Above all, it is not necessary that we should have any unexpected, extraordinary experiences in meditation. This can happen, but read more

Above all, it is not necessary that we should have any unexpected, extraordinary experiences in meditation. This can happen, but if it does not, it is not a sign that the meditation period has been useless. Not only at the beginning, but repeatedly, there will be times when we feel a great spiritual dryness and apathy, an aversion, even an inability to meditate. We dare not be balked by such experiences. Above all, we must not allow them to keep us from adhering to our meditation period with great patience and fidelity. It is, therefore, not good for us to take too seriously the many untoward experiences we have with ourselves in meditation. It is here that our old vanity and our illicit claims upon God may creep in by a pious detour, as if it were our right to have nothing but elevating and fruitful experiences, and as if the discovery of our own inner poverty were quite beneath our dignity. With that attitude, we shall make no progress.

Feast of Perpetua, Felicity & their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203 God in His providence has not allowed the read more

Feast of Perpetua, Felicity & their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203 God in His providence has not allowed the survival of actual physical objects. But we have infinitely more than this, for instead of dead relics, however "authentic" and well preserved, we have a living life-line, stretching unbroken to Christ Himself. We have all the comfort and security that comes from historic tradition, but instead of being given the sad nostalgia of looking at an object and saying, "Look, how wonderful! This is what He touched then," we are given an evergreen memorial [in communion] which says, "This is what He touches now.".

Commemoration of Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543 All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, read more

Commemoration of Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543 All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask; yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.

Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461 Lord, forgive -- That I have dwelt too long on Golgotha, read more

Feast of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461 Lord, forgive -- That I have dwelt too long on Golgotha, My wracked eyes fixed On Thy poor, tortured human form upon the cross, And have not seen The lilies in Thy dawn-sweet garden bend To anoint Thy risen feet; nor known the ways Thy radiant spirit walks abroad with men.

Looking into my heart, which is perhaps the best way of looking into other men's, I know that the Savior read more

Looking into my heart, which is perhaps the best way of looking into other men's, I know that the Savior I want is one of whom I can say with Thomas of old, "My Lord and my God". It would not suffice for my need that He should be only an heroic brother, man divinely inspired. I owe Him my soul, He fills my whole spiritual horizon, I seek to lose myself in Him that I may find myself eternally in life and love divine.

Feast of Richard of Chichester, Bishop, 1253 Commemoration of Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Moral Philosopher, 1752 The read more

Feast of Richard of Chichester, Bishop, 1253 Commemoration of Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Moral Philosopher, 1752 The Christian should be a conscience in his group. His presence must never be used to provide a Christian justification for evil. To stand as a co-belligerent and not an ally will be to rally the middle ground for a genuine Third Way without mediocre compromise. The Third Way will not be easy. It will be lonely. Sometimes the Christian must have the courage to stand with the establishment, speaking boldly to the radicals and pointing out the destructive and counter-productive nature of their violence. At other times, he will stand as a co-belligerent with the radicals in their outrage and just demands for redress. The Christian is a co-belligerent with either or both when either or both are right, but... fearless in his opposition to either or both when they are wrong.

Our hearts deceive us, because we leave them to themselves, are absent from them, taken up in outward rules and read more

Our hearts deceive us, because we leave them to themselves, are absent from them, taken up in outward rules and forms of living and praying. But this kind of praying, which takes all its thoughts and words only from the state of our hearts, makes it impossible for us to be strangers to ourselves. The strength of every sin, the power of every evil temper, the most secret workings of our hearts, the weakness of any or all our virtues, is with a noonday clearness forced to be seen, as soon as the heart is made our prayer book, and we pray nothing, but according to what we read, and find there.

The Divine Perfections. How shall I praise th' eternal God, That Infinite Unknown? Who can ascend his high abode, read more

The Divine Perfections. How shall I praise th' eternal God, That Infinite Unknown? Who can ascend his high abode, Or venture near his throne? The great invisible! He dwells Conceal'd in dazzling light: But his all-searching eye reveals The secrets of the night. Those watchful eyes that never sleep, Survey the world around; His wisdom is the boundless deep, Where all our thoughts are drown'd. He knows no shadow of a change, Nor alters his decrees; Firm as a rock his truth remains, To guard his promises. Justice, upon a dreadful throne, Maintains the rights of God; While mercy sends her pardons down, Bought with a Saviour's blood. Now to my soul immortal King, Speak some forgiving word; Then `twill be double joy to sing The glories of my Lord.

Easter Feast of George, Martyr, Patron of England, c.304 Commemoration of Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1988 I greet read more

Easter Feast of George, Martyr, Patron of England, c.304 Commemoration of Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher, 1988 I greet Thy sepulchre, salute Thy grave, That blest enclosure, where the angels gave The first glad tidings of Thy early light, And resurrection from the earth and night. I see that morning in Thy convert's tears, Fresh as the dew, which but this downing wears. I smell her spices; and her ointment yields As rich a scent as the now primrosed fields: The Day-star smiles, and light, with Thee deceased, Now shines in all the chambers of the East.