"Presents seven influential early Christian preachers and analyzes their words in the light of their lives. Each figure exemplifies a different aspect of Christian life: Origen for holiness, Ephrem for the humility of repentance, Gregory of Nazianzus for purification and faith, John Chrysostom for the hope of salvation, Augustine for love, Leo the Great for love of the poor and the weak, and Gregory the Great for accepting our own weakness. Written by a Catholic priest for an ecumenical audience, including students"--