St John Henry Newman not only selects some powerful teachings from St Ignatius' epistles, but he also shows us how to think about reading the Fathers and about religion in general. His attention to method is absolutely necessary for us today.

We now consider St J.H. Newman's concise but powerful "Short Road to Perfection" from his Meditations and devotional writings.

We begin a study of the life and work of St John Henry Newman with what was perhaps his major poetical achievement, The Dream of Gerontius, a lengthy poem concerning the passing from this world into thenext. It is called a "Dream" but it is in fact an imaginative, almost prophetic glimpse of eternity. We then meditate upon its theme. (N.B. The Apologia was published in 1864 and the Dream in 1865)

We end our study of the Book of Ecclesiasticus with some wise words about speech, and the great section commencing: “Let us now praise famous men.” Finally, we meditate in lectio divina upon the farewell prayer of Jesus be Sira, the author of the book.

We see how the super-meaning of the Book of Ecclesiasticus is that whatever we do, we should remember why we are living and what we hope for at death. With that, everything in this sprawling book finds it place. Once more, we end with further study of lectio divina.

We study the proverbs in the Book of Ecclesiasticus, and see how they are concerned to teach virtuous self-control. We also examine the value of proverbs as a spiritual genre, and continue our research of the practice of lectio divina

We begin our study of the Book of Ecclesiasticus with some words about its date and authorship, and placing it in relation to other Wisdom books. We then begin to see how it develops the Wisdom tradition. We touch on its teaching about patience, and end with some lectio divina.

15 September is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

ŠubHō la.bō wal.brō wal.rou.Hō d.qoud.šō; men hō.šō wa3.da.mō l.3o.lam 3ōl.meen AmeenGlory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit from now, and unto the age of ages. Amen. Why do we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows? The only reason can be because it assists us on the path of salvation, that is, that by meditating upon this feast and observing it with reverence we become better Christians and more worthy of Grace and redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ. As ever, Mary leads us to God.Is it not strange however to have a feast dedicated to her anguish? When we search for reasons we might think first that by reverencing her in her sorrow and compassionating with her we are doing something pleasing to God. And I think there must be a great deal in that. Further, to reflect that the most perfect purely human being who ever lived, suffered as she did must be some consolation to us when we are in undeserved troubles, for the simple reason that in view of her great innocence and purity we have no right to complain.Even philosophically, celebrating this feast with the entire Church reminds us that all of us are human and are born to suffer, to feel pain, and to die. The acceptance of this can build up tremendous strength of soul. But there is yet more because Mary is a model for us, someone in whose patient footsteps we should follow and whose example we should imitate.St John Henry Newman believed that at the end of her life, Mary probably did not die from sickness or the feebleness of old age. Neither was she worn out by her sorrows. Rather, moved by love and her desire to be reunited with her Son in heaven and with His angels and Saints, she allowed her soul to leave her body. That is, she lived a full and productive life on earth, no one more so, and when she sensed that she was ready, her love for her Son led her to ask God to take her spirit from her. She surrendered her soul to God with her final breath which was also her final act of love on this earth in her mortal body. It was right that she should die, St Newman tells us, because her Son had died. Yet, honouring her or all she had sacrificed, and respecting her pure Motherhood, He did not allow her to suffer further, but rather freed her to return to Him in unlimited joy and most profound peace.May we be granted something at least in the direction of this. It is often truly said that the best preparation for a good death is a good life. But it is surely a help to have as a model to follow the death of our lady, a willing sacrifice of the earthly life through and with the impulse of love for the divine union with God.May her prayers always be with us.In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. (Fr Yuhanna Azize)

We complete our study of the Book of Wisdom, examining theprayer of Solomon, and the super-meaning that God is the Lord of human history. We close with more lectio divina, exploring how it can transfer an idea from our head into our feeling.

We delve more deeply into the concept of Wisdom in the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, and explore how it not only anticipates the Incarnation of Christ, but also theDescent of the Holy Spirit. We return to lectio divina, considering not only the first stage, reading; but also the second, meditation.

We introduce the Book of Wisdom, also known as The Wisdom of Solomon. We read the first chapters with their sublime teaching on the world being filled with the Spirit of God, which means that divine justice pervades the entire universe, in both space and in time, so that justice is worked out over eternity, and not in front of our very noses, as we say. At the end of this talk, we begin to study lectio divina, godly or divine reading.

We reach the furthest point of interpretation: Job is both an antetype of Christ who suffers and is raised fromthe dead after terrible sufferings, and of the ordinary person,. It is thus a symbol of the possible unity of God and man in and through the mystery of Christ.

We continue our study of the Book of Job, and ask, why does God not immediately punish evil deeds and reward good ones?

In this episode we examine the Book of Job, taking a bird's-eye view of the message of the entire book.

We look at the three Solomonic books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs) as one whole, and then meditate on their message.

In our third podcast on the Song of Songs, we investigate its mystic meaning, and its teaching of love as the means to reach God.

We read the contents of the Song of Songs, and see how natural the mystic understanding of it is. We discover that the many dazzling images form one super-image of the beauty of God and the desirability of uniting with Him (in so far as is possible). The meditation takes us in this direction.

Between any sense of the presence and of the absence of God, there is not any void - love waits in hope. This nourishes our contemplation.

In our third episode on the Book of Proverbs, we ask the elusive question: what exactly is Wisdom? Then we contemplate wisdom, so as to have more of it in our lives.

Today we learn about Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs, the instrument of God created in the creation before the creation! And then we meditate upon this mystery.