The real conviction of the living Christ was not carried to the world by a book nor by a story. read more

The real conviction of the living Christ was not carried to the world by a book nor by a story. Men might allege that they had seen the risen Lord; but that was nothing till they themselves were known. The witness of the resurrection was not the word of Paul (as we see at Athens) nor of the Eleven; it was the new power in life and death that the world saw in changed men... The legend of a reputed resurrection of some unknown person in Palestine nobody needed to consider; but what were you to do with the people who died in the arena, the reborn slaves with their newness of life in your own house? And when you "looked into the story", it was no mere somebody or other of whom they told it. The conviction of the people you knew, amazing in its power of transforming character and winning first the goodwill and the trust and then the conversion of others, was supported and confirmed by the nature and personality of the Man of whom they spoke, of whom you read in their books. "Never man spake like this man", you read, nor thought like this man, nor like this man believed in God. I can not but think that the factors that make a man Christian to-day were those that won the world then, our age and that age, in culture, in hopes and fears in loss of nerve, are not unlike. [Continued tomorrow].

Commemoration of Martyrs of Japan, 1597 Those who charged the Christians with burning down Rome with fire brands were read more

Commemoration of Martyrs of Japan, 1597 Those who charged the Christians with burning down Rome with fire brands were slanderers -- but they were, at least, far nearer to the nature of Christianity than those among the moderns who tell us that the Christians were a sort of ethical society, being martyred in a languid fashion for telling men they had a duty to their neighbours, and only mildly disliked because they were meek and mild!

Democracy is necessitated by the fact that all men are sinners; it is made possible by the fact that we read more

Democracy is necessitated by the fact that all men are sinners; it is made possible by the fact that we know it.

Do little things as though they were great, because of the majesty of Jesus Christ who does them in us, read more

Do little things as though they were great, because of the majesty of Jesus Christ who does them in us, and who lives our life: and do the greatest things as though they were little and easy, because of His omnipotence.

Commemoration of Rose of Lima, Contemplative, 1617 Four things a man must learn to do If he would make his read more

Commemoration of Rose of Lima, Contemplative, 1617 Four things a man must learn to do If he would make his record true: To think without confusion clearly, To love his fellow men sincerely, To act from honest motives purely, To trust in God and heaven securely. ... Henry van Dyke August 24, 2000 Feast of Bartholomew the Apostle Beginning a short series on the Bible: The Bible is a supernatural book and can be understood only by supernatural aid.

But even the Christian, for all this satisfying and hopeful conviction, does not know the meaning of the mystery of read more

But even the Christian, for all this satisfying and hopeful conviction, does not know the meaning of the mystery of life, and if he is wise he does not pretend to. He has enough light to light him on his way, but there are a great many gaps in his knowledge. When he says, "One day we shall understand", he is by no means always uttering a pious platitude. Quite frequently he is voicing a solid conviction, a genuine facet of hope. At present his vision is severely limited, and that is probably just as well, if his sanity is to be preserved. But when he is free of the limitations of temporal life, he has every hope of being able to know as surely as he is at present known.

Commemoration of Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, c.525 "Help!" "Sorry! 'monmywaytochurch." The deepest sins are read more

Commemoration of Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, c.525 "Help!" "Sorry! 'monmywaytochurch." The deepest sins are camouflaged as holiness.

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

Feast of Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles Life together under the Word will remain sound and healthy read more

Feast of Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles Life together under the Word will remain sound and healthy only where it does not form itself into a movement, an order, a society... but rather where it understands itself as being a part of the one, holy, catholic, Christian Church, where it shares actively and passively in the sufferings and struggles of the whole Church. Every principle of selection, every separation connected with it that is not necessitated quite objectively by common work, local conditions, or family connections is of the greatest danger to a Christian community. When the way of intellectual or spiritual selection is taken, the human element always insinuates itself and robs the fellowship of its spiritual power and its effectiveness for the Church, and drives it into sectarianism.