Whoever hath an interest in any one promise hath an interest in them all, and in the fountain-love from whence read more

Whoever hath an interest in any one promise hath an interest in them all, and in the fountain-love from whence they flow. He to whom any drop of their sweetness floweth may follow it up into the spring. Were we wise, each taste of mercy would lead us to the ocean of love. Have we any hold on a promise? We may get upon it, and it will bring us to the main, Christ Himself and the Spirit, and so into the bosom of the Father. It is our folly to abide upon a little, which is given us merely to make us press for more.

Commemoration of Richard Meux Benson, Founder of the Society of St John the Evangelist, 1915 It is easy to read more

Commemoration of Richard Meux Benson, Founder of the Society of St John the Evangelist, 1915 It is easy to throw angels and demons and the cosmic character and relevance of Christ's work upon the scrap heap of ancient superstition and mythology, and to consider them but a manner of speech that is utterly irrelevant for our space age. But if we should feel entitled to throw out one part of the witness of Ephesians to Christ, why not the rest of it also: for instance, Christ's Lordship over the church and in the heart? It is unfair and scarcely honest to consider the Bible or parts of it as a cake from which we can pick out merely the raisins we happen to like. Speaking the truth in love and witnessing to the biblical Christ may imply the necessity to speak also of some very strange things.

We [must not] underestimate the enormity of the claim [made by the Jews]. Again and again in the Pentateuch, the read more

We [must not] underestimate the enormity of the claim [made by the Jews]. Again and again in the Pentateuch, the psalms, the prophets, and the subsequent writings which derive from them, the claim is made that the creator of the entire universe has chosen to live uniquely on a small ridge called Mount Zion, near the eastern edge of the Judean hill-country. The sheer absurdity of this claim, from the standpoint of any other worldview (not least that of Enlightenment philosophy), is staggering. The fact that Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Egypt again, Syria and now Rome had made explicit mockery of the idea did not shake this conviction, but only intensified it. This was what Jewish monotheism looked like on the ground.

Feast of Joseph of Nazareth O Lord our God, Who has called us to serve You, In the read more

Feast of Joseph of Nazareth O Lord our God, Who has called us to serve You, In the midst of the world's affairs, When we stumble, hold us; When we fall, lift us up; When we are hard pressed with evil, deliver us; When we turn from what is good, turn us back; And bring us at last to Your glory.

Feast of Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200 It is quite possible to perform very ordinary actions with read more

Feast of Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200 It is quite possible to perform very ordinary actions with so high an intention as to serve God therein better than in far more important things done with a less pure intention.

Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.

Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.

Commemoration of Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, 1373 Every action of our lives touches on some chord read more

Commemoration of Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, 1373 Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.

The sincere student of Scripture cannot avoid the truth of God's choice of individuals from among the sinful race of read more

The sincere student of Scripture cannot avoid the truth of God's choice of individuals from among the sinful race of men. We may not understand this, but we must never deny it. Scripture is filled with this great truth: it is not an isolated doctrine of the Word.

Feast of Matthias the Apostle If the ordinary canons of history, used in every other case, hold good in read more

Feast of Matthias the Apostle If the ordinary canons of history, used in every other case, hold good in this case, Jesus is undoubtedly an historical person. If he is not an historical person, the only alternative is that there is no such thing as history at all -- it is delirium, nothing else; and a rational being would be better employed in the collection of snuff-boxes. And if history is impossible, so is all other knowledge.