First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"(To Pontius Pilate referring to Jesus) Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him."
"(To Herod Antipas) I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
"Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself."
"(About Saint Joseph) Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel."
"When they envied Moses in the camp, / And Aaron the saint of the Lord, / The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, / And covered the faction of Abiram. / A fire was kindled in their company; / The flame burned up the wicked."
"For you, Mary, Holy Virgin, the Magi, though far away, abandoned vanity, adoring your Only Begotten Son, and became pious forever."
"The wise men followed the star. Through the language of creation, they discovered the God of history. To be sure – the language of creation alone is not enough. Only God’s word, which we encounter in sacred Scripture, was able to mark out their path definitively. Creation and Scripture, reason and faith, must come together, so as to lead us forward to the living God. There has been much discussion over what kind of star it was that the wise men were following. Some suggest a planetary constellation, or a supernova, that is to say one of those stars that is initially quite weak, in which an inner explosion releases a brilliant light for a certain time, or a comet, etc. This debate we may leave to the experts. The great star, the true supernova that leads us on, is Christ himself. He is as it were the explosion of God’s love, which causes the great white light of his heart to shine upon the world. And we may add: the wise men from the East, who feature in today’s Gospel, like all the saints, have themselves gradually become constellations of God that mark out the path. In all these people, being touched by God’s word has, as it were, released an explosion of light, through which God’s radiance shines upon our world and shows us the path."
"In Persia there is a city called Saba, from which the three kings departed to worship God when he was born. In that city, the three Magi are buried in a beautiful tomb, and they are still there, intact, with their beards and hair: one was named Beltasar, the other Gaspar, and the third Melquior. Mr Marco asked several times in that city about those three kings: no one could tell him anything, except that there were three kings buried there in ancient times."
"Why did the Three Wise Men set off for Palestine? They were scholars of astrology and, seeing the comet, they attributed extraordinary significance to it because the doctrine of Zoroaster spoke of “a savior born of a virgin without the touch of a man,” the savior would restore the kingdom of good and evil, and his birth would be signaled by the appearance of a bright star. They therefore followed the path of the star and, knowing the Jews' expectation of a Messiah, set off, illuminated by divine grace."
"(To Herod the Great) We have seen a star of great size shining among these stars, and obscuring their light, so that the stars did not appear; and we thus knew that a king has been born to Israel, and we have come to worship him."
"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
"Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”"
"It was the high priest Simon, son of Onias, | in whose lifetime the house was repaired | and in whose days the temple was fortified."
"How glorious he was, with the people thronging around him, | as he emerged from behind the veil of the sanctuary. | He was like the morning star shining among the clouds, | like the full moon at the festal season, | like the sun shining on the temple of the Most High, | like the rainbow appearing in a cloudy sky, | like a rose in springtime, | like a lily by a spring of water, | like a green shoot on Lebanon on a summer’s day, | like incense set afire in the censer, | like a vessel of beaten gold | embellished with every kind of precious stone, | like an olive tree laden with fruit, | like a cypress reaching to the clouds."
"When he put on his magnificent robes | and clothed himself in his garments of splendor, | as he went up to the holy altar, | he brought majestic glory to the court of the sanctuary."
"They were people certain that something we might describe as the “signature” of God exists in creation, a signature that man can and must endeavour to discover and decipher."
"In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”"
"The hands of Zerubbabel | Have laid the foundation of this temple; | His hands shall also finish it. | Then you will know | That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. | For who has despised the day of small things? | For these seven rejoice to see | The plumb line | in the hand of Zerubbabel. | They are the eyes of the Lord, | Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth."
"Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’"
"How can we find suitable words to praise Zerubbabel, | who was like a signet ring on the right hand?"
"How can we find suitable words to praise Zerubbabel, | who was like a signet ring on the right hand? | So too was Jeshua, the son of Jozadak; | in their days they rebuilt the house | and raised a temple holy to the Lord, | destined for everlasting glory."
"Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. [...] So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius."
"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: | ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ | Says the Lord of hosts. | ‘Who are you, O great mountain? | Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! | And he shall bring forth the capstone | With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!"
"(About Saul) Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword."
"Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand. [...] When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”"
"And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, that he might fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh."
"(To Saul) So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”"
"Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” :And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”"
"The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here."
"Then all the friends of Judas assembled and said to Jonathan, “Since the death of your brother Judas there has been no one like him to lead us against our enemies and Bacchides, as well as against those of our own nation who are hostile to us. Therefore, today we have chosen you to take his place as our ruler and our leader, and to fight our battle.” Thereupon Jonathan accepted the leadership in the place of his brother Judas."
"King Alexander was informed of all the proposals made by Demetrius to Jonathan, and he was also told of the battles that Jonathan and his brothers had fought, of the heroic deeds that they had accomplished, and of the hardships that they had endured. His response was, “Shall we ever come across another man like him? Let us take steps to make him our friend and ally.” He therefore wrote a letter to him in these words:"
"Jonathan sent his brother to act as leader of the multitude and to ask the Nabateans, with whom he was friendly, for permission to store with them the great quantity of baggage that they had brought with them. 36 However, the sons of Jambri made a sortie from Medeba, captured John, and carried off the baggage Some time afterward the news was reported to Jonathan and his brother Simon: “The sons of Jambri are celebrating a great wedding, [...] Remembering how their brother John had been slain, they went up and hid themselves under the cover of a mountain. As they kept watch, they observed a tumultuous procession come into sight carrying a great amount of baggage. [...] The Jews sprang on them from their place of ambush and began to slay them. [...] Having thereby gained revenge for the blood of their brother, the Jews returned to the marshes of the Jordan."
"Then Jonathan said to those with him, “Let us get up now and fight for our lives, for today things have changed considerably from the way they used to be. In front of us the battle awaits; behind us are the waters of the Jordan on one side and marshland and thickets on the other. There is no way out. Cry out to Heaven that you may be saved from our enemies.”"
"He exhorted them in these words: “You yourselves are fully aware of what I and my brothers and the house of my father have done for the laws and the sanctuary. You also know about the battles we have fought and the hardships we have endured. As a result, all of my brothers have perished for the sake of Israel, and I alone am left. Far be it from me, then, to give priority to my own life in any time of oppression, for I am not of any greater worth than my brothers. Rather, I will avenge my nation and the sanctuary and your wives and children, for all the nations have united to destroy us because of their hatred for us.”"
"Simon was allotted three thousand men for the march on Galilee, while eight thousand men were assigned to Judas for the march on Gilead."
"And he saw that the people were trembling with fear, he went up to Jerusalem. Assembling the people, he exhorted them [...]These words rekindled the spirit of the people and they replied by shouting, “You are our leader in place of Judas and your brother Jonathan. Fight our battles, and we will do whatever you tell us.”"
"Eleazar, called Avaran, noted that one of the elephants was adorned with royal armor. Since it was larger than all the other beasts, he thought that the king must be astride it, and he gave his life to save his people and win for himself everlasting renown. He courageously charged toward it through the midst of the phalanx, killing men right and left, so that they fell back on all sides at his approach."
"Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm— [...] and what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that was [a]in their possession, in the midst of all Israel."
"Now Korah son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth son[a] of Reuben, took two hundred fifty Israelite men, leaders of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men, and they confronted Moses. They assembled against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! All the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”"
"Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come! Is it too little that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also lord it over us? It is clear you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come!”"
"However, when Uzziah continued to grow ever stronger, he also was afflicted with pride, and that led to his destruction. For he proved unfaithful to the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to make an offering on the altar of incense. 17 Then the priest Azariah and eighty priests of the Lord who were courageous men followed him. The priests confronted King Uzziah and said to him: “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to make offerings. Leave the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and you will no longer share in the glory that comes from the Lord God.” Uzziah had a censer in his hand to burn the incense, but while he showed his intense anger to the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. When the chief priest, Azariah, and all the other priests looked at Uzziah carefully and saw that his forehead was leprous, they quickly removed him from the temple; and he himself was equally anxious to leave because the Lord had afflicted him."
"So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed him. He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Turn away from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away for all their sins.” So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives, their children, and their little ones. [...] Moses said: [...] But if the Lord creates something new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.” As soon as he finished speaking all these words, the ground under them was split apart."
"(To David) There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women."
"So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed him. He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Turn away from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away for all their sins.” So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives, their children, and their little ones. [...] Moses said: [...] But if the Lord creates something new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”"
"And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision."
"Outsiders conspired against him / and envied him in the wilderness, / Dathan and Abiram and their followers / and the company of Korah, in wrath and anger. / The Lord saw it and was not pleased, / and in the heat of his anger they were destroyed; / he performed wonders against them / to consume them in flaming fire."