If a poet or an artist puts himself into his Productions he is criticized. But that is exactly what God does, he does so in Christ. And precisely that is Christianity. The creation was really only completed when God included himself in it. Before the coming of Christ, God was certainly in the creation, but as an invisible sign, like the watermark in paper. But the creation was completed by the Incarnation because God thereby included himself in it.
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Feast of Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr The man who will not act until he knows all will read more
Feast of Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr The man who will not act until he knows all will never act at all.
It is one thing to believe in justification by faith, it is another thing to be justified by faith.
It is one thing to believe in justification by faith, it is another thing to be justified by faith.
Commemoration of Thomas à Kempis, priest, spiritual writer, 1471 Be not angry that you cannot make others as read more
Commemoration of Thomas à Kempis, priest, spiritual writer, 1471 Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
We must not encourage in ourselves or others any tendency to work up a subjective state which, if we succeeded, read more
We must not encourage in ourselves or others any tendency to work up a subjective state which, if we succeeded, we should describe as "faith", with the idea that this will somehow ensure the granting of our prayer. We have probably all done this as children. But the state of mind which desperate desire working on a strong imagination can manufacture is not faith in the Christian sense. It is a feat of psychological gymnastics.
Religion is not ours till we live by it, till it is the Religion of our thoughts, words, and actions, read more
Religion is not ours till we live by it, till it is the Religion of our thoughts, words, and actions, till it goes with us into every place, sits uppermost on every occasion, and forms and governs our hopes and fears, our cares and pleasures.
Commemoration of John Bosco, Priest, Founder of the Salesian Teaching Order, 1888 "Secret" sins, such as are not known read more
Commemoration of John Bosco, Priest, Founder of the Salesian Teaching Order, 1888 "Secret" sins, such as are not known to be sins (it may be) to ourselves, make way for those that are "presumptuous". Thus pride may seem to be nothing but a frame of mind belonging unto our wealth and dignity, or our ... abilities; sensuality may seem to be but a lawful participation of the good things of this life; passion and peevishness, but a due sense of the want of respect that we must suppose owing unto us; covetousness, a necessary care of ourselves and of our families. If the seeds of sin are covered with such pretences, they will in time spring up and bear bitter fruit in the minds and the lives of men; and the beginning of all apostasy, both in religion and in morality, lies in just such pretences. Men plead that they can do so-and-so lawfully, until they can do things openly unlawful.
What is Christ's joy in us, but that He deigns to rejoice on our account? And what is our Joy, read more
What is Christ's joy in us, but that He deigns to rejoice on our account? And what is our Joy, which He says shall be full, but to have fellowship with Him? He had perfect joy on our account, when He rejoiced in foreknowing and predestinating us; but that joy was not in us, because we did not then exist; it began to be in us, when He called us. And this joy we rightly call our own, this joy wherewith we shall be blessed; which is begun in the faith of them who are born again, and shall be fulfilled in the reward of them who rise again.
We cannot know whether we love God, although there may be strong reason for thinking so; but there can be read more
We cannot know whether we love God, although there may be strong reason for thinking so; but there can be no doubt about whether we love our neighbor or not. Be sure that, in proportion as you advance in fraternal charity, you are increasing your love of God, for His Majesty bears so tender an affection for us that I cannot doubt He will repay our love for others by augmenting, and in a thousand different ways, that which we bear for Him.
Feast of Peter & Paul, Apostles The desire for unity has haunted me all my life through; I read more
Feast of Peter & Paul, Apostles The desire for unity has haunted me all my life through; I have never been able to substitute any desire for that, or to accept any of the different schemes for satisfaction of that men have desired.
