Feast of Mark the Evangelist The first article of Christian faith is that man has one and only one read more

Feast of Mark the Evangelist The first article of Christian faith is that man has one and only one true object of worship. There is one Holy God, creator of heaven and earth. He is Lord of all life. To Him we are beholden for our life in all its meaning and its hope. Monotheism for the Christian means that anything else which is put in the place of our loyalty to God is an idol. The worship of national power, or racial prestige, or financial success, or cultural tradition, is a violation of the one truth about life, that all created things come from God. To commit life to the one true God is to refuse to have any other gods at all. Values there are in abundance, interests, plans, programs, loyalties to family and nation. But these are not gods; they do not save us; they are not holy in themselves.

Commemoration of Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, c.525 After Calvary, God has the right to be trusted; to be read more

Commemoration of Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, c.525 After Calvary, God has the right to be trusted; to be believed that He means what He says; and that His love is dependable.

Feast of Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387 Concluding a short series on the Bible: Christ is read more

Feast of Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387 Concluding a short series on the Bible: Christ is the master; the Scriptures are only the servant.

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.

Commemoration of Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus, 1556 Sin is not only manifested in certain read more

Commemoration of Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus, 1556 Sin is not only manifested in certain acts that are forbidden by divine command. Sin also appears in attitudes and dispositions and feelings. Lust and hate are sins as well as adultery and murder. And, in the traditional Christian view, despair and chronic boredom -- unaccompanied by any vicious act -- are serious sins. They are expressions of man's separation from God, as the ultimate good, meaning, and end of human existence.

Commemoration of Anne & Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary If the Holy Spirit can take over the read more

Commemoration of Anne & Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary If the Holy Spirit can take over the subconscious with our consent and cooperation, then we have almighty Power working at the basis of our lives, then we can do anything we ought to do, go anywhere we ought to go, and be anything we ought to be. Life is supplied with a basic adequacy... The conscious mind determines the actions, the unconscious mind determines the reactions; and the reactions are just as important as the actions. Many Christians are Christians in their actions -- they don't lie, steal, commit adultery, or get drunk; but they react badly to what happens to them: they react in anger, bad temper, self-pity, jealousy, and envy... When the depths are upheld by the Holy Spirit, then the reaction is Christian.

Feast of Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist True progress is not found in breaking away from the old ways, but read more

Feast of Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist True progress is not found in breaking away from the old ways, but in abiding in the teaching of Christ and His Spirit in the Church. There is an apparent contradiction here, for how can we abide, and yet advance? It is a paradox, like much else in scripture; but Christian experience proves it true. Those make the best progress in religion who hold fast by the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and not those who drift away from their moorings, rudderless upon a sea of doubt.

Commemoration of Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, Bishop of York, Missionary, 709 Commemoration of Elizabeth Fry, Prison Reformer, 1845 read more

Commemoration of Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, Bishop of York, Missionary, 709 Commemoration of Elizabeth Fry, Prison Reformer, 1845 While many Americans are still firmly committed to the traditional, supernatural conceptions of a personal God, a Divine Savior, and the promise of eternal life, the trend is away from these convictions. The fact is that a demythologized modernism is overwhelming the traditional Christ-centered, mystical faith. For the modern skeptics are not the apostates, village atheists, or political revolutionaries of old. The leaders of today's challenge to traditional beliefs are principally theologians -- those in whose care the church entrusts its sacred teachings.

Feast of Benedict of Nursia, Father of Western Monasticism, c.550 To be prayerless is to be without God, read more

Feast of Benedict of Nursia, Father of Western Monasticism, c.550 To be prayerless is to be without God, without Christ, without grace, without hope, and without heaven.