St. Ambrose: "You have received a spiritual seal"

“REMEMBER that you have received a spiritual seal: the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of prudence and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of holy fear. Therefore, preserve what you have received. God the Father has sealed you, Christ the Lord has confirmed you, and has given a foretaste of the Spirit in your heart, as you have learned from the teaching of the apostle.”

~St. Ambrose of Milan (c. 340–397)

St. Ambrose: On Guardian Angels

(October 2nd: Memorial of the Guardian Angels.)

“THE servants of Christ are protected by invisible, rather than visible, beings. But if these guard you, they do so because they have been summoned by your prayers.” —St. Ambrose: Sermo contra Auxent, 11.

“THE angels must be entreated for us, who have been given us to guard.” 
—St. Ambrose: Concerning Widows, 55.

Ambrose: "This is the Creed"

“NOTHING is to be taken away from the apostolic writings, and nothing is to be added to them; in the same way we must expunge nothing from the Creed drawn up and handed down by the apostles, nor must we add anything to it. This is the Creed which the Roman church holds, where Peter, the first of the apostles, sat, and thither he brought the common decisions (sententiam).”

~St. Ambrose (c. 340 - 397):  Explicatio symboli ad Initiandos.



St. Ambrose, by Cesare Fracanzano (1605-1651). Oil on canvas; Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle.

Ambrose: "Flesh and Blood"

“NOW we, as often as we receive the Sacraments, which by the mystery of holy prayer are transformed (transfigurantur) into Flesh and Blood, proclaim the Lord’s death.”

~St. Ambrose:  Concerning Faith, 4, 124.

Institution of the Eucharist (Cell 35), by Fra Angelico.
Fresco, 1441-42; Convento di San Marco, Florence.

Ambrose: "Mary conceived the redemption"

"MARY worked the salvation of the world and conceived the redemption of mankind."

~St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan: Letters, 49, 2.

The Coronation of the Virgin, by Fra Angelico.
Tempera on wood, 1434-35; Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

Ambrose: The Creed

“LET them believe the creed of the Apostles which the church of Rome keeps and guards in its entirety.” (Letters, 42, 5)

“NOTHING is to be taken away from the apostolic writings, and nothing is to be added to them; in the same way we must expunge nothing from the Creed drawn up and handed down to us by the apostles, nor must we add anything to it. This is the Creed which the Roman church holds, where Peter, the first of the apostles, sat, and thither he brought the common decision (sententiam).” (Explicatio Symboli ad Initiandos.)

~St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan from 374-397

St. Ambrose Converting Theodosius, by Pierre Subleyras.
Oil on canvas, 1745; Galleria Nazionale, Perugia.

Guardian Angels and Intercessory Prayer

“THE angels must be entreated for us, who have been given us to guard us.” ~St. Ambrose:  Concerning Wisdom, 55.

“THE servants of Christ are protected by invisible, rather than visible, beings. But if these guard you, they do so because they have been summoned by your prayers.”
~St. Ambrose:  Sermo contra Auxent, 11.

"THEY are the guardians of the divisions of the earth; they are set over nations and regions allotted to them by their Creator. They govern all our affairs and bring us help. And the reason surely is because they are set over us by the divine will and command and are ever in the vicinity of God.”

~St. John of Damascus: Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 2, 3.

The Congregation of the Archangels, by Angelos Akotantos.
Tempera on panel; Vatopediou Monastery, Mount Athos.

“UNWORTHY as we are, we pray to you, O leaders of the heavenly hosts, to cover us by your prayers with the protection of the wings of your immaterial glory, preserving us who come to you and earnestly cry, Deliver us from sorrows, O chiefs of the powers above.”

~Byzantine Parakletike, Troparion for Monday, Tone 4.

Ambrose: "Faith means battles"

"FAITH means battles; if there are no contests, it is because there are none who desire to contend."

~St. Ambrose: "Explanation of Psalm 118," 11, 21. (4th cent.)

St. Ambrose, by Cesare Fracanzano (1605-1651).
Oil on canvas, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle.