Author Archives: Stefan Gramenz

St. Augustine on Good Fruits

 As long, therefore, as any one is evil, he cannot bring forth good fruits; for if he were to bring forth good fruits, he would no longer be evil. So it might most truly have been said, snow cannot be warm; for when it begins to be warm, we no longer call it snow, butContinue reading “St. Augustine on Good Fruits”

St. Augustine on the Unjust Steward

Why did the Lord Jesus Christ present this parable to us? He surely did not approve of that cheat of a servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top of that, he also did some extra pilfering. He caused his master further loss,Continue reading “St. Augustine on the Unjust Steward”

Quomodo sedet sola civitas

Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo,Facta est quasi viduaDomina gentium princeps provinciarumfacta est sub tributo. How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people!How is she become as a widow!The mistress of the Gentiles, and princess among the provinces,How she is made tributary! Lamentations 1:1, Tenebrae Matins of Maundy Thursday

Almighty God is accustomed to visit every sinful soul in many ways.

Almighty God is accustomed to visit every sinful soul in many ways. He visits her relentlessly by her commandments, sometimes by a trial, sometimes even by a miracle, so that she hears the truths she did not know, and – if still she remains full of pride and contempt – that she returns to GodContinue reading “Almighty God is accustomed to visit every sinful soul in many ways.”

Nothing but Forgiveness of Sin

Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered to the end that we shall daily obtain there nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and signs, to comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here. Thus, although we have sins, the grace of the Holy Ghost does not allow themContinue reading “Nothing but Forgiveness of Sin”

St. Cyril of Alexandria on the Pharisee and Publican

But what of the publican? He stood, it says, “afar off,” not even venturing, so to speak, to raise up his eyes on high. You see him abstaining from all boldness of speech, as having no right thereto, and smitten by the reproaches of conscience: for he was afraid of being even seen by God,Continue reading “St. Cyril of Alexandria on the Pharisee and Publican”

The Common Place

The Common Place was a book carried by people who wished to collect thoughts, quotations, and memorabilia in a single, common, place. Philip Melanchthon, Robert Burns, John Milton, and Francis Bacon all have published common places, and many other thinkers have ledd famous loci of their own. This blog is an attempt to collect, share,Continue reading “The Common Place”

To Live a Forgiven Life

So to live a “forgiven” life is not simply to live in a happy consciousness of having been absolved. Forgiveness is precisely the deep and abiding sense of what relation—with God or with other human beings—can and should be; and so it is itself a stimulus, an irritant, necessarily provoking protest at impoverished versions ofContinue reading “To Live a Forgiven Life”