Which doctor of the church has inspired you the most?

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Which doctor of the church has inspired you the most and why?
 
St. Athanasius, because he defended the authentic identity of Christ as God-Man during a time when Arianism was becoming wildly popular, even among the clergy. He was even persecuted for his defense of the deity of Christ. He is a great example of courage in the face of persecution in the name of the Truth. Read more about him here.
 
I tried to post this as a poll and failed utterly. I recently finished reading Catherine of Sienna’s “Dialogue” and have never been so inspired and uplifted by a book, outside of the Bible. It seemed as if each issue that was troubling me was addressed as it disturbed me through out the book.

It surprised me, because I did not expect to be moved so much since she was not a Carmelite, and in the past I have found the most inspiration from the Carmelites, particularly Theresa of Avila, who has helped me much with my prayer life, and helped me think about my vocation. But Catherine’s book has somethign about every aspect of life.
 
Thanks for that Scott. I have not read about him before. During the apst few months I have been reading many writigns of the saints, in order to see what words of wisdom I can find for decisions I need to make now, from the advice that they have givien others and that they believe God has given them.

Some of these have been doctors: Theresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Catherine of Sienna, Alphonso Liguori, and Augustine. Some have not, such as Faustina, Margaret Mary and Thomas Merton. What has surprised me is that overall, the majority of the doctors I have read have had not only so much wisdom, but for the most part, the writing has been very accessible.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas (The Angelic Saint)

All one has to do to have a healthy respect for St Thomas A. is to try to read Summa Theologica.

He was a humble man who actually changed the way that Theology was thought about and taught. He was a man for the ages. Today , when a Spiritual man needs an answer, he goes to Thomas’ Summa. He has been my hero for 45 years of my life. The modern hero is Padre Pio.
 
I am curous to read Thomas Aquinas, but I am very much intimidated by his greatness. Has any one read “suma on the suma,” by Kreeft, and if so, was is an accessible and acceptible book through which to begin reading Aquinas? Which book would you recommend?
 
For me, it has been St. Augustine. In fact, it was through reading his works that I was inspired to return to Church after about 20 years of being lapsed (and embracing the secular humanist heresy).

Augustine was also a mystic (as was St. Thomas Aquinas), and as I have begun recently to embrace the universal call to contemplative prayer, I have started reading in earnest the works of Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross as they seem to be the two doctors who have the most to say about it. As for now, though, it is still Augustine who inspires me the most.
 
I’d say St. Augustine for the same reasons as mtr01 and St. Thomas Aquinas for showing me what true philosophy is. In high school my first (and most influential), philosophy teacher was a dedicated existentialist. As a result I came away with a rather unbalanced philosophical world view. I discovered Aquinas through the direction of a good Priest and that was a catalyst in begining to understand my faith and the world around me.
 
I did not know that Thomas Aquinas was a mystic. I wonder if the majority of the doctors were mystics. Catherine of Sienna (another mystic) talks quite a bit about prayer too, and the transition between vocal and mental.

which is the best Augustine book to start with? I started one many years ago, but it was not something I owned. I don’t even remember which one it was, but I don’t think I was ready then.
 
Dear friend

I can list the Doctors of the church and say , yes their writings have inspired me, those are Mary the Mother of God, St Teresa of Avila, St Therese of Liseux, St Francis, St Padre Pio, St Benedict Labre, St John of the Cross, St Joan of Arc, St Bernadette, St Faustina and some others I can mention…BUT…

The Saints I know everyday, those who are in my parish and inspire my faith daily, from, my beautiful Parish Priest who is a Saint! Who reads hearts and knows more than he lets on, who is Christ-like, who has been Christ to me, who knows I know and I know he knows but we exist on a nod and a wink, to the old man of ninety odd years who sits at the back of church as a greeter and arrives very early before Mass daily and walks with much difficulty the stations of the cross in the darkness of the unlit church with a candle in his hands whom I have seen while praying before the Blessed Sacrament in the cold darkness and solitude of the locked church. The old ladies who faithfully pray daily before Mass the Rosary. The young man with great piety who inspired my own, who now has gone to seminary and please God will be a Priest. The little toddler children and babies with their innocent souls free of sin so pure and accepting of Jesus. Those suffering with cancer, those with awful afflictions, those with awful sorrows and hurts that limit their life and still smile in the peace of Christ. These and many others are my daily Saints that undeclared by the church I look at and know if I make it to heaven, I will see them there.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
I am hosting a dialogue group on The Christian Mystics on Beliefnet.com. The group is scheduled to start on January 4 so there is still some time left to register. My favorite mystics are Merton, Meister Eckhart, Agnes of Foligno and St Francis of Assisi.
 
Dearest Hermit

A brother who had sinned was turned out of the church by the priest; Abba Bessarion got up and went with him, saying, “I, too, am a sinner.”
Abba Bessarion 7)

I love your signature, I truly love it. I am a sinner, isn’t it wonderful the mercy of God?

God Bless you and much love and peace to you always and to those you love

Teresa xxxxxx
 
How do we find out more about your dialogue on mystics and register for it on beliefnet? I just checked the site and did a few searches but could not find any reference to it. Many thanks for the information.
 
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