de Caussade: perfection in common duties

Thursday, March 5, 2026
Meditation:
    Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
    —Romans 6:13 (ESV)
Quotation:
    There is no one in the world who cannot arrive without difficulty at the most eminent perfection by fulfilling with love the obscure and common duties.
    ... Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751), Abandonment to Divine Providence, II.iv.3 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 6:13; Micah 6:8; Rom. 7:5; 8:13-14; Matt. 11:29-30; 1 John 5:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Father, make me ever mindful of the smallest of my duties, to Your glory. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Troeltsch: The Kingdom within us

Wednesday, March 4, 2026
    Commemoration of Felix, Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles, 647
Meditation:
    Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
    —Luke 17:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Faith is the source of energy in the struggle of life, but life still remains a battle which is continually renewed upon ever new fronts. For every threatening abyss that is closed, another yawning gulf appears. The truth is—and this is the conclusion of the whole matter—the Kingdom of God is within us. But we must let our light shine before men in confident and untiring labour that they may see our good works and praise our Father in Heaven. The final ends of all humanity are hidden within His hands.
    ... Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923), The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches, New York: Harper, 1960, v. II, p. 1013 (see the book)
    See also Luke 17:20-21; Matt. 5:16; Rom. 14:17-18; Col. 1:27; 1 John 1:5-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord Jesus, I follow You as King. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Eckhart: the sufficiency of faith

Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Meditation:
    ... yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
    —Galatians 2:16 (ESV)
Quotation:
    The less you feel and the more firmly you believe, the more praiseworthy is your faith and the more it will be esteemed and appreciated; for real faith is much more than a mere opinion of man. In it we have true knowledge: in truth, we lack nothing save true faith.
    ... Meister Eckhart (1260?-1327?), Treatises and Sermons, Harper, 1958, p. 93 (see the book)
    See also Gal. 2:16; Ps. 130:3-4; 143:2; Luke 10:25-29; Gal. 2:19; 3:11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me to cast aside the counterfeits, that I may cling to Your gift of faith. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Underhill: communion

Monday, March 2, 2026
    Feast of Chad, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, 672
Meditation:
    The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
    —1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Two movements merge in the real act of communion. First, the creature’s profound sense of need, of incompleteness: its steadfast desire... Next, a humble and loving acceptance of God’s answer to that prayer of desire, however startling, disappointing, and unappetizing it may be.
    ... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The Mystery of Sacrifice, New York: Longmans, Green, 1938, p. 64 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 10:16-17; John 6:53-58; Acts 2:46-47; Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:3,27; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11; 1 John 1:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Purge me of scorn for any part of the Body. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: the Lord's day

Sunday, March 1, 2026
    Feast of David, Bishop of Menevia, Patron of Wales, c.601
Meditation:
    One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
    —Romans 14:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Where every day is not the Lord’s, the Sunday is his least of all. There may be a sickening unreality even where there is no conscious hypocrisy.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Donal Grant, London: George Routledge and Sons, 1883, p. 73 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 14:5; Matt. 12:1-13; Luke 11:39-41; 1 Cor. 10:23,31; Tit. 1:15-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I give all days to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Thomas a Kempis: what we shall be asked

Saturday, February 28, 2026
Meditation:
    And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
    —Revelation 16:7 (KJV)
Quotation:
    At the Day of Judgment, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done.
    ... Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), Of the Imitation of Christ [1418], Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1877, I.iii.5, p.35 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 16:7; Matt. 7:24; 12:50; Luke 6:46-48; 11:28; 12:47-48; John 13:17; Rom. 2:13; Col. 3:17; Jas. 1:22; 4:17; 1 John 2:3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You rebuke my idleness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Herbert: Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life

Friday, February 27, 2026
    Feast of George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633
Meditation:
    Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
    —John 14:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.
    ... George Herbert (1593-1633), The Poetical Works of George Herbert, New York: D. Appleton, 1857, p. 199 (see the book)
    See also John 14:6; 10:10; 1 Cor. 2:9-10; 15:54-57; Eph. 3:20-21; 1 Tim. 1:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Come into my heart, Lord Jesus!

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