They focus on St. Irenaeus’ role as peacemaker, looking to resolve conflicts in the Church. From his letters and notes, we learn more about the kind of leader St. Irenaeus was: a man who deeply sought after Christ. They also look at how successive generations of Christians interpreted the writings of St. Irenaeus in the years following his death.

The post Irenic Irenaeus – Episode 51 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

In their 50th episode of Deep in History, Marcus Grodi and Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson conclude their discussion of the important early work “Against Heresies” by St. Irenaeus of Lyons.

Irenaeus covers a lot of ground in the close of his book: from the authority of the Church, to the necessity of guarding the deposit of faith, to death, judgment, heaven and hell. In fact, as Msgr. Steenson points out, some scholars wonder if the abruptness of its ending is an indication that St. Ireneaus left the book unfinished.

And we’re not quite done with St. Irenaeus! In the next episode, Marcus and Msgr. Steenson look at some other aspects of the life and writing of St. Irenaeus, who could soon be declared a Doctor of the Church.

The post Resurrection of the Just – Episode 50 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

Among other things, they look at how St. Irenaeus speculated about the identity and plan of the Antichrist. Just as in our present day, there were many differing opinions among the early Christians about how the end times might play out.

Marcus and Msgr. Steenson look not just at what St. Irenaeus has to say about the Antichrist, but at why it’s important for us to always be ready for Christ’s ultimate return, because we don’t know if it will happen today, or a thousand years from now.

The post The Antichrist – Episode 49 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

St. Irenaeus reminds us that theological opinions that appeal to our pride put us in the same camp as Lucifer himself, who fell from heaven because he thought he knew better than what he had been taught.

It can be easy to fall into philosophies that stoke our egos, but St. Irenaeus emphasizes the need for humility, and to serve God rather than our own interests when seeking after the truth. Otherwise, we make the same mistake as the devil himself.

The post The Apostate Angel – Episode 48 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

St. Irenaeus reflects on Original Sin, and its implications for salvation history, all the way up to the temptation of Christ himself. Satan has always sought to disrupt God’s plan, and especially to ruin humanity, the crown of God’s creation. But that old original enmity between God and Satan, even though it appears to be a conflict in progress to us who are alive, is a victory that no one but God can possibly win in the end.

The post The Binding of Satan – Episode 47 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

Marcus Grodi and Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson continue to unpack Book V of Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons.

St. Irenaeus points out some of the key errors of the popular heresies of his day. Underlying all of them is an ignorance, sometimes unintentional and sometimes willful, of the importance of the deposit of faith passed down by the Apostles.

The proponents of these wrong ideas are certainly people of intelligence; but because they’ve become infatuated with their intelligence, they’ve fallen into the trap of preferring new ideas to the carefully preserved teaching of the Church.

The post The Hidden Pit of Ignorance – Episode 46 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

Marcus Grodi and Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson continue their study of Against Heresies, written by St. Irenaeus of Lyons in the 2nd century.

Continuing through Book V, they look at what St. Irenaeus has to say about the necessity of the Church, the nature of the Godhead, and the role of Mary in the plan of salvation. Though St. Irenaeus is writing long before the word “Trinity” is adopted by the Church, he looks at the relationship between Father, Son and Spirit, and the implications of that relationship for salvation history and the life of the Church.

The post The Trinity, Our Lady, and the Church – Episode 45 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

Marcus Grodi and Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson continue their study of Against Heresies, the important early Christian work by St. Irenaeus of Lyons.

From the beginning, the early Christians carried forth the teaching that Jesus Christ, who is truly God, really did take on flesh and blood, and the apostles who witnessed this testify to that reality. St. Irenaeus, only a few generations removed from those apostles, reminds us that all of Christianity rests upon this truth of the incarnation of Jesus.

The post The Flesh and Blood of Jesus – Episode 44 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

St. Irenaeus is firm on the Christian conviction that we do not merely hope for eternal life in a spiritual sense; we believe in the resurrection of the body. God comes to save both our souls and our bodies together, and we must bring both into union with God now so as to enjoy communion with Him, body and soul, for all eternity.

The post No Admission Without Your Body – Episode 43 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

In this episode, they get into a bit of what St. Irenaeus has to say about Christian anthropology. St. Irenaeus discusses how free will is essential to understanding our humanity, as well as the reality that all of us must face death.

God has created human beings in His image for union with Him, and ultimately, we can embrace that full human purpose and join Him in heaven, or reject God and be separated from Him for eternity.

The post The Whole Man – Episode 42 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.