I have now spent fifty-five years in resolving: having, from the earliest
time almost that I can remember, been forming plans of a better life. I
have done nothing. The need of doing, therefore, is pressing, since the
time of doing is short. O GOD, grant me to resolve aright, and to keep my
resolutions, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Samuel Johnson
While sitting on the bank of a river one day, I picked up a solid round
stone from the water and broke it open. It was perfectly dry in spite of
the fact that it had been immersed in water for centuries. The same is true
of many people in the Western world. For centuries they have been
surrounded by Christianity; they live immersed in the waters of its
benefits. And yet it has not penetrated their hearts; they do not love it.
The fault is not in Christianity, but in men's hearts, which have been
hardened by materialism and intellectualism.
Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929)
Who is there that ever receives a gift and tries to make bargains about it?
Let us, then, return thanks for what He has bestowed on us. Who can tell
whether, if we had had a larger share of ability or stronger health, we
should not have possessed them to our destruction. Alphonsus Liguori
Crosses release us from this world and by doing so bind us to God.
Charles de Foucauld
Thanks people, that confirms my worst fears re my creeping senility. These
days I walk into a room full of people and the only name I can remember is
Alzheimer. pavlov@hotmail.com
(first posted 2 Jan 1999)
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