A really patient servant of God is as ready to bear inglorious troubles as those which are honorable. A brave read more

A really patient servant of God is as ready to bear inglorious troubles as those which are honorable. A brave man can easily bear with contempt, slander, and false accusations from an evil world; but to bear such injustice at the hands of good men, of friends and relations, is a great test of patience.

Lord Jesus Christ! A whole life long didst thou suffer that I too might be saved; and yet thy suffering read more

Lord Jesus Christ! A whole life long didst thou suffer that I too might be saved; and yet thy suffering is not yet at an end; but this too wilt thou endure, saving and redeeming me, this patient suffering of having to do with me, I who so often go astray from the right path, or even when I remained on the straight path stumbled along it or crept so slowly along the right path. Infinite patience, suffering of infinite patience. How many times have I not been impatient, wished to give up and forsake everything; wished to take the terribly easy way out, despair: but thou didst not lose patience. Oh, I cannot say what thy chosen servant says: that he filled up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in his flesh; no, I can only say that I increased thy sufferings, added new ones to those which thou didst once suffer in order to save me.

In questions of this sort there are two things to be observed. First, that the truth of the Scriptures be read more

In questions of this sort there are two things to be observed. First, that the truth of the Scriptures be inviolably maintained. Secondly, since Scripture doth admit of diverse interpretations, that no one cling to any particular exposition with such pertinacity that, if what he supposed to be the teaching of Scripture should afterward turn out to be clearly false, he should nevertheless still presume to put it forward, lest thereby the sacred Scriptures should be exposed to the derision of unbelievers and the way of salvation should be closed to them.

Feast of Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644 The common custom is, when the physician has given over read more

Feast of Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644 The common custom is, when the physician has given over his patient, then and not till then to send for the minister, not so much to inquire into the man's condition and to give him suitable advice as to minister comfort and to speak peace to him at a venture. But let me tell you that herein you put an extremely difficult task upon us, in expecting that we should pour wine and oil into the wound before it be searched, and speak smooth and comfortable things to a man that is but just brought to a sense of the long course of a lewd and wicked life impenitently continued in. Alas! what comfort can we give to men in such a case? We are loth to drive them to despair; and yet we must not destroy them by presumption; pity and good nature do strongly tempt us to make the best of their case and to give them all the little hopes which with any kind of reason we can --and God knows it is but very little that we can give to such persons upon good ground, for it all depends upon the degree and sincerity of their repentance, which God only knows, and we can but guess at.

Christians have burnt each other, quite persuaded.
That all the Apostles would have done as they did.

Christians have burnt each other, quite persuaded.
That all the Apostles would have done as they did.

This outer world is but the pictured scroll Of worlds within the soul; A colored chart, a blazoned missal-book read more

This outer world is but the pictured scroll Of worlds within the soul; A colored chart, a blazoned missal-book Wherein who rightly look May spell the splendors with their mortal eyes, And steer to Paradise.

Commemoration of Thomas à Kempis, priest, spiritual writer, 1471 When we are troubled with temptation and evil thoughts, read more

Commemoration of Thomas à Kempis, priest, spiritual writer, 1471 When we are troubled with temptation and evil thoughts, then we see clearly the great need we have of God, since without him we can do nothing good. No one is so good that he is immune to temptation; we will never [in this life] be entirely free of it.

Since the life of Christ is every way most bitter to nature and the Self and the Me (for in read more

Since the life of Christ is every way most bitter to nature and the Self and the Me (for in the true life of Christ, the Self and the Me and nature must be forsaken and lost and die altogether), therefore in each of us, nature hath a deep horror of it.

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.