As true today as it was then.

Timeless writings of the Church Fathers, which are as true today as they were on the day they were written.

"The Church, instituted by the Lord and confirmed by the Apostles, is one for all men; but the frantic folly of the diverse impious acts sects has cut them off from her. It cannot be denied that this tearing asunder of the faith has arisen from the defect of poor intelligence, which twists what is read to conform to its opinion, instead of adjusting its opinion to the meaning of what is read. However, while individual parties fight among themselves, the Church stands revealed not only by her own doctrines, but by those also of her adversaries. And although they are all arranged against her, she confutes the most wicked error which they all share, by the very fact that she is alone and One. All the heretics, therefore, come against the Church; but while all the heretics can conquer each other, they can win nothing for themselves. For their victory is the triumph of the Church over all of them. One heresy struggles against that teaching of another, which the faith of the Church has already condemned in the other heresy, - for there is nothing which the heretics hold in common, and the result is that they affirm our faith while fighting among themselves."

Saint Hilary of Poitiers... The Trinity, 7:4, Jurgens 865, 356 A.D.

"When, therefore, we have such proofs, it is not necessary to seek among others the truth which is easily obtained from the Church. For the Apostles, like a rich man in a bank, deposited with her most copiously everything which pertains to the truth; and everyone whosoever wishes draws from
her the drink of life."

Saint Irenaeus... Against Heresies, 3:4:1, Jurgens 213, 180 A.D.


"This Church is holy, the one Church, the true Church, the Catholic Church, fighting as she does against all heresies. She can fight, but she cannot be beaten. All heresies are expelled from her, like the useless loppings pruned from a vine. She remains fixed in her root, in her vine, in her love. The gates of hell shall not conquer her."

Saint Augustine of Hippo... Sermon to Catechumens, on the Creed, 6:14,
Jurgens 1535, 395 A.D.

"If you want GOD to forgive, you must confess. Sin cannot go unpunished. It were seemingly, improper, and unjust for sin to go unpunished. Since, therefore, sin must not go unpunished, let it be punished by you, lest you be punished for it. Let your sin have you for its judge, not its patron. Go
up and take the bench against yourself, and put the guilt before yourself.
Do not put it behind you, or GOD will put it in front of you."

Saint Augustine of Hippo... Sermons, 20:2, J1494, 410 A.D.
"We must understand that the divine operation, if comprehended by reason, is not remarkable; nor does that faith which human reason puts to the test have merit... The body of the Lord came into the presence of the disciples through closed doors, which body, in truth, at His birth came forth to
human eyes from the closed womb of the Virgin. What wonder then, if after His Resurrection and about to reign victorious in eternity, He entered through closed doors, who, coming so that He might die, came forth from the unopened womb of the Virgin?"

Saint Gregory I... Homilies on the Gospels, 2:26:1, J2331, 590 A.D.
"Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say:
Behold this is new; for it has already gone before in the ages that were before us."
Ecclesiastes 1:10

Compiled by Bob Stanley, October 15, 1998
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