Aquinas: aspiring to the higher thought

Saturday, January 28, 2023
    Feast of Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, 1274
Meditation:
    [The LORD:] “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’”
    —Isaiah 65:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No man tends to do a thing by his desire and endeavour unless it be previously known to him. Wherefore since man is directed by divine providence to a higher good than human frailty can attain in the present life, ... it was necessary for his mind to be bidden to something higher than those things to which our reason can reach in the present life, so that he might learn to aspire, and by his endeavours to tend to something surpassing the whole state of the present life. And this is especially competent to the Christian religion, which alone promises goods spiritual and eternal: for which reason it proposes many things surpassing the thought of man.
    ... Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274), Summa Contra Gentiles [1264], Burns, Oates & Washbourne, Ltd., 1923, I.v, p. 9-10 (see the book)
    See also Isa. 65:1; Matt. 6:33; 7:7; Luke 11:9; 12:31; Rom. 10:20; 11:33; 1 Cor. 12:31; Phil. 4:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your Spirit leads me to higher things. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Orchard: Like summer seas

Friday, January 27, 2023
Meditation:
Awake, my soul!
    Awake, harp and lyre!
    I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
    —Psalm 57:8-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Like summer seas that lave with silent tides a lonely shore, like whispering winds that stir the tops of forest trees, like a still small voice that calls us in the watches of the night, like a child’s hand that feels about a fast-closed door; gentle, unnoticed, and oft in vain; so is Thy coming unto us, O God.
    Like ships storm-driven into port, like starving souls that seek the bread they once despised, like wanderers begging refuge from the whelming night, like prodigals that seek the father’s home when all is spent; yet welcomed at the open door, arms outstretched and kisses for our shame; so is our coming unto Thee, O God.
    Like flowers uplifted to the sun, like trees that bend before the storm, like sleeping seas that mirror cloudless skies, like a harp to the hand, like an echo to a cry, like a song to the heart; for all our stubbornness, our failure and our sin; so would we hav e been to Thee, O God.
    Amen.
    ... William Edwin Orchard (1877-1955), The Temple: a book of prayers, 3rd ed., New York, E. P. Dutton, 1918, p. 149 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 57:8-10; 1 Kings 19:11-12; Ps. 4:1-4; Matt. 8:24-27; Luke 12:27; 15:21-24; John 6:32-35; Rev. 3:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your patient love surrounds me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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de Caussade: submission

Thursday, January 26, 2023
    Feast of Timothy and Titus, Companions of Paul
    Commemoration of Dorothy Kerin, Founder of the Burrswood Healing Community, 1963
Meditation:
    Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
    —Ephesians 5:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Perfection does not consist in the knowledge of God’s order, but in submission to it. The order of God, the good pleasure of God, the will of God, the action of God, grace—all these are one and the same thing in this life... Perfection is nothing else than the faithful cooperation of the soul with the work of God. This ultimate purpose of our life grows and increases in our souls secretly and without our knowledge.
    ... Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751), Abandonment to Divine Providence, I.i.4 (see the book)
    See also Eph. 5:17; Matt. 5:48; 12:50; Rom. 12:1-2; Phil. 3:12; Jas. 1:22; 1 Pet. 1:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to follow Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Tozer: the one fixed point

Wednesday, January 25, 2023
    Feast of the Conversion of Paul
Meditation:
    God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
    —Exodus 3:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When God would make His name known to mankind, He could find no better word than “I AM”... “I am that I am,” says God, “I change not.” Everyone and everything else measures from that fixed point.
    ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948], Christian Publications, 1982, p. 94 (see the book)
    See also Ex. 3:14; Mal. 3:6; John 8:58; Heb. 13:8; Rev. 1:8; 4:8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we worship You in Your name. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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de Sales: holy simplicity

Tuesday, January 24, 2023
    Feast of François de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Teacher, 1622
Meditation:
    Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
    —Titus 2:6-8 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I recommend to you holy simplicity. Look close before you, and do not look at those dangers which you see afar off. You fancy they are armies; they are only trees in the distance, and whilst you are gazing at them you may make some false steps.
    ... François de Sales (1567-1622), Practical Piety, Louisville: Webb & Levering, 1853, p. 53 (see the book)
    See also Tit. 2:6-8; Matt. 6:25,34; John 14:27; 16:33; Rom. 12:9; 2 Cor. 1:12; 11:3; 1 Tim. 1:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me today strength for today’s troubles. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brooks: the background of life

Monday, January 23, 2023
    Commemoration of Phillips Brooks, Bishop of Massachusetts, spiritual writer, 1893
Meditation:
    For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
    —1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    So [it is] when the priority of existence is seen to rest in a Person, and the background of life is God. Then every new arrival instantly reports itself to Him, and is described in terms of its relationship to Him. Every activity of ours answers to some previous activity of His. Do we hope? It is because we have caught the sound of some promise of His. Do we fear? It is because we have had some glimpse of the dreadfulness of getting out of harmony with Him. Are we curious and inquiring? It is that we may learn some of His truth. Do we resist evil? We are fighting His enemies. Do we help need? We are relieving His children. Do we love Him? It is an answer of gratitude for His love to us. Do we live? It is a projection and extension of His being. Do we die? It is the going home of our immortal souls to Him.
    ... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), The Light of the World, and Other Sermons, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1904, p. 45 (see the book)
    See also 1 Thess. 5:9-10; John 3:16; 15:16; Rom. 14:7-8; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 2:19-20; Eph. 2:3-5; 1 John 4:10,19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You reshape my world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kurosaki: the origin of denominations

Sunday, January 22, 2023
Meditation:
    In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
    —1 Corinthians 11:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When one takes theology or creed as the center of Christianity, it naturally follows that there must inevitably be a division of Christians into denominations and sects.
    ... Kokichi Kurosaki (1886-1970), One Body in Christ, Kobe, Japan: Eternal Life Press, 1954, ch. 3 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 11:18; Isa. 29:13; Matt. 12:25; John 5:39-40; 17:20-23; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; 12:22-26; 2 Cor. 10:5; Col. 2:8,22; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:20-21; 2 Tim. 2:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Do I bring an attitude of division to the church? CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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