As God alone is a fit witness of himself in his Word, so also the Word will not find any read more

As God alone is a fit witness of himself in his Word, so also the Word will not find any acceptance in men's hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who has spoken by the mouth of the prophets must penetrate into our hearts, to persuade us that they faithfully proclaimed what has been divinely commanded.

Feast of Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387 What art Thou then, my God? What, but the read more

Feast of Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387 What art Thou then, my God? What, but the Lord God? For who is Lord but the Lord? or who is God save our God? Most highest, most good, most potent, most omnipotent; most merciful, yet most just; most hidden, yet most present; most beautiful, yet most strong; stable, yet incomprehensible; unchangeable, yet all changing; never new, never old; all-renewing, and bringing age upon the Proud, and they know it not; ever working, ever at rest; still gathering, yet nothing lacking; supporting, filling, and over-spreading; creating, nourishing, and maturing; seeking, yet having all things. (Continued tomorrow).

Feast of John and Charles Wesley, Priests, Poets, Teachers, 1791 & 1788 Matthew xi. 27. JESUS, the infinite I read more

Feast of John and Charles Wesley, Priests, Poets, Teachers, 1791 & 1788 Matthew xi. 27. JESUS, the infinite I AM, With God essentially the same, With him enthroned above all height, As God of God, and Light of Light, Thou art by thy great Father known, From all eternity his Son. Thou only dost the Father know, And wilt to all thy followers show, Who cannot doubt thy gracious will His glorious Godhead to reveal; Reveal him now, if thou art he, And live, eternal Life, in me.

When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it. We read more

When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it. We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is, let its horror shock and stun and enrage us, and only then do we forgive it.

There are those who in their very first seeking of it are nearer the kingdom of Heaven than many who read more

There are those who in their very first seeking of it are nearer the kingdom of Heaven than many who have for years believed themselves to be of it. In the former there is more of the mind of Jesus, and when He calls them they recognize Him at once and go after Him; while the others examine Him from head to foot and, finding Him not sufficiently like the Jesus of their conception, turn their backs and go to church or chapel or chamber to kneel before a vague form mingled of tradition and fancy.

Feast of Chad, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, 672 God is always present and always working towards read more

Feast of Chad, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, 672 God is always present and always working towards the life of the soul and its deliverance from captivity under flesh and blood. But this inward work of God, though never ceasing or altering, is yet always and only hindered by the activity of our own nature and faculties, by bad men through their obedience to earthly passions and by good men through their striving to be good in their own way, by their natural strength and a multiplicity of holy labours and contrivances. Both these sorts of people obstruct the work of God upon their souls. For we can cooperate with God no other way than by submitting to the work of God, and seeking, and leaving ourselves to it.

Jesus once declared that God is "good to the ungrateful and the wicked" (St. Luke 6:35), and I remember preaching read more

Jesus once declared that God is "good to the ungrateful and the wicked" (St. Luke 6:35), and I remember preaching a sermon on this text to a horrified and even astonished congregation who simply refused to believe (so I gathered afterwards) in this astounding liberality of God. That God should be in a state of constant fury with the wicked seemed to them only right and proper, but that God should be kind towards those who were defying or disobeying His laws seemed to them a monstrous injustice. Yet I was but quoting the Son of God Himself, and I only comment here that the terrifying risks that God takes are part of His Nature. We do not need to explain or modify His unremitting love towards mankind.

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 Patrick, Bishop of Armagh, Missionary, Patron of Ireland, c.460 It is generally true that all that is read more

Feast of Patrick, Bishop of Armagh, Missionary, Patron of Ireland, c.460 It is generally true that all that is required to make men unmindful of what they owe God for any blessing is that they should receive that blessing often and regularly.