It’s the XXIV and Last Sunday of Pentecost, 2nd Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: the meditation: “The Great Thought of Eternity”, today’s news from the Church: “Our Lady versus the Antichrist”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop.
Saint Clement of Rome is one of the earliest figures in the Church whose voice still reaches us across the centuries. He lived in the generation after the apostles and is traditionally regarded as the third successor of Saint Peter. Clement’s life unfolded in the final years of the first century, a time when Christians were still meeting in house churches, still learning how to live the Gospel in a world that often feared and misunderstood them. What sets Clement apart is not drama or miracles, but the clarity and peace he brought to a young Church that was already wrestling with division.
His most famous legacy is the Letter to the Corinthians, written around the year 96. The Christian community in Corinth had fallen into discord. Younger members had pushed aside their elders, and factions had grown loud and bitter. Clement, writing from Rome, addressed them with the calm authority of a shepherd who loved them deeply. His letter is the earliest Christian writing outside the New Testament that we still possess. It is marked by patience, scriptural depth, and a profound sense of unity. Clement urged the Corinthians to return to humility, charity, and proper order. He reminded them that peace in the Church is not a human achievement but a gift of Christ that must be guarded with gratitude.
In the letter, we see a man shaped by apostolic teaching. He speaks with a voice that echoes Peter and Paul, stressing forgiveness, obedience, and the beauty of harmony among believers. He also provides one of the earliest testimonies to apostolic succession, explaining that bishops and priests were established by the apostles and must be respected as guardians of the mysteries of God. Later generations would look back on Clement as a model of papal leadership that works through persuasion rather than force, always seeking the unity of the Body of Christ.
