"My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." Psalm 22:14  Our blessed Lord experienced a terrible sinking and melting of soul. "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" Deep depression of spirit is the most grievous of all trials; all besides is as nothing. Well might the suffering Saviour cry to his God, "Be not far from me," for above all other seasons a man needs his God when his heart is melted within him because of heaviness. Believer, come near the cross this morning, and humbly adore the King of glory as having once been brought far lower, in mental distress and inward anguish, than any one among us; and mark his fitness to become a faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. Especially let those of us whose sadness springs directly from the withdrawal of a present sense of our Father's love, enter into near and intimate communion with Jesus. Let us no...

 A recent lesson on two of the Cardinal Sins after an Evening Prayer service at our church.  I start the lesson about 15 minutes into the video.  You'll have to click on the youtube link to view it.  If you fast-forward, the sound may not be in sync with the video.

From St. Thomas's commentary on St. John, chapter 21, Lecture 6: 2656 Now John states that his Gospel is true, and he speaks in the person of the entire Church which received it: "My mouth will utter truth" (Prv 8:7). We should note that although many have written about Catholic truth, there is a difference among them: those who wrote the canonical scriptures, such as the evangelists and apostles and the like, so constantly and firmly affirm this truth that it cannot be doubted. Thus John says, we know that his testimony is true: "If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed" (Gal 1:9). The reason for this is that only the canonical scriptures are the standard of faith. The others have set forth this truth but in such a way that they do not want to be believed except in those things in which they say what is true.

[I'm still working on this:] The assumptions and practice of Critical Race Theory are a purposeful attempt to undermine traditional American culture (think Christendom).  That's not good.  But, there's something worse.   Nations will come and go anyway.  The worst thing about CRT is that it is a violation of the Golden Rule.   Therefore it is sinful and perilous to an eternal soul.  To promote CRT - or to enforce it, as the case may be - is to promote the transgression of God's law, which is worse than violating our sympathy for traditional American institutions or way of life, for these things are temporal.  Hell is eternal. As Christians, our mission is to call all to repentance, whatever the sin may be, and point them to the Saviour.  We should certainly be concerned for justice in our society - CRT promotes  injustice  - but our main concern is that which is eternal.  Therefore, our conversation with anyone who is in f...

I recently preached this sermon at the funeral of my brother-in-law, designated herein as "V."  I've taken out a lot of personal stuff.  The text is that famous first periocope in Ecclesiastes 3.           Many of us here remember the ‘60’s – how can we forget them!  What a time!  As we read the first lesson from Ecclesiastes, I’m sure many if not all of us were reminded of the Bob Dylan song made famous by The Byrds, “Turn, Turn, Turn”…. As the passage says, we live in seasons, and all our seasons have a purpose, and every purpose is under heaven.   God sees it all, he knows about it all, and he is ultimately seeking our good in it all – as hard as that may be to believe at times.   It’s easy enough to see how our birth was good, but death is not a good thing: it’s a curse brought upon us by the sin of Adam and Eve.   But, however or whenever our death comes, God is still good and He is still watching over his purpose ...

  William Thackeray published essays on each of the first four King Georges.  While describing King George III, he spoke positively of how he tried to make use of what gifts were given him.  Speaking of his courage, he reflected on what was grand about it, though I think he is being sarcastic.  It was grand in that he exercised it in a grand way against all who opposed him. "The battle of the King with his aristocracy remains yet to be told by the historian who shall view the reign of George more justly ... It was he, with the people to back him, who made the war with America; it was he and the people who refused justice to the Roman Catholics; and on both questions he beat the patricians.  He bribed: he bullied: he darkly dissembled on occasion: he exercised a slippery perseverance, and a vindictive resolution, which one almost admires as one thinks his character over.  His courage was never to be beat.  It trampled North under foot; it beat the stiff...

An excellent presentation on History writing by a Princeton Univ prof - lasts the first 33 minutes. From the Intercollegtiate Studies Institute.