The movement of the human soul, and human society in general, from its fallen chaotic state towards divine order is at the heart of the Blog of Padre Pio Press. Writings, ponderings, and reflections on this movement of the soul are authored by Fr. Cliff Ermatinger and by the occasional Guest Contributor. The articles and recordings are relegated to the following areas:
Throughout the Month of July,
Padre Pio Press Cordially Invites Its Readership to Join in Saying:
Litany of the Most
Precious Blood of Jesus
St. Augustine, What is Praise?
Question 041. Part I
What is praise?
Do not think that he can be praised enough whose greatness is endless. Should not then your praise be endless since he has no end?… Praise of God sets you on your way and should determine what you ought to love and what you should fear; what you should seek, and what you should avoid…The silence of the heart is the cooling of charity, the cry of praise is charity’s fervor…You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised…Man, but a particle of your creation, desires to praise you. You move us to delight in praising you; for you have made us for […]
St. Augustine, How Can Song Be A Prayer?
Question 040.
Can song really be counted as prayer?
Singing is proper to one in love… Jubilee is a sort of sound which means that the heart wants to give birth to that which cannot be uttered. And who deserves such jubilation if not the ineffable God? And ineffable is that which cannot be said or even touched. What remains if not jubilation in that the heart opens itself to a wordless joy, and the joy increases beyond the limits of the spoken word.
from St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer by Fr. Ermatinger.
There is a certain mystery to song:
First, song seems to […]
St. Augustine, How is the Liturgy the Source and Summit of Prayer?
Question 039.
How is the liturgy the “source and the summit”?
Man’s soul struggles onward towards that it loves so that it might rest upon reaching it. When the soul finds its delight in God, there she finds true, certain, eternal rest, for which it has vainly sought in other objects.
from St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer by Fr. Ermatinger.
The end of man is the praise and glory of God. This is where he shall find his rest, his peace, his fulfillment, his eternal delight in God. Man, as a species, is called to the praise of God within the hierarchical order of creation. […]