Gratitude

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

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• From Love & Sex: A Christian Guide to Healthy Intimacy (2018)

  Wes Yoder, thank you. You have guided this process with such grace and wisdom. You believed in my writing and your connections and friendship led us to Gary Terashita. Gary, thank you for believing in this project. Thank you for caring about this topic and how it has influenced the world we live in. You and the amazing Regnery team have added to this book and made it all possible. I am forever grateful and humbled to have the support of Regnery Publishing. Sarah Wronko, this book wouldn’t exist without you. You have given me endless support and inspiration. You are more than an editor; you are a true friend. To our precious sons, Aaron, Joshua, Micah, and Jonathan. God does take the lonely and put them into family and you have made for a wonderful family! I am blessed to be your mom. You are the best sons a mother could have. You have taught me about love, forgiveness, grace, courage, and joy. I loved watching you grow up to become the men you are. I love the women you picked to make your own families with. Nicole, Lauren, Darcy, and Annie, thank you for being outstanding daughters to Ron and me. You are the ones we didn’t give birth to, but we are so happy for the much-needed estrogen and femininity each of you so beautifully bring. To top it all off, you have given us eight grandchildren. Titus, Lola Kate, Gracyn, Sailor, James, Levi, Dottie Lynn, and Scout—well, you are the frosting on the cake! Lastly, I want to thank the many clients who have given me the opportunity to practice, listen, learn, attune to, hurt with, and watch as they grow and overcome. You inspire me! Notes FOUR: LOVE AND LONGING 1.​Ted Roberts, found in Conquer Series: The Battle Plan for Purity Study Guide by Jeremy and Tiana Wiles (Stuart, FL: KingdomWorks Studios, 2013.SEVEN: THE GUYS’ GROUP 1.​Daniel Amen, at the American Association of Christian Counselors conference.EIGHT: TIME TO HEAL 1.​Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006).2.​Eric Barker, “A Neuroscience Researcher Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You Happier,” Business Insider, September 26, 2015, www.businessinsider.com/a-neuroscience-researcher-reveals-4-rituals-that-will-make-a-happier-person-2015-9.NINE: SEXUAL WHOLENESS SEMINAR 1.​“The Porn Phenomenon: The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age,” A Barna Report Produced in partnership with Josh McDowell Ministry, 2016.2.​Ibid.3.​Daniel J. Siegel, The Mindful Therapist (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010), 62.4.​See Dozier, Stovall, Albus, and Bates, “Attachment for Infants in Foster Care: The Role of Caregiver State of Mind,” 2001.5.​Daniel J. Siegel, “About Interpersonal Neurobiology,” http://www.drdansiegel.com/about/interpersonal_neurobiology/.6.​Song by Jimmy Krondes and J. Taylor, 1976.7.​Siegel, The Mindful Therapist.TWELVE: PASSION 1.​Paul W. Eastwick and Eli J. Finkel, “The Attachment System in Fledgling Relationships: An Activating Role for Attachment Anxiety,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008, vol. 95: 628–47.2.​Rosemary Basson, “Rethinking Low Sexual Desire in Women,” BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 109, issue 4, April 2002: 357–63, onlinelibrary.wiley.com.

• From Four Days to Glory: Wrestling with the Soul of the American Heartland (2005)

  They have my appreciation and my admiration, as do their coaches, Doug Streicher and Brad Bridgewater. In Iowa: Kevin McCauley, Bud Legg, Jeff Nelson, Mike McDonough, Tom Brands, Mike Chapman, Kyle Klingman, Mike Fisher, Dan Gable, Pablo Ubasa, Jim Zalesky, Larry Henderson, Jason Haag, Curt Hynek, CJ McDonald, the Marion Maid-Rite Café and that used CD shop over by the mall off Collins Road. For help unwittingly supplied: Brian Brown, Bruce Schoenfeld, Donald E. Wood, Shelly Wood, Barry Lorge, Bob Wright, Michael “Duke” McIntyre, Murph and Chris, Jim, Blake, Kevin and Mitch, the good folks at the Sacramento Bee, and countless others who volunteered good wishes and belief at precisely the times they were needed. Much love to big brother Steve and sister Kay; to my mother, Rachel; to Fitz; to my father’s memory; to legions of Costellos, Kreidlers, Woods, Janssens, and FitzSimonses everywhere; and to our enduring friends. You know who you are. Sincere thanks to Jeff Nicholson for the office space. This book is lovingly dedicated to Colleen Costello-Kreidler, Patric Kreidler and Ryan Kreidler, for their unswerving loyalty and nearly limitless patience. You are my finalists. About the AuthorMARK KREIDLER is a regular contributor to ESPN television, ESPN.com, and ESPN magazine, and a recipient of the Associated Press Sports Editors citation as one of the ten best sportswriters in America. He lives in northern California with his wife and sons. Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author. CreditsCover photograph by Benjamin Hill CopyrightFOUR DAYS TO GLORY . Copyright © 2007 by Mark Kreidler. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2007 ISBN: 9780061865640 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 [image "image" file=Image00001.jpg] About the PublisherAustralia HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd. 25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321) Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au Canada HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900 Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca New Zealand HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited P.O. Box 1 Auckland, New Zealand http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz United Kingdom HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 77-85 Fulham Palace Road London, W6 8JB, UK http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk United States HarperCollins Publishers Inc. 10 East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022 http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

• From Saint Thomas Aquinas Collection (22 Books) (2016)

  It has, however, various degrees corresponding in their order to the things required for gratitude. The first of these is to recognize the favor received, the second to express one’s appreciation and thanks, and the third to repay the favor at a suitable place and time according to one’s means. And since what is last in the order of generation is first in the order of destruction, it follows that the first degree of ingratitude is when a man fails to repay a favor, the second when he declines to notice or indicate that he has received a favor, while the third and supreme degree is when a man fails to recognize the reception of a favor, whether by forgetting it or in any other way. Moreover, since opposite affirmation includes negation, it follows that it belongs to the first degree of ingratitude to return evil for good, to the second to find fault with a favor received, and to the third to esteem kindness as though it were unkindness. Reply to Objection 1: In every sin there is material ingratitude to God, inasmuch as a man does something that may pertain to ingratitude. But formal ingratitude is when a favor is actually contemned, and this is a special sin. Reply to Objection 2: Nothing hinders the formal aspect of some special sin from being found materially in several kinds of sin, and in this way the aspect of ingratitude is to be found in many kinds of sin. Reply to Objection 3: These three are not different species but different degrees of one special sin. Whether ingratitude is always a mortal sin?Objection 1: It seems that ingratitude is always a mortal sin. For one ought to be grateful to God above all. But one is not ungrateful to God by committing a venial sin: else every man would be guilty of ingratitude. Therefore no ingratitude is a venial sin. Objection 2: Further, a sin is mortal through being contrary to charity, as stated above ([3195]Q[24], A[12]). But ingratitude is contrary to charity, since the debt of gratitude proceeds from that virtue, as stated above ([3196]Q[106], A[1], ad 3; A[6], ad 2). Therefore ingratitude is always a mortal sin. Objection 3: Further, Seneca says (De Benef. ii): “Between the giver and the receiver of a favor there is this law, that the former should forthwith forget having given, and the latter should never forget having received.” Now, seemingly, the reason why the giver should forget is that he may be unaware of the sin of the recipient, should the latter prove ungrateful; and there would be no necessity for that if ingratitude were a slight sin. Therefore ingratitude is always a mortal sin.

• From New Testament Words (1964)

  (iv) The ‘call’ is associated with koinōnia, with ‘fellowship’ (I Cor. 1.9). That fellowship is a double fellowship; it is a fellowship with Christ and with our fellow men. The man who hears and answers the call of God is on the way to being in a new relationship with Christ and with his fellow men. (v) The ‘call’ is associated with eleutheria, with ‘freedom’ (Gal. 5.13). To answer God’s call is to find, not slavery, but liberation. The man who responds to the invitation of God is freed from self, and sin and Satan. (vi) The ‘call’ is associated with elpis, with ‘hope’ (Eph. 4.4). When a man hears and answers the call of God it is the end of pessimism and the end of despair. He is no longer an inevitably defeated man; he is a potentially victorious man. He no longer lives a life encircled by endless frustrations; he lives a life enlarged with endless possibilities. (vii) The ‘call’ is associated with ‘duty’. Again and again we are urged to walk in a way that is worthy of our calling (Eph. 4.1; I Cor. 7.17). It is a call to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ (I Pet. 2.21). It is a call, not to akatharsia, which is ‘uncleanness’, but to hagiasmos, which is ‘sanctification’ (I Thess. 4.7). The man who hears and answers this call sets out on the road to holiness. The one who calls us is hagios, ‘holy’, and we who are called must also be hagios, ‘holy’ (I Pet. 1.15). We must be counted ‘worthy of this calling’ (II Thess. 1.11). For that very reason it is something which, by our lives, we must for ever strive to make secure (II Pet. 1.10). Think of it this way. A man might receive a gift which he well knew he did not deserve; he might be given something of such a munificent generosity that he knew that he could never repay it; he might be treated with a kindness that he knew that he had not even remotely earned. For that very reason he will be bound to spend all his strength and all his life in one passionate effort to show how grateful he is for the gift that he never deserved. His effort is not the result of fear; it is not the product of the desire for credit; it is simply the inevitable result of an amazed and wondering love. So then we well know that nothing that we have done or can do can make us deserve to be called by God. That is all the more reason why all life should be spent in the effort to be worthy of the love which so honoured us against all our deserving. There are certain further things that we must still note about this idea of ‘the calling of God’. (i) The ‘call’ is associated with salvation (sōzein) (II Tim.

• From Saint Thomas Aquinas Collection (22 Books) (2016)

  AUGUSTINE. (Tract. xv) He who asked to drink, however, out of the woman’s vessel, thirsted for the woman’s faith: Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, or Who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water. ORIGEN. (tom. xiv. in Joan) For it is as it were a doctrine, that no one receives a divine gift, who seeks not for it. Even the Saviour Himself is commanded by the Father to ask, that He may give it Him, as we read, Require of Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance. (Ps. 2:8) And our Saviour Himself says, Ask, and it shall be given you. (Luke 11:9) Wherefore He says here emphatically, Thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee. AUGUSTINE. (1. lxxxiii. Quæst. qu. 64) He lets her know that it was not the water, which she meant, that Ho asked for; but that knowing her faith, He wished to satisfy her thirst, by giving her the Holy Spirit. For so must we interpret the living water, which is the gift of God; as He saith, If thou knewest the gift of God. AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xv) Living water is that which comes out of a spring, in distinction to what is collected in ponds and cisterns from the rain. If spring water too becomes stagnant, i. e. collects into some spot, where it is quite separated from its fountain head, it ceases to be living water. CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xxxii) In Scripture the grace of the Holy Spirit is sometimes called fire, sometimes water, which shews that these words are expressive not of its substance, but of its action. The metaphor of fire conveys the lively and sin-consuming property of grace; that of water the cleansing of the Spirit, and the refreshing of the souls who receive Him. THEOPHYLACT. The grace of the Holy Spirit then He calls living water; i. e. lifegiving, refreshing, stirring. For the grace of the Holy Spirit is ever stirring him who does good works, directing the risings of his heart. CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. xxxi. 4) These words raised the woman’s notions of our Lord, and make her think Him no common person. She addresses Him reverentially by the title of Lord; The woman saith unto Him, Lord, Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast Thou that living water? AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xv. c. 13.) She understands the living water to be the water in the well; and therefore says, Thou wishest to give me living water; but Thou hast nothing to draw with as I have: Thou canst not then give me this living water; Art Thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

• From New Testament Words (1964)

  I was asked a few years ago by a parish minister if I would write three short articles on three great NT words for his congregational magazine, and I did so. At that time another series of articles which I was writing for the British Weekly was coming to an end, and I had to think of something with which to follow it. I suggested to Mr Shaun Herron, the editor of that weekly, that I might experiment with a series of word articles in his columns. He agreed, and that series of articles has been running ever since. I wish to say that I am deeply grateful to him, first, for allowing me space in the British Weekly for these word articles, and second, for giving me permission to republish them in this form. Had it not been for his continual encouragement that series would never have begun and this book would never have been written. As the series went on it became clear that there were many people who wished to possess the articles in more permanent form. At first I was surprised at this, for these articles might be defined as an attempt to popularize the Greek dictionary, and to teach Greek to people who do not know any Greek. But it seems to me that this interest was simply one facet of the quite extraordinary interest in the Bible which exists today and which is becoming ever stronger. I do not think that there ever was a time when people were more interested in what the Bible has to say and in what the Bible means. Therein lies the justification for a book like this. Translation from one language into another is in one sense impossible. It is always possible to translate words with accuracy when they refer to things. A chair is a chair in any language. But it is a different matter when it is a question of ideas. In that case some words need, not another to translate them, but a phrase, or a sentence, or even a paragraph. Further, words have associations. They have associations with people, with history, with ideas, with other words, and these associations give words a certain flavour which cannot be rendered in translation, but which affects their meaning and significance in the most important way. This book is an attempt to take certain great NT words and to find out what these words meant to the writers of the NT and to those who read and heard their message for the first time. To do that means seeking to trace the meaning of these words in classical Greek, in the Septuagint, when they occur there, in Hellenistic Greek and in the papyri.

• From Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)

  But now she had buckled on her travelling shoes. She would cry aloud and spare not, and lift up her voice like a trumpet in Zion. ‘Yes,’ said Sister Price, with her gentle smile, ‘He says that he that is faithful in little things shall be made chief over many.’ John smiled back at her, a smile that, despite the shy gratitude it was meant to convey, did not escape being ironic, or even malicious. But Sister Price did not see this, which deepened John’s hidden scorn. ‘Ain’t but you two who cleaned the church?’ asked Sister McCandless with an unnerving smile—the smile of the prophet who sees the secrets hidden in the hearts of men. ‘Lord, Sister McCandless,’ said Elisha, ‘look like it ain’t never but us two. I don’t know what the other young folks does on Saturday nights, but they don’t come nowhere near here.’ Neither did Elisha usually come anywhere near the church on Saturday evenings; but as the pastor’s nephew he was entitled to certain freedoms; in him it was a virtue that he came at all. ‘It sure is time we had a revival among our young folks,’ said Sister McCandless. ‘They cooling off something terrible. The Lord ain’t going to bless no church what lets its young people get so lax, no sir. He said, because you ain’t neither hot or cold I’m going to spit you outen my mouth. That’s the Word.’ And she looked around sternly, and Sister Price nodded. ‘And Brother Johnny here ain’t even saved yet,’ said Elisha. ‘Look like the saved young people would be ashamed to let him be more faithful in the house of God than they are.’ ‘He said that the first shall be last and the last shall be first,’ said Sister Price with a triumphant smile. ‘Indeed, He did,’ agreed Sister McCandless. ‘This boy going to make it to the Kingdom before any of them, you wait and see.’ ‘Amen,’ said Brother Elisha, and he smiled at John. ‘Is Father going to come and be with us to-night?’ asked Sister McCandless after a moment. Elisha frowned and thrust out his lower lip. ‘I don’t reckon so, Sister,’ he said. ‘I believe he going to try to stay home to-night and preserve his strength for the morning service. The Lord’s been speaking to him in visions and dreams and he ain’t got much sleep lately.’ ‘Yes,’ said Sister McCandless, ‘that sure is a praying man.

• From Blue Like Jazz (2003)

  “Thanks, man. I believe that you mean that.” His eyes were watering again. “This is cool what you guys are doing,” he repeated. “I am going to tell my friends about this.” “I don’t know whether to thank you for that or not,” I laughed. “I have to sit here and confess all my crap.” He looked at me very seriously. “It’s worth it,” he said. He shook my hand, and when he left the booth there was somebody else ready to get in. It went like that for a couple of hours. I talked to about thirty people, and Tony took confessions on a picnic table outside the booth. Many people wanted to hug when we were done. All of the people who visited the booth were grateful and gracious. I was being changed through the process. I went in with doubts and came out believing so strongly in Jesus I was ready to die and be with Him. I think that night was the beginning of change for a lot of us. Iven started taking a group to a local homeless shelter to feed the poor, and he often had to turn students away because the van wouldn’t hold more than twenty or so. We held an event called Poverty Day where we asked students to live on less than three dollars a day to practice solidarity with the poor. More than one hundred students participated. Penny spoke in Vollum Lounge on the topic of poverty in India, and more than seventy-five students came. Before any of this, our biggest event had about ten people. We hosted an evening where we asked students to come and voice their hostility against Christians. We answered questions about what we believed and explained our love for people, for the hurting, and we apologized again for our own wrongs against humanity and asked for forgiveness from the Reed community. We enjoyed the new friendships we received, and at one time had four different Bible studies on campus specifically for people who did not consider themselves Christians. We watched a lot of students take a second look at Christ. But mostly, we as Christians felt right with the people around us. Mostly we felt forgiven and grateful. Sometime around two or three in the morning, the night we took confessions, I was walking off the campus with my monk robe under my arm, and when I got to the large oak trees on the outskirts of the font lawn, I turned and looked at the campus. It all looked so smart and old, and I could see the lights coming out of the Student Center, and I could hear the music thumping. There were kids making out on the lawn and chasing each other down the sidewalks. There was laughing and dancing and throwing up.

• From Love & Sex: A Christian Guide to Healthy Intimacy (2018)

  Ron and I have had our fair share of collected garbage to work through. I grew up in a home with physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, along with emotional neglect. Ron experienced massive amounts of neglect and huge boundary violations. After forty-two years of marriage, we can say, “God is good; trust Him with your past, your present, and your future.” Allow Him to search your heart and dig around in the soil of your life. Allow Him to challenge your character structure and invite him to reveal anything in need of His healing hand. Every human needs some part of their brain rewired and their heart healed. It’s normal. Treat it like it is and dig into becoming the integrated whole human He longs for you to become: free from shame, free from secrets, free from lies. God wants you to live in a wide open space, the space your soul needs to prosper and live—really live. Acknowledgments As my husband, Ron, says, “This book has taken a life-time of work to be written.” Many have contributed to this journey I have been on. Even though my childhood had its fair share of trauma, I’m grateful for the grit I learned from my father and the gentle kindness of my mother. I am grateful for the influence of the many pastors who have spoken into my life. I would especially like to thank Pastor Book, Pastor Groff, Bill Carmichael, and Brady Boyd. I have been blessed with wonderful colleagues and professors who have invited me to think, process my issues, and shape my skills as a therapist. I am grateful for the team at the Institute for Sexual Wholeness: Dr. Doug Rosenau, Debra Taylor, Dr. Michael Sytsma, Christopher McCluskey, Dr. Cliff and Joyce Penner, Dr. Mark Yarhouse, and Dr. Wade Hemminger at DBU. Also, I am thankful for my Townsend Leadership family. I love that we get to do serious life-changing stuff together and laugh until our sides hurt. You are one fun bunch of people! I appreciate the opportunity to work with Dr. Townsend as a Townsend Leadership director in Texas and New York. To the staff and congregation of Gateway Church, you are a part of this book. Thank you for opportunities to further develop my thinking on the topic of human sexuality. To all of those who attended classes, participated in groups, loved me as I learned, and continued to say how important this topic is—thank you!

• From The Triumph of Christianity (2018)

  THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY Prof. Bart D. Ehrman a. = SIMON & SCHUSTER NEW YORK, NY 10020 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Bart D. Ehrman All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition February 2018 ISBN 978-1-50113670-2 ISBN 978-1-50113672-6 (ebook) CONTENTS Acknowledgments Time Line Introduction Chapter 1 The Beginning of the End: The Conversion of Constantine Chapter 2 Back to the Beginning: The Conversion and Mission of Paul Chapter 3 The Religious World of Conversion: Roman Paganism Chapter 4 Reasons for the Christian Success Chapter 5 Miraculous Incentives for Conversion Chapter 6 The Growth of the Church Chapter 7 Christians Under Assault: Persecution, Martyrdom, and Self-Defense Chapter 8 The First Christian Emperor Chapter 9 Conversion and Coercion: The Beginnings of a Christian Empire Afterword Appendix Notes Acknowledgments I am deeply grateful to everyone who has helped me write this book. First and foremost is my brilliant and insightful wife, Sarah Beckwith, not only a partner for life but also an extraordinarily helpful reader, who has provided numerous pointers and perceptive observations. Four other scholars with deep expertise read the entire manuscript and made insightful comments: Elizabeth Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, emerita, Department of Religion, Duke University; Harold Drake, Professor of History, emeritus, University of California at Santa Barbara; Andrew Jacobs, Mary W. and J. Stanley Johnson Professor of Humanities, Scripps College; and James Rives, Kenan Eminent Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These are among the top scholars in the world in the fields I cover in the book. Their comments and suggestions have been invaluable to me, and they saved me from several serious faux pas. For those that remain, the fault, alas, lies with me. I also chose to have several non-scholars read the book, and in doing so I have done something rather unusual. This will take a bit of explaining. I started the Bart Ehrman Blog just over five years ago. The blog covers all the areas of my academic interest: the New Testament, the historical Jesus, the writings of Paul, the early Christian apocrypha, the Apostolic Fathers, the manuscript tradition of the early Christian writings, the history of Christianity during the first four centuries, and so on. I post about a thousand words a day on the blog, five to six times a week. The only hitch is that to read my posts, a person has to join the blog, and to join costs money (but not much).

• From What Belongs to You (2016)

  But of course I said yes, that short syllable, saying it twice in quick succession, da da , as if to say what a question, how could it be otherwise, and she nodded at this as though she believed it, and then took a seat beside me on the bench. I was surprised by the sudden closeness, flinching a little as if she might mean me harm. She wasn’t a young woman, but there was a sense of vitality about her that made me think of the Bulgarian phrase zryala vuzrast , ripe age, which they use for the period before one is truly old. She was large, but she carried her weight like a sign of health, her frame softened by well-being. It occurred to me that she was the first person I had seen in these institutions who didn’t seem exhausted or exasperated; it’s a talent some people have, being at ease, or seem to have, I know such impressions can be wrong. Ne se pritesnyavai , this woman said, don’t worry, ne e fatalno , it’s not so serious, you’ll do the treatment and get better, soon it will be behind you. She was being kind, simply kind, and I looked at her for a moment before I said thank you, and then, because it was inadequate to what I felt, I said it again. And your friend, she went on, and I noted that she too was addressing me informally; before I had been Vie and gospodinut , the gentleman, but now I was set on a new footing. And this was part of her kindness, so that I felt the other side of that nuance my language doesn’t have, that if it is a loss of dignity it can be a gain of warmth, something that seemed to me now very dear. Your friend, how is he, she asked, has he been to see someone, is he getting treatment? He is, I said, though I realized I wasn’t sure if that was true, I didn’t know where the money I had given him had gone. She nodded, It’s important that he does, she said, make sure he finishes it, otherwise he won’t get better. All right, I said, I will, and she braced her palms against her thighs and stood. Come on, then, she said, let’s go to the office so you can pay and get home. I was warmed by her kindness as I made my way back to Mladost, the bus nearly empty, the evening rush still hours away. I thought of Mitko on the long ride, feeling sure my decision was the right one, and feeling too that it would be difficult to keep.

• From Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family (1901)

  Many thanks ook, Grobleben! What do you want with the roses?" But Grobleben isn't over yet, he strains his whiny voice and drowns out the Consul's. »... Lord God will reward him for all this, segg me, him and the whole esteemed Fomili, if that's the case, and if we stare at your traffic jams, because one day we'll all have to go to hell, poor and riek, that's sin holy will and decree, one gets a fine polished coffin of thin wood, and the other gets a big box, we all have to warn everyone about dew rot, we have to warn everyone about dew rot, dew rot ... dew rot ...! « "Nah, Grossleben! We've got a baptism, and be with a moder!..." "And we'd like some flowers," concludes Grobleben. “Thank you, Grobleben! That's a lot of tau veel! What hebb'm Sei sik dat costs late, Minsch! And a word like that, hew, I don't hear it for a long time!... Well, here! Maken be a happy Dag!' And the Consul puts his hand on his shoulder, giving him a thaler. "There, good man!" says the old Consul. “Do you also love your Savior?” "The hew ick von Harten leiw, Fru Kunselin, that's so woahr ...!" And Grobleben also receives a thaler from her, and then a third from Madame Permaneder, whereupon he withdraws with scratching feet and the roses, as far as they are left don't lie on the carpet, take it with you in your thoughts... ... Now the mayor has left - the consul has escorted him down to the carriage - and that is the sign of farewell for the other guests as well, because Gerda Buddenbrook needs to be taken care of. It's getting quiet in the rooms. The old consul with Tony, Erika and Mamsell Jungmann are the last. "Yes, Ida," says the Consul, "I thought to myself - and my mother agrees - you once nursed us all, and when little Johann is a little older... now he still has the wet nurse, and she will be taken care of a nanny might be needed, but would you like to move over to us then?" "Yes, yes, Herr Consul, and if that's all right with your wife..." Gerda is also satisfied with this plan, and so the suggestion has already become a decision. But as she leaves, already in the doorway, Frau Permaneder turns around again. She returns to her brother, kisses him on both cheeks and says, "It's a beautiful day, Tom, I'm happier than I've been in a year! We Buddenbrooks aren't on our last legs yet, thank God, whoever believes that is very much mistaken!

• From Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)

  Then: ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord,’ she said. Thus had her mother lived and died; and she had often been brought low, but she had never been forsaken. She had always seemed to Florence the oldest woman in the world, for she often spoke of Florence and Gabriel as the children of her old age, and she had been born, innumerable years ago, during slavery, on a plantation in another state. On this plantation she had grown up as one of the field-workers, for she was very tall and strong; and by and by she had married and raised children, all of whom had been taken from her, one by sickness and two by auction; and one, whom she had not been allowed to call her own, had been raised in the master’s house. When she was a woman grown, well past thirty as she reckoned it, with one husband buried—but the master had given her another—armies, plundering and burning, had come from the North to set them free. This was in answer to the prayers of the faithful, who had never ceased, both day and night, to cry out for deliverance. For it had been the will of God that they should hear, and pass thereafter, one to another, the story of the Hebrew children who had been held in bondage in the land of Egypt; and how the Lord had heard their groaning, and how His heart was moved; and how He bid them wait but a little season till He should send deliverance. Florence’s mother had known this story, so it seemed, from the day that she was born. And while she lived—rising in the morning before the sun came up, standing and bending in the fields when the sun was high, crossing the fields homeward while the sun went down at the gates of Heaven far away, hearing the whistle of the foreman and his eerie cry across the fields; in the whiteness of winter when hogs and turkeys and geese were slaughtered, and lights burned bright in the big house, and Bathsheba, the cook, sent over in a napkin bits of ham and chicken and cakes left over by the white folks—in all that befell: in her joys, her pipe in the evening, her man at night, the children she suckled, and guided on their first short steps; and in her tribulations, death, and parting, and the lash, she did not forget that deliverance was promised and would surely come. She had only to endure and trust in God. She knew that the big house, the house of pride where the white folks lived, would come down; it was written in the Word of God. They, who walked so proudly now, had not fashioned for themselves or their children so sure a foundation as was hers.

• From Saint Thomas Aquinas Collection (22 Books) (2016)

  Reply to Objection 3: God bestows many things on us out of His liberality, even without our asking for them: but that He wishes to bestow certain things on us at our asking, is for the sake of our good, namely, that we may acquire confidence in having recourse to God, and that we may recognize in Him the Author of our goods. Hence Chrysostom says [*Implicitly [Hom. ii, de Orat.: Hom. xxx in Genes. ]; Cf. Caten. Aur. on Lk. 18]: “Think what happiness is granted thee, what honor bestowed on thee, when thou conversest with God in prayer, when thou talkest with Christ, when thou askest what thou wilt, whatever thou desirest.” Whether prayer is an act of religion?Objection 1: It would seem that prayer is not an act of religion. Since religion is a part of justice, it resides in the will as in its subject. But prayer belongs to the intellective part, as stated above [3013](A[1]). Therefore prayer seems to be an act, not of religion, but of the gift of understanding whereby the mind ascends to God. Objection 2: Further, the act of “latria” falls under a necessity of precept. But prayer does not seem to come under a necessity of precept, but to come from the mere will, since it is nothing else than a petition for what we will. Therefore prayer seemingly is not an act of religion. Objection 3: Further, it seems to belong to religion that one “offers worship end ceremonial rites to the Godhead” [*Cicero, Rhet. ii, 53]. But prayer seems not to offer anything to God, but to. ask to obtain something from Him. Therefore prayer is not an act of religion. On the contrary, It is written (Ps. 140:2): “Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight”: and a gloss on the passage says that “it was to signify this that under the old Law incense was said to be offered for a sweet smell to the Lord.” Now this belongs to religion. Therefore prayer is an act of religion. I answer that, As stated above ([3014]Q[81], AA[2],4), it belongs properly to religion to show honor to God, wherefore all those things through which reverence is shown to God, belong to religion. Now man shows reverence to God by means of prayer, in so far as he subjects himself to Him, and by praying confesses that he needs Him as the Author of his goods. Hence it is evident that prayer is properly an act of religion.

• From What Belongs to You (2016)

  Malko sme ludichki , he said then, his face breaking into its smile, a real smile, full voltage: we’re a little crazy; and I had to agree that this was so, smiling at him weakly in response. But my smile faded quickly, and without sitting down I said that we should go. Yes, Mitko replied, your friend is waiting, and before I remembered my earlier excuse I thought of R. He stood up, then took his cup and sucked loudly at the straw one last time, gathering all the sweetness he could. The cold was brutal after the warmth of the restaurant, but I paused to give Mitko the money he had asked for, taking the five new bills from my wallet and folding them once as I passed them to him. Thank you, he said, closing the money in his fist and bringing it to his heart, thank you a lot, naistina , I mean it. It’s nothing, I said, you need it; and then quickly I asked him how he wanted to get home, whether by metro or by bus. But it was late now, and a Sunday, and neither of us was sure how late the metro would run. There was a bus stop across the boulevard that would get him downtown, and we made our way there together, the slush of the day’s traffic already frozen in the quiet street. Mitko walked confidently in his new shoes, a few steps ahead of me, no longer quite so attentive, I couldn’t help thinking, now that he had what he had come for; and he looked around restlessly, as if he were frustrated by the empty street. There was only one other person waiting at the flimsy structure of plastic and corrugated tin, a thirty-something man in a heavy coat, huddling away from the wind and curled around the cigarette in his hand. He glanced at us and then quickly looked away, but Mitko spoke to him without hesitation, calling him bratle , brother, asking first for a cigarette and then, when this was handed over, for a light. Dobre , I said after this transaction, all right, I’ll leave you here, I should get back, and Mitko stuck the cigarette in his mouth, holding his hand out to me for a brief farewell. Then he stepped out from under the shelter, and, though it meant exposing himself to the wind, turned his face in the direction from which the bus would come. The buses of the 76 line are old and in poor repair, and the one that finally pulled up the next morning looked like all the others, square and painted a flat metallic green. It was double length, the two compartments joined by a great hinge in the center, the seam sealed with accordioned plastic that gave and took up slack as the two halves struggled against each other on the poor roads.

• From Saint Thomas Aquinas Collection (22 Books) (2016)

  Furthermore, divine goodness exceeds the creature’s capacity for good. As long as man leads a mortal life in this world, we know that his condition is such that he is neither immovably confirmed in good nor immovably obstinate in evil. Hence the very condition of human nature implies that it is capable of being cleansed from the contamination of sin. Surely the divine goodness would hardly allow this capacity to remain forever unrealized; but this would have been so had God not provided a remedy devised for man’s restoration. CHAPTER 200 RESTORATION OF MAN BY GOD THROUGH THE INCARNATIONWe indicated above that the reparation of human nature could not be effected either by Adam or by any other purely human being. For no individual man ever occupied a position of pre-eminence over the whole of nature; nor can any mere man be the cause of grace. The same reasoning shows that not even an angel could be the author of man’s restoration. An angel cannot be the cause of grace, just as he cannot be man’s recompense with regard to the ultimate perfection of beatitude, to which man was to be recalled. In this matter of beatitude angels and men are on a footing of equality. Nothing remains, therefore, but that such restoration could be effected by God alone. But if God had decided to restore man solely by an act of His will and power, the order of divine justice would not have been observed. justice demands satisfaction for sin. But God cannot render satisfaction, just as He cannot merit. Such a service pertains to one who is subject to another. Thus God was not in a position to satisfy for the sin of the whole of human nature; and a mere man was unable to do so, as we have just shown. Hence divine Wisdom judged it fitting that God should become man, so that thus one and the same person would be able both to restore man and to offer satisfaction. This is the reason for the divine Incarnation assigned by the Apostle in 1 Timothy 1:15: “Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.” CHAPTER 201 OTHER REASONS FOR THE INCARNATIONThere are also other reasons for the divine Incarnation. Man had withdrawn from spiritual things and had delivered himself up wholly to material things, from which he was unable by his own efforts to make his way back to God. Therefore divine Wisdom, who had made man, took to Himself a bodily nature and visited man immersed in things of the body, so that by the mysteries of His bodily life He might recall man to spiritual life. Furthermore, the human race had need that God should become man to show forth the dignity of human nature, so that man might not be subjugated either by devils or by things of the body.

• From Saint Thomas Aquinas Collection (22 Books) (2016)

  Grace and Glory.—The first reward is grace for the present life, and glory in the life to come, which surely are greatly to be desired: “Honor your father... that a blessing may come upon you from God, and His blessing may remain in the latter end” [Sir 3:9-10]. The very opposite comes upon those who dishonor their parents; indeed, they are cursed in the law by God [Deut 27:16]. It is also written: “He who is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in what is greater” [Lk 16:10]. But this our natural life is as nothing compared with the life of grace. And so, therefore, if you do not acknowledge the blessing of the natural life which you owe to your parents, then you are unworthy of the life of grace, which is greater, and all the more so for the life of glory, which is the greatest of all blessings. A Long Life.—The second reward is a long life: “That you may be long-lived upon the land.” For “he who honors his father shall enjoy a long life” [Sir 3:7]. Now, that is a long life which is a full life, and it is not observed in time but in activity, as the Philosopher observes. Life, however, is full inasmuch as it is a life of virtue; so a man who is virtuous and holy enjoys a long life even if in body he dies young: “Being perfect in a short space, he fulfilled a long time; for his soul pleased God” [Wis 4:13]. Thus, for example, he is a good merchant who does as much business in one day as another would do in a year. And note well that it sometimes happens that a long life may lead up to a spiritual as well as a bodily death, as was the case with Judas. Therefore, the reward for keeping this Commandment is a long life for the body. But the very opposite, namely, death is the fate of those who dishonor their parents. We receive our life from them; and just as the soldiers owe fealty to the king, and lose their rights in case of any treachery, so also they who dishonor their parents deserve to forfeit their lives: “The eye that mocks his father and despises the labor of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens pick it out, and the young eagles eat it” [Prov 30:17]. Here “the ravens” signify officials of kings and princes, who in turn are the “young eagles.” But if it happens that such are not bodily punished, they nevertheless cannot escape death of the soul. It is not well, therefore, for a father to give too much power to his children: “Do not give to a son or wife, brother or friend, power over you while you live; and do not give your estate to another, lest you repent” [Sir 33:20].

• From Saint Thomas Aquinas Collection (22 Books) (2016)

  6. St. Jerome says, when writing against Vigilantius: “We do not deny that if anyone is able to do so and is generously minded, he may give alms to all poor men, even to Samaritans and Jews. The Apostle teaches that charity is to be given to all men, but chiefly to those who are of the household of the Faith. It is of such that our Lord says: ‘Make friends with the mammon of iniquity, who will receive you into everlasting dwellings.’ But can these poor persons, whose physical degradation corresponds with their mental depravity, receive us into everlasting dwellings, when they possess no home at the present time and have no hope of any habitation in the future? It is not simply the poor, but the poor in spirit, that are called ‘blessed.’ And it is of such that the Psalmist writes: ‘Blessed is the man who understands concerning the needy and the poor’ (Ps. xi.). In order to succour the ordinary poor, alms are necessary, not understanding. In order to assist the holy poor mentioned in the beatitude, there must be intelligence, in order that alms may be given to him who is grieved and ashamed to accept them, and who, reaping material advantage, sows spiritual good.” Hence we see that it is better to give alms to the poor who are holy than to any others. 7. On the words, “he has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor,” (2 Cor. ix.), the Gloss thus comments: “If the reward of him who gives to the poor is great, how much greater shall be the prize awarded to him who ministers to the saints? For anyone may be poor, even though he be wicked.” This is a further argument, in favour of the opinion that we have just expressed. 8. St. Jerome comments thus on the words: “Let him who is instructed in the word communicate to him who instructs him” (Gal. vi. 6): “St. Paul commands that were infirm disciples and carnal men, to contribute to the material needs of the masters from whom they have received spiritual instruction, and who, being entirely devoted to study, lack the necessities of life.” Hence we see that alms are to be given not to such as work with their hands, but to those that are engaged in the study of the Scripture. 9. St. Jerome likewise writes to Paulinus : “He is rather to be considered a courtier than a monk, who always, or often, talks of money, and who takes no heed of the alms which belong to all.” From which words it is evident that alms are to be given to monks and to all others, and that monks have a right to speak of asking for charity.

• From The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (2004)

  I promised that I would. It did seem a sensible precaution, and I was grateful for the concern that was so different from the icy response of my superiors. News of the faint traveled fast. People I scarcely knew stopped me in the corridor and asked how I was feeling. Pat and Fiona gave me a bunch of flowers and Rosemary had thoughtfully provided a little vase, realizing that I probably didn’t have one. Charlotte asked me quite a lot about the incident and we again silently sized each other up as fellow neurotics. Charlotte and I were no longer tutorial partners. Dr. Brentwood Smyth had got rid of me fairly rapidly and passed me on to one of his graduate students. The college had responded indignantly. I was being groomed for a first-class degree and should not have been relegated to what they regarded as the scrap heap in this way. Now I was back with Mrs. Bednarowska, who was quite happy with my intricate, Gothic essays, and everybody seemed pleased with me. But I had not forgotten the emptiness I had encountered when I had to rely on my own thoughts, and felt that Dr. Brentwood Smyth had seen through my polished intellectual exterior to the vacuum at the core, as had Charlotte, though she knew too much about the numbing effects of shock to dismiss me as contemptuously as our tutor. So some good had come out of that faint. I had become closer to Jane, let down my guard a little, and allowed people to see that all was not well. And I decided to take Jane’s advice and buy myself a record player. As the new spirit of Vatican II slowly percolated through the convent, we had been encouraged to listen to music. A record player had appeared in the community room of the scholasticate, and we were allowed to use it during the afternoon recreation hour. I discovered a new world. I remember walking into the room one day after doing the washing up and being almost shocked by the beauty of the slow movement of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. Now, thanks to my simple little player, for which I paid the princely sum of twenty-five pounds, I could have this sublime treat anytime I wanted. Jane introduced me to the late quartets of Beethoven and I would play these almost nightly. This, I was aware, was probably the kind of experience I had sought in religion. While I listened, I felt my spirit knitting together. Things began to make sense.

• From The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (2004)

  Jane retained a great fondness for the kindly semienclosed sisters at her rather exclusive school. Pat had actually known me as a nun, since I had been sent to help out at her school in Harrogate. There were other people at the table for whom Catholicism and convents were alien territory and who clearly intended to keep it that way. In Beginning the World I made them all tease me goodnaturedly about my gaffe, question me about convent life, and express shock and horror at such customs as kissing the floor, confessing faults in public, and performing elaborate penances in the refectory. Maybe there was some discussion along these lines; certainly people were curious, up to a point. But I doubt that anybody was really very interested. These young women had been quite wonderful to me. It had been Rosemary, Fiona, and Pat who had marched me down to Marks & Spencer a couple of hours after my dispensation had come through and helped me to buy my first secular clothes. Rosemary had cut and styled my hair, and all three had escorted me to dinner, my first public appearance as a defrocked nun. But they were probably wary of prying too closely into the reasons for what they could see had been a traumatic decision. I certainly had no desire to discuss the matter with them. In the convent we had been carefully trained never to tell our troubles to one another, and it would never have occurred to me to unburden myself to my peers. And these girls had their own concerns. They too had essays to write; they were falling in love, and trying to juggle the demands of concentrated academic work with those of an absorbing social life. They were making their own journeys into adulthood, and now that the drama of my exodus was over, they almost certainly assumed that I was happily reveling in my new freedom, and were content to leave well enough alone. I also knew that they could not begin to imagine my convent existence. Occasionally one of them would express astonishment if I inadvertently let something slip. “My nuns weren’t a bit like that!” Jane would insist stoutly. “Your lot must have been abnormally strict.” Pat would look even more bewildered, because she and I had lived with exactly the same community, but her perspective, as a secular, was different. “They were so modern and up- to-date, even sophisticated!” she would protest. “They drove cars, were starting to go to the cinema again, and were changing the habit!” Both girls would look at me reproachfully, because I was spoiling a cherished memory.