For some extraordinary reason, the Church moves in an atmosphere of antiquity. I have no doubt that it makes for dignity; I have also no coubt that there are times when it makes for complete irrelevance; for, if there is one thing that is true of religion it is that it must always be expressible in contemporary terms. Religion fails if it cannot speak to men as they are.
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Feast of Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen, Visionary, 1179 That earth and that heaven, which spent God himself, Almighty God, read more
Feast of Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen, Visionary, 1179 That earth and that heaven, which spent God himself, Almighty God, six days in finishing, Moses sets up in a few syllables, in one line: In the beginning God created heaven and earth. If a Livie or a Guicciardine, or such extensive and voluminous authors had had this story in hand, God must have made another world, to have made them a library to hold their books, of the making of this world. Into what wire would they have drawn out this earth! Into what leaf-gold would they have beat out these heavens! It may assist our conjecture herein, to consider, that amongst those men, who proceed with a sober modesty and limitation in their writing, & make a conscience not to clog the world with unnecessary books, yet the volumes which are written by them, upon the beginning of Genesis, are scarce less than infinite. God did no more but say, Let this & this be done; and Moses doth no more but say, that upon God's saying it was done. God required not Nature to help him to do it; Moses required not Reason to help him believe.
Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus For some years now I have read through the Bible read more
Feast of the Naming & Circumcision of Jesus For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant.
Feast of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c.155 To worship effectively is to enable men to become free.
Feast of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c.155 To worship effectively is to enable men to become free.
Feast of George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633 Love is that liquor sweet and most divine Which my God feels as read more
Feast of George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633 Love is that liquor sweet and most divine Which my God feels as blood; but I, as wine.
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 We must always be on our guard lest, under the pretext of keeping one commandment, we be found breaking another. ... St. Basil the Great January 3, 1998 Commemoration of Gladys Aylward, Missionary in China, 1970 For us in the Pacific, in Asia, in India, and in Africa, Christian unity is not an optional extra. It is an urgent necessity, for our divisions are a real stumbling-block to the proclamation of the Gospel... Mission is at the heart of the divine reality. It is the will of God and the Kingdom of God which are to be made known. Wherever we are, our purpose is not to propagate the Church as an end in itself, but to proclaim Christ as Lord of all life and as Saviour of all men.
The Hebrew will turn Christian; he grows kind.
The Hebrew will turn Christian; he grows kind.
When we are in hand-to-hand conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil himself, neat little Biblical confectionery is read more
When we are in hand-to-hand conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil himself, neat little Biblical confectionery is like shooting lions with a pea-shooter; God needs a man who will let go and deliver blows right and left as hard as he can hit, in the power of the Holy Ghost. Nothing but forked-lightning Christians will count.
The "great commitment" is so much easier than the ordinary, everyday one--and can all too easily shut our hearts to read more
The "great commitment" is so much easier than the ordinary, everyday one--and can all too easily shut our hearts to the latter. A willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice can be associated with, and even produce, a great hardness of heart.
Feast of the Holy Innocents You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast read more
Feast of the Holy Innocents You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then he is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation, a rock rising above the storm.
