readings proclaim the great story of salvation: sin separates and destroys, but God seeks the sinner, promises a Redeemer, and through Jesus Christ offers humanity forgiveness, healing, transformation, and restoration to communion with Himself.

  5. 6d ago

    Those who love your law shall have abundant peace

    On Monday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (42: 1-16; 43: 4-7) entitled "Jeremiah and the people after the fall of the city". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo the Great (c. 400–461) was Pope from 440 to 461 and is one of only three popes honored with the title "the Great." A gifted theologian and courageous leader, he defended the true faith during a time of doctrinal controversy and political instability. His greatest contribution was clearly teaching that Jesus Christ is one divine Person with two complete natures, fully God and fully man. He is also remembered for strengthening the role of the papacy and, according to tradition, courageously persuading Attila the Hun not to attack Rome. Saint Leo is best known for his profound Christological teaching, his defense of the unity of the Church, and his eloquent sermons on the mysteries of Christ and the Christian life. In his Sermon on the Beatitudes, St. Leo the Great explains Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:1–9 to show Christians the path to true happiness and holiness. He presents Jesus as the new Moses, who gives the interior law of the New Covenant to heal and transform the human soul. His primary teaching is that lasting happiness comes not from wealth, power, or worldly success, but from becoming like Christ: humble and detached from possessions, sorrowful for sin, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure of heart, and committed to peace. The Beatitudes therefore describe both the graces God gives us and the Christlike people He calls us to become. Jeremiah was one of the great Old Testament prophets, called by God while still young to preach to the people of Judah during the turbulent decades leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC. His central teaching is that God desires more than outward religious practice—He wants our hearts: when His people turn away from Him and place their security in wealth, power, false gods, or human institutions, destruction follows, but God never abandons them; He continually calls them to repentance and promises forgiveness, restoration, and a transformed heart capable of truly knowing and loving Him. Taken together, these two readings teach that true peace comes from loving God's law, trusting His wisdom, and obeying Him even when His direction conflicts with our fears or personal desires. In our first reading Jeremiah gives the surviving people God's clear instruction to remain in Judah and trust His protection, but fear leads them to reject His word and flee to Egypt instead; in our "treasure" today from his sermon on the Beatitudes, Leo the Great teaches that the peace promised by Christ belongs to those whose hearts have been brought into harmony with God through love, obedience, and holiness. Together they teach that peace is not simply the absence of trouble or the security of controlling our circumstances; it is the interior peace that comes from surrendering our fears and our own plans to God, trusting His word, and faithfully doing His will—even when obedience seems difficult, uncertain, or contrary to what we think will make us secure.

  6. Sep 6

    Christian Wisdom

    On the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (37: 21; 38: 14-28) entitled "Jeremiah, while in prison, encourages Zedekiah to seek peace". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo the Great (c. 400–461) was Pope from 440 to 461 and is one of only three popes honored with the title "the Great." A gifted theologian and courageous leader, he defended the true faith during a time of doctrinal controversy and political instability. His greatest contribution was clearly teaching that Jesus Christ is one divine Person with two complete natures, fully God and fully man. He is also remembered for strengthening the role of the papacy and, according to tradition, courageously persuading Attila the Hun not to attack Rome. Saint Leo is best known for his profound Christological teaching, his defense of the unity of the Church, and his eloquent sermons on the mysteries of Christ and the Christian life. In his Sermon on the Beatitudes, St. Leo the Great explains Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:1–9 to show Christians the path to true happiness and holiness. He presents Jesus as the new Moses, who gives the interior law of the New Covenant to heal and transform the human soul. His primary teaching is that lasting happiness comes not from wealth, power, or worldly success, but from becoming like Christ: humble and detached from possessions, sorrowful for sin, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure of heart, and committed to peace. The Beatitudes therefore describe both the graces God gives us and the Christlike people He calls us to become. Jeremiah was one of the great Old Testament prophets, called by God while still young to preach to the people of Judah during the turbulent decades leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC. His central teaching is that God desires more than outward religious practice—He wants our hearts: when His people turn away from Him and place their security in wealth, power, false gods, or human institutions, destruction follows, but God never abandons them; He continually calls them to repentance and promises forgiveness, restoration, and a transformed heart capable of truly knowing and loving Him. Taken together, these two readings teach that true Christian wisdom is not simply knowing what is right but humbly accepting God's truth and having the courage to live according to it, especially when doing so is difficult or costly. In our first reading Jeremiah urges King Zedekiah to surrender to the Babylonians because obedience to God is the only path that can save Jerusalem and his own life, yet the king's fear of other people makes obedience difficult; in today's "treasure" from his sermon on the Beatitudes, Leo the Great teaches that Christian wisdom is found in the humility, mercy, purity of heart, hunger for righteousness, and peacemaking taught by Christ. Together they teach that the truly wise person does not allow pride, fear, worldly opinion, or self-interest to determine his choices, but listens to God with a humble heart, trusts His word, and acts upon it—even when obedience requires surrender, sacrifice, or a path very different from the one we would naturally choose.

  7. Sep 5

    The Church follows Christ, its only spouse

    Today, September 5th, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Teresa of Calcutta, Virgin, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the first letter of apostle Paul to the Corinthians (7: 25-40), entitled "Christian Chastity". Our "treasure" which follows is from the decree on the renewal of religious life of the Second Vatican Council. Mother Teresa (1910–1997), known in the Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was a Catholic religious sister who devoted her life to serving the poorest and most abandoned people of India and founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. She is best known for caring personally for the dying, homeless, sick, orphaned, and unwanted, seeing in each of them Jesus Christ Himself. Her special charism was to recognize and lovingly serve Christ in "the poorest of the poor," uniting deep prayer and devotion to the Eucharist with concrete acts of mercy—encountering Jesus in the Eucharist and then going out to encounter Him in suffering people. The Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life is a document of the Second Vatican Council addressing especially members of religious institutes and those responsible for their leadership and renewal, while offering principles important for the whole Church. Its primary purpose was to guide the renewal of religious life by calling religious communities simultaneously back to their deepest sources and forward to the needs of the modern world. Its central message is that authentic renewal begins with interior spiritual renewal—religious men and women must continually return to Christ, allow themselves to be transformed by Him, and through their consecrated lives become visible witnesses that God and His Kingdom are the ultimate treasure and destiny of the human person. The Letters of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians—First and Second Corinthians—were written around A.D. 53–57 to the Christian community Paul had founded in Corinth. Their primary teaching is that Christ must transform every dimension of Christian life. Together, the letters teach that belonging to Christ is not merely a matter of belief; through the Holy Spirit, Christians are called to become a new creation whose faith is visible in unity, holiness, sacrificial love, generosity, and care for one another. Taken together, these readings teach that Christian chastity, and especially consecrated celibacy or virginity, is not primarily a rejection of marriage but a wholehearted gift of oneself to Christ and a sign that He is our ultimate fulfillment and eternal destiny. In our first reading from Corinthians Saint Paul honors marriage while explaining that remaining unmarried for the Lord can permit a person to serve Him with a more undivided heart; similarly, our "treasure" from the Second Vatican Council's decree Perfectae Caritatis teaches that religious men and women embrace consecrated chastity because the Church belongs completely to Christ, her one true Spouse, and their lives visibly anticipate the life of the world to come. Together they teach that every Christian vocation—marriage, priesthood, religious life, or dedicated single life—ultimately calls us beyond possessiveness and self-centeredness toward an undivided love of God, while consecrated chastity bears a distinctive witness that no earthly relationship or possession can finally satisfy the human heart, because Christ Himself is our greatest treasure and our eternal fulfillment.

  8. Sep 4

    Blessed are the poor in spirit

    On Friday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Jerimiah (30: 18---31: 9) entitled "The promise of Israel's restoration". Our treasure, which follows, is a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope. Saint Leo the Great (c. 400–461) was Pope from 440 to 461 and is one of only three popes honored with the title "the Great." A gifted theologian and courageous leader, he defended the true faith during a time of doctrinal controversy and political instability. His greatest contribution was clearly teaching that Jesus Christ is one divine Person with two complete natures, fully God and fully man. He is also remembered for strengthening the role of the papacy and, according to tradition, courageously persuading Attila the Hun not to attack Rome. Saint Leo is best known for his profound Christological teaching, his defense of the unity of the Church, and his eloquent sermons on the mysteries of Christ and the Christian life. In his Sermon on the Beatitudes, St. Leo the Great explains Christ's teaching in Matthew 5:1–9 to show Christians the path to true happiness and holiness. He presents Jesus as the new Moses, who gives the interior law of the New Covenant to heal and transform the human soul. His primary teaching is that lasting happiness comes not from wealth, power, or worldly success, but from becoming like Christ: humble and detached from possessions, sorrowful for sin, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure of heart, and committed to peace. The Beatitudes therefore describe both the graces God gives us and the Christlike people He calls us to become. Jeremiah was one of the great Old Testament prophets, called by God while still young to preach to the people of Judah during the turbulent decades leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC. His central teaching is that God desires more than outward religious practice—He wants our hearts: when His people turn away from Him and place their security in wealth, power, false gods, or human institutions, destruction follows, but God never abandons them; He continually calls them to repentance and promises forgiveness, restoration, and a transformed heart capable of truly knowing and loving Him. Taken together, these readings teach that God restores and fills those who recognize their need for Him, place their trust in Him, and refuse to make earthly possessions or human strength their ultimate security. In today's "treasure" Jeremiah gives a suffering and exiled people God's promise that He will gather them, heal them, restore their community, and once again be their God; in the first reading, from his sermon on the Beatitudes, Leo the Great explains that being "poor in spirit" does not simply mean lacking material wealth, but possessing the humility and interior detachment that recognize everything as God's gift and place one's true treasure in Him. Together they teach that our deepest restoration begins when we surrender self-reliance and attachment, acknowledge our dependence upon God, and allow Him to become our greatest treasure; then even amid loss, suffering, or uncertainty, we can live with hope because God is faithfully leading His people toward the fullness of life and communion with Him.

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Daily readings from one of the Fathers of the Church, Saints or Catholic official documents.

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