He that begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than read more

He that begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all.

Feast of John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher, 407 Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising read more

Feast of John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher, 407 Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead.

Commemoration of Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Dohnavour Fellowship, 1951 We, and all things, exist in God's lnfinitude now; read more

Commemoration of Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Dohnavour Fellowship, 1951 We, and all things, exist in God's lnfinitude now; our individuality begins with it; our personality grows strong because of it; and we know, if we know anything, that while the more we approach the good the more we please God, at the same time the more men approach the good the more nobly distinctive, the more beautifully individual do their characters become. To imagine, then, at the end of this life we shall cease to exist as conscious beings, that our characters, our personalities, will fall back into some boundless being, instead of becoming more and more definite, more and more individual, is certainly not to exalt God; for it is founded on the belief, either that God is now belittled by our present individuality, or that our present individuality is a mere delusion. In the latter case God, whom we find in the depths of our souls, is doubtless also a delusion, for if the self is not real it is no respectable witness on whose testimony we can accept God. Our deepest mature conviction is that finite and infinity interpenetrate, as time and eternity interpenetrate, and our problems must be solved in the light of that conviction.

Feast of Clare of Assisi, Founder of the Order of Minoresses (Poor Clares), 1253 Commemoration of John Henry Newman, Priest, read more

Feast of Clare of Assisi, Founder of the Order of Minoresses (Poor Clares), 1253 Commemoration of John Henry Newman, Priest, Teacher, Tractarian, 1890 One secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice of inclination to duty, is worth all the mere good thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in which idle people indulge themselves.

[He said] that it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other read more

[He said] that it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times; that we are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer. That his view of prayer was nothing else but a sense of the Presence of God, his soul being at that time insensible to everything but Divine Love; and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy; yet hoped that God would give him somewhat to suffer when he should have grown stronger.

Concluding a short series of testimonies on the Scriptures: A loving Personality dominates the Bible, walking among the read more

Concluding a short series of testimonies on the Scriptures: A loving Personality dominates the Bible, walking among the trees of the garden and breathing fragrance over every scene. Always a living Person is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting himself whenever and wherever his people have the receptivity necessary to receive the manifestation.

Feast of Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 We must be willing to accept read more

Feast of Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 We must be willing to accept the bitter truth that, in the end, we may have to become a burden to those who love us. But it is necessary that we face this also. The full acceptance of our abjection and uselessness is the virtue that can make us and others rich in the grace of God. It takes heroic charity and humility to let others sustain us when we are absolutely incapable of sustaining ourselves. We cannot suffer well unless we see Christ everywhere, both in suffering and in the charity of those who come to the aid of our affliction.

Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord to the Virgin Mary Even the most traditional theologian will be anxious read more

Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord to the Virgin Mary Even the most traditional theologian will be anxious to point out that the classical images which have been used, with more or less success, to depict different aspects of the Redemption -- the winning of a battle, the liberation of captives, the payment of a fine or debt, the curing of a disease, and so on -- are not to be interpreted literally, any more than, when we say that the eternal Word "came down from Heaven", we are describing a process of spatial translation. For here we are dealing with processes and events which, by the nature of the case, cannot be precisely described in everyday language... The matter is quite different with such a statement as that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary; for, whatever aspects of the Incarnation outstrip the descriptive power of ordinary language, this at least is plainly statable in it. It means that Jesus was conceived in his mother's womb without previous sexual intercourse on her part with any male human being, and this is a straightforward statement which is either true or false. To say that the birth... of Jesus Christ cannot simply be thought of as a biological event, and to add that this is [not] what the Virgin Birth means, is a plain misuse of language; and no amount of talk about the appealing character of the "Christmas myth" can validly gloss this over.

Beginning a short series on sin: Sin is nothing else than that the creature willeth otherwise than God willeth, read more

Beginning a short series on sin: Sin is nothing else than that the creature willeth otherwise than God willeth, and contrary to Him. ... Theologia Germanica March 10, 1998 Continuing a short series on sin: I inquired what iniquity was, and found it to be no substance, but the perversion of the will, turned aside from Thee, O God, the Supreme, towards these lower things. ... The Confessions of St. Augustine March 11, 1998 Continuing a short series on sin: In case our sins have been public and scandalous, both reason and the practice of the Christian Church do require that when men have publicly offended they should give public satisfaction and open testimony of their repentance.