St. Melito of Sardis - On the Passover #1.       St. Melito, Bishop of Sardis (in today’s Turkey, about 50 miles NW of Ephesus) was born and raised Jewish, later converting to Christianity (we don’t know when or how). He was a follower of St. John the Evangelist, and likely also knew St. Polycarp and St. Ireneas of Lyons. Melito is reported to have been a bishop for 70 years, dying about 180 AD. There is a letter from 194 AD that speaks of Melito as one “whose whole walk was in the Holy Spirit.” He was considered a prophet in his time.       Long before Melito’s birth, Sardis had become Hellenized (Greek) under Alexander the Great, and so he was a Church Father who was completely at home in both Jewish and Greek cultures. He was the first to establish the canon of Hebrew scriptures for Christians, giving it the name “Old Testament.” While most of his extensive writings have been lost to history, one was re-discovered in 1940, “On the Passover,” or “On Pascha,” probably written around 1

Spiritual Life Seminar.       This Sunday, May 1st, at 11:30 AM, in the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall, we begin a new seminar on the Spiritual Life, which will continue for 11 weeks, through July 10th.       “Spiritual Life” refers to the entire Christian experience of spirituality – how to grow in relationship with our Lord, to become more like Christ and walk with him closely, daily. It includes the banality and difficulty of dealing with temptations, and the glory and uncertainty of spiritual experience. The spiritual life grounds life in the everyday practice of the Christian virtues, actively seeking conversion and growth in charity (love). The seminar will be an introductory overview of the whole path.       Our resource book is Introduction to the Spiritual Life, Walking the Path of Prayer with Jesus , by Brant Pitre, PhD (New York: Image, 2021). Brant Pitre, PhD, is the Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute.       His book is recommended b