The Far Green Country

“And truly this is the case with us all: for God would be much more liberal in his communications to us, if we were not so close; but our own scanty desires hinder him from pouring out his gifts upon us in greater abundance. In general, we are taught by this passage, that we cannot [...]

The priority, in the order, of faith to all other acts, is illustrated by the following anecdote: “In a beautiful New England village a boy lay very sick, drawing near to death, and very sad. His heart longed for the treasure which was worth more to him now than all the gold of the western [...]

“It was August 1945, and the atomic bomb had just been exploded over Hiroshima. As we commuters boarded our bus, people were shaking their heads and wondering whether this new weapon would destroy the world. A sailor responded quietly, ‘No, the world won’t ever be destroyed by atomic bombs. Jesus won’t let that happen. He’s [...]

In addition to the last words of Bernard of Clairvaux, the advice of Anselm of Canterbury is also a splendidly evangelical gem of truly catholic theology:
There is an exhortation of Anselm to a dying brother, written in the most comforting words: “When a brother seems to be in his death struggle, it is godly and [...]

When I studied medieval church history, my professor read to our class the dying words of Bernard of Clairvaux. A recent conversation provoked me to seek out the exact citation, which my professor graciously provided to me today. I include it here in full:
When [Bernard] appeared to be drawing his last breath, as his mental [...]

“There are many who, like Thomas, are longing for some sensible assurance of the love of Christ, beyond the general declarations of the Bible. They want some inward token that they are born again, some sensible assurance of their acceptance, before they believe and commit their souls wholly to Jesus. They desire to be Christians, [...]

“From Jesus’ statements I make an inference and form a corollary: the whole Old Tsetament bears witness to Christ; and, the Old Testament does not bear witness only to Christ. Why this corollary? Because I agree with making an extensive inference from Luke 24:27 and 44 but hold than an intensive inference is illegitimate. What [...]

“Hence, for my money, here is the premier presupposition that should undergird all our biblical interpretation: God has given his word as a revelation of himself; if then I use his word rightly, I will long to see him, and he will be the focus of my study. And so we must read Old Testament [...]

“In a certain sense, the first three sacrifices [in Leviticus] are God-directed; they are propitiatory. The last two - the sin and the guilt offering - are sinner-directed. They’re expiatory; they cleanse away the accumulated guilt from the sinner, and it points us to the fact - as John says - the blood of Jesus [...]

“They do not attack us by open violence; but, in proportion as the name of God is more dear to me than my own life, the diabolical conspiracy which I see in operation to extinguish all fear and worship of God, to root out the remembrance of Christ, or to abandon it to the jeers [...]