I do not believe anyone ever yet humbly, genuinely, thoroughly gave himself to Christ without some other finding Christ through read more

I do not believe anyone ever yet humbly, genuinely, thoroughly gave himself to Christ without some other finding Christ through him.

Commemoration of Denys, Bishop of Paris, & his Companions, Martyrs, 258 Commemoration of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist, read more

Commemoration of Denys, Bishop of Paris, & his Companions, Martyrs, 258 Commemoration of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist, 1253 Prayer should be short, without giving God Almighty reasons why He should grant this, or that; He knows best what is good for us. If your boy should ask you [for] a suit of clothes, and give you reasons, would you endure it? You know his needs better than he: let him ask a suit of clothes.

Palm Sunday Jesus Christ is a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without read more

Palm Sunday Jesus Christ is a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair.

Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its read more

Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will be made evident to others from the love which he imparts to us.

Feast of Bartholomew the Apostle It is often said with a sneer that the God of Israel was only read more

Feast of Bartholomew the Apostle It is often said with a sneer that the God of Israel was only a God of Battles, "a mere barbaric Lord of Hosts" pitted in rivalry against other gods only as their envious foe. Well it is for the world that He was indeed a God of Battles. Well it is for us that He was to all the rest only a rival and a foe. In the ordinary way, it would have been only too easy for them to have achieved the desolate disaster of conceiving Him as a friend. It would have been only too easy for them to have seen Him stretching out His hands in love and reconciliation, embracing Baal and kissing the painted face of Astarte... It would have been easy enough for His worshipers to follow the enlightened course of Syncretism and the pooling of all the pagan traditions. It is obvious indeed that His followers were always sliding down this easy slope; and it required the almost demoniac energy of certain inspired demagogues, who testified to the divine unity in words that are still like winds of inspiration and ruin, [to stop them]. The more we really understand of the ancient conditions that contributed to the final culture of the Faith, the more we shall have a real and even a realistic reverence for the greatness of the Prophets of Israel. As it was, while the whole world melted into this mass of confused mythology, this Deity who is called tribal and narrow, precisely because He was what is called tribal and narrow, preserved the primary religion of all mankind. He was tribal enough to be universal. He was as narrow as the universe.

The seven works of bodily mercy be these: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and read more

The seven works of bodily mercy be these: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and the needy, harbour the houseless, comfort the sick, visit prisoners, bury the dead. The seven works of spiritual mercy be these: teach men the truth, counsel men to hold with Christ's law, chastise sinners by moderate reproving in charity, comfort sorrowful men by Christ's passion, forgive wrongs, suffer meekly reproofs for the right of God's law, pray heartily for friend and for foe. ... Middle English Sermons September 6, 2001 Commemoration of Allen Gardiner, founder of the South American Missionary Society, 1851 Commemoration of Albert Schweitzer, Teacher, Physician, Missionary, 1965 Of the access for us, at any rate, to the spirit of life -- us who were born in Christendom, and are in touch, conscious or unconscious, with Christianity -- this is the true account. Questions over which the churches spend so much labour and time -- questions about the Trinity, about the godhead of Christ, about the procession of the Holy Ghost -- are not vital; what is vital is the doctrine of access to the spirit of life through Christ.

Feast of Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894 We cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either by study or by read more

Feast of Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894 We cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either by study or by the intellect. Your first duty is to begin by prayer. Entreat the Lord to grant you, of His great mercy, the true understanding of His Word. There is no other interpreter of the Word of God than the Author of this Word, as He Himself has said, "They shall be all taught of God" (John 6:45). Hope for nothing from your own labors, from your own understanding: trust solely in God, and in the influence of His Spirit. Believe this on the word of a man who has experience.

Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209 After all, we are told, our salvation has already been accomplished read more

Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209 After all, we are told, our salvation has already been accomplished by the grace of God... It was unkind to speak to men like this, for such a cheap offer could only leave them bewildered and tempt them from the way to which they had been called by Christ. Having laid hold on cheap grace, they were barred forever from the knowledge of costly grace. Deceived and weakened, men felt that they were strong now that they were in possession of this cheap grace -- whereas they had in fact lost the power to live the life of discipleship and obedience. The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.

Seven principles for eradicating selfish ambition in the fellowship: 6. the ministry of proclaiming Where Christians live together read more

Seven principles for eradicating selfish ambition in the fellowship: 6. the ministry of proclaiming Where Christians live together the time must ultimately come when in some crisis one person will have to declare God's Word and will to another. It is inconceivable that the things that are of utmost importance to each individual should not be spoken by one to another. It is unchristian consciously to deprive another of the one decisive service we can render to him... The more we learn to allow others to speak the Word to us, to accept humbly and gratefully even severe reproaches and admonitions, the more free and objective will we be in speaking ourselves. The humble person will stick to truth and love. He will stick to the Word of God and let it lead him to his brother... Reproof is unavoidable. God's Word demands it when a brother falls into open sin. Where defection from God's Word in doctrine or life imperils the fellowship... the word of admonition and rebuke must be ventured. Nothing can be more cruel than the tenderness that consigns another to his sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin. It is a ministry of mercy, an ultimate offer of genuine fellowship, when we allow nothing but God's Word to stand between us, judging and succoring.