Feast of Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down & Connor, Priest, Teacher, 1667 Commemoration of Florence Nightingale, Social Reformer, 1910 Commemoration read more

Feast of Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down & Connor, Priest, Teacher, 1667 Commemoration of Florence Nightingale, Social Reformer, 1910 Commemoration of Octavia Hill, Worker for the Poor, 1912 The law of nature is nothing but the law of God given to mankind for the conservation of his nature and the promotion of his perfective end: a law of which a man sees a reason and feels a necessity.

In all our criticism and near-despair of the institutional Church, it should never be forgotten that many powers and possibilities read more

In all our criticism and near-despair of the institutional Church, it should never be forgotten that many powers and possibilities really exist in it, but often in captivity; they exist as frozen credits and dead capital.

Why should any man have power over any other man's faith, seeing Christ Himself is the author of it?

Why should any man have power over any other man's faith, seeing Christ Himself is the author of it?

Commemoration of Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, 1373 Faith is not a refuge from reality. It is a read more

Commemoration of Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, 1373 Faith is not a refuge from reality. It is a demand that we face reality, with all its difficulties, opportunities, and implications. The true subject matter of religion is not our own little souls, but the Eternal God and His whole mysterious purpose, and our solemn responsibility to Him.

Sinners' follies are the just sport of God's infinite wisdom and power; and those attempts of the kingdom of Satan, read more

Sinners' follies are the just sport of God's infinite wisdom and power; and those attempts of the kingdom of Satan, which in our eyes are formidable, in his are despicable.

Blessed night, when first that plain Echoed with the joyful strain, "Peace has come to earth again!" Blessed hills, that read more

Blessed night, when first that plain Echoed with the joyful strain, "Peace has come to earth again!" Blessed hills, that heard the song Of the glorious angel-throng, Swelling all your slopes along. Happy shepherds, on whose ear Fell the tidings glad and dear, "God to man is drawing near." Happy, happy, Bethlehem, Judah's least but brightest gem, Where the rod from Jesse's stem, Scion of a princely race, Sprung in Heaven's own perfect grace, Yet in feeble lowliness. This, the woman's promised seed, Abram's mighty Son indeed; Succourer of earth's great need. This the victor in our war, This the glory see afar, This the light of Jacob's star! Happy Judah, rise and own Him the heir of David's throne David's Lord, and David's Son. Let the dayspring from on high. That arose in Judah's sky. Cover earth eternally. Babe of Bethlehem, to Thee, Infant of eternity, Everlasting glory be!

Faith is that which, knowing the Lord's will, goes and does it; or, not knowing it, stands and waits, content read more

Faith is that which, knowing the Lord's will, goes and does it; or, not knowing it, stands and waits, content in ignorance as in knowledge, because God wills -- neither pressing into the hidden future, nor careless of the knowledge which opens the path of action.

Commemoration of Petroc, Abbot of Padstow, 6th century Pentecost From his baptism until his return to Galilee, Jesus read more

Commemoration of Petroc, Abbot of Padstow, 6th century Pentecost From his baptism until his return to Galilee, Jesus lived in the company of the disciples of the Baptist. It was there that he received the first public witness of his Messianic role and found his first followers. The gospel was to be rooted in John's teaching of asceticism and regeneration. But we see from the start that the gospel of Jesus was to be quite different. To the baptism of water would be added the baptism of the Spirit, and the new message was to be addressed to all. The widening of the circle of hearers and converts, which had preoccupied John, was to expand still further with the gospel of Jesus. Of the hundreds of thousands of Jews, the Essenes only regarded as saved a few thousand elect. Jesus was soon to offer the Covenant of God to all men.

Feast of Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 Let a man but separate himself from read more

Feast of Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 Let a man but separate himself from all contingencies and from all works, and there will come over him in this state of emptiness a peace which is very great, lovely, and agreeable, and which is in itself no sin since it is part of our human nature. But when it is taken for a veritable possessing of God, or unity with God, then it is sin, for it is in reality nothing else than a state of thorough passivity and apathy untouched by the power from on high -- a purely negative state from which (if one in arrogance calls it divine) nothing follows but blindness, failure of understanding, and a disinclination to be governed by the rules of ordinary righteousness.