Feast of the Holy Cross If we ever are to attain to true Divine Peace, and be completely united read more

Feast of the Holy Cross If we ever are to attain to true Divine Peace, and be completely united to God, all that is not absolutely necessary, either bodily or spiritually, must be cast off; everything that could interpose itself to an unlawful extent between us and Him, and lead us astray: for He alone will be Lord in our hearts, and none other; for Divine Love can admit of no rival.

Faith is not only a commitment to the promises of Christ; faith is also a commitment to the demands of read more

Faith is not only a commitment to the promises of Christ; faith is also a commitment to the demands of Christ.

Feast of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, & his sister Macrina, Teachers, c.394 & c.379 You will tell me that read more

Feast of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, & his sister Macrina, Teachers, c.394 & c.379 You will tell me that I am always saying the same thing: it is true, for this is the best and easiest method I know; and as I use no other, I advise all the world to it. We must know before we can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.

Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your read more

Feast of English Saints & Martyrs of the Reformation The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing, who would ever have been spared?

Every man thinketh he is rich enough in grace, till he take out his purse, and... then he findeth it read more

Every man thinketh he is rich enough in grace, till he take out his purse, and... then he findeth it but poor and light in the day of a heavy trial. I found I had not enough to bear my expenses, and should have fainted, if want and penury had not chased me to the storehouse of all.

Feast of Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Teachers, 379 & 389 Commemoration of Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Mystic, read more

Feast of Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Teachers, 379 & 389 Commemoration of Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Mystic, Staretz, 1833 Do not, as is usually the case, thrust the care of the common weal upon your neighbor; then, as each one in his own thoughts makes light of the matter, all find to their surprise that they have drawn upon themselves by their neglect a personal misfortune.

Commemoration of Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship, 1951 One can give without loving, but one cannot love read more

Commemoration of Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship, 1951 One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving.

Since such uncultivated and rude simplicity inspires greater reverence for itself than any eloquence, what ought one to conclude except read more

Since such uncultivated and rude simplicity inspires greater reverence for itself than any eloquence, what ought one to conclude except that the force of Sacred Scripture is manifestly too powerful to need the art of words?

Feast of Benedict of Nursia, Father of Western Monasticism, c.550 It might help us in our thinking if we read more

Feast of Benedict of Nursia, Father of Western Monasticism, c.550 It might help us in our thinking if we drew a distinction between preaching, which the New Testament talks about as a continuing activity in society at large, and sermonising, which we have made into a special activity in the church premises... A great many people sermonising in our churches today would be better off and of greater service if they absolved themselves from the bondage and disciplines of the pulpit and came down among their congregations, teaching informally on sounder educational principles. After all, the vital matter in the ministry of the Word is not that a clergyman delivers himself of a discourse but that the people to whom he ministers end up being taught something. The tragedy is that the professional clergy have been trained to sermonise and they seem overwhelmed with fears and a sense of insecurity when they contemplate other methods. A further problem, of course, is that most of our churches contain a significant number of people who become emotionally disturbed at any departure from what they have always done in the past. To them, the sermon is part of their Christianity -- even if it bores them stiff!