Trust

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 In the Unlikely Event (2015)

  She became strong, even tough if she had to be, a woman who made friends with men but who never let it get romantic. She was done with all that, with girlish dreams of houses with picket fences and little children calling her “Mommy.” She was a female in every way but one. So she was missing some of her lady parts. So what? The doctor had referred to her as “juvenile” down there. Well, that was the only part of her that was juvenile. She’d never have to worry about why she wasn’t getting pregnant, the way her sister, Evelyn, did. Maybe Evelyn was missing lady parts, too. She hadn’t told Evelyn or anyone else about her condition. She lived with Evelyn and Mel in the small house she and Evelyn had inherited from their father. When Mel was killed driving home one rainy night on Vauxhall Road, Daisy was there for her sister. After a few months she encouraged Evelyn to take a refresher course at Katharine Gibbs, using some of the insurance money she’d collected when Mel died. “Get a job,” Daisy told her. “You’ll feel better.” But jobs were scarce. The insurance agent was sorry he had to let Daisy go but the Depression was taking its toll, as if she didn’t know. She learned to drive her father’s old car, which had been sitting in the garage since her father’s death. The mechanic down the street got it running in exchange for a few bags of groceries. She heard about a dental practice in Elizabeth, looking for an assistant. She was interviewed by the dentist and his wife. They hired her on the spot. They hoped things would improve soon, and when they did, they’d promised her a raise. —AFTER TEN YEARS working for Dr. O, he’d asked out of the blue, “I don’t mean to pry, Daisy, but how is it a beautiful, accomplished woman like you has never married?” She’d burst into tears, surprising herself and Dr. O. “There…there…” he’d said, holding her, patting her back the way her father might have. She felt so safe with him, trusted him so completely, she told him about Gerald Dupree and her condition. He took a minute to respond. “Would you like me to set up an appointment with a specialist for you?” “Yes,” she said, surprising herself again. “I would.” The specialist confirmed the first doctor’s findings. He gave a name to her condition, though she would never use it. She asked Dr. O to tell no one, not even his wife. “You don’t have to worry,” he said. “You are an extraordinary person, Daisy. Among the finest I’ve ever known. I consider myself lucky to have you in my life.” “The feelings are mutual, Dr. O.” She’d thought after that day they’d have no secrets from each other.

• From In the Unlikely Event (2015)

  “The boy I’ve been dancing with, the one from your party…remember?” “Yeah, but who is he?” Natalie said while the other girls hung on every word. “Mason McKittrick. He goes to Jefferson,” Miri said. “He knows Steve.” All this time Mason was standing next to her, listening. “Hey…” he said, giving a small wave to her friends. “Where does he live?” Natalie asked, ignoring Mason. Miri didn’t know where he lived or why it mattered. “I live on Salem,” Mason said. Then he whispered to Miri, but loud enough for the others to hear, “They don’t trust me.” “They don’t know you,” Miri told him. Robo said, “As soon as we get home I’ll have my father call your mother so she doesn’t worry.” “No, don’t do that,” Miri said. “I’ll call her myself.” She borrowed a nickel from Mason and used the pay phone inside the Y. Rusty answered on the second ring. “I’m walking home from the Y, okay?” “I thought Robo’s father was picking you up.” “He is, but I’d rather walk home.” She knew Rusty was waiting for more. “With a very nice boy,” she added. “You don’t have to worry.” “Okay,” Rusty said, just like that, surprising Miri. “But don’t dawdle. If you’re not home in half an hour I’m calling the police.” “Mom…it’s a long walk.” “I know exactly how long it is.” “Okay.” “And not in my shoes.” “I’ve already changed out of them.” “Okay then.” Miri was grateful for Rusty’s good mood. She took off one of her mittens and stuffed it in her pocket so she could hold Mason’s bare hand as they walked home. His skin was rough, probably chapped from not wearing gloves in this weather. He had a strong grip. Some guys held your hand like it was a fish they wished they could throw back. Mason spoke first. “That was Dr. Osner’s daughter, right?” “Yes, Natalie.” “My brother’s girlfriend works for Dr. Osner.” “You know Christina?” “She got me an emergency appointment one day when I had a toothache.” “He’s my dentist, too,” Miri said, then wondered why they were talking about teeth when the moon was shining and the sky was full of stars. Maybe he was wondering the same thing because after that they stopped to kiss at every tree, her back pressed up against it, Mason leaning into her. When they came to the site of the crash, they stood silently, his arm hugging her shoulder. “Where were you when…” he said. “I saw it happen,” she told him. “I was coming home from the movies with my mother.” “Jeez…” “What about you?” “I was at work…at the bowling alley on East Grand. We didn’t hear anything but we felt it. I thought it was an earthquake.” “We don’t have earthquakes in New Jersey, do we?” Right away she regretted asking such a stupid question. He shrugged.

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

  AUGUSTINE. (Tract. lxxii. 2) Whatsoever ye shall ask. Then why do we often see believers asking, and not receiving? Perhaps it is that they ask amiss. When a man would make a bad use of what he asks for, God in His mercy does not grant him it. Still if God even in kindness often refuses the requests of believers, how are we to understand, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will do? Was this said to the Apostles only? No. He says above, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also. And if we go to the lives of the Apostles themselves, we shall find that he who laboured more than they all, prayed that the messenger of Satan might depart from him, but was not granted his request. But attend: does not our Lord lay down a certain condition? In My name, which is Christ Jesus. Christ signifies King, Jesus, Saviour. Therefore whatever we ask for that would hinder our salvation, we do not ask in our Saviour’s name: and yet He is our Saviour, not only when He does what we ask, but also when He does not. When He sees us ask any thing to the disadvantage of our salvation, He shews Himself our Saviour by not doing it. The physician knows whether what the sick man asks for is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health; and does not allow what would be to his hurt, though the sick man himself desires it; but looks to his final cure. And some things we may even ask in His name, and He will not grant them us at the time, though He will some time. What we ask for is deferred, not denied. He adds, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The Son does not do any thing without the Father, inasmuch as He does it in order that the Father may be glorified in Him. CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxiv. 2) For when the great power of the Son is manifested, He that begat Him is glorified. He introduces this last, to confirm the truth of what He has said. THEOPHYLACT. Observe the order (ἀκολουθίαν) in which the glorifying of the Father comes. In the name of Jesus miracles were done, by which men were made to believe the Apostles’ preaching. This brought them to the knowledge of the Father, and thus the Father was glorified in the Son. 14:15–1715. If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

• From On Beauty (2005)

  Jack did pardon it, and also the unconscious pun. There’s a time for careful speech and then there’s a time for straight talking, and, although Jack French was incapable of the latter, he appreciated Lydia’s salty Boston tongue and the ‘enforcing’ job it did around the department. Unruly students, difficult UPS men, inexpressive computer technicians, Haitian cleaning staff caught smoking dope in the bathrooms – Lydia dealt with them all. The only reason Jack was able to rise above the fray was because Lydia was right there in the fray, toughing it out. ‘Now, Liddy, have you any idea where I could get hold of Claire Malcolm this morning?’ ‘How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand,’ mused Lydia, fond as she was of quoting musicals that Jack had never seen. ‘I know she has a class in five minutes . . . but that doesn’t mean she’s on her way to it. You know Claire.’ Lydia laughed sardonically. Jack didn’t encourage administrative  On Beauty staff discussing faculty in a sardonic manner, but there was no question of calling her up on it. Lydia was her own authority. Without her, Jack’s whole department would simply fall into chaos and misery. ‘I don’t think,’ considered Lydia, ‘that I’ve ever seen Claire Malcolm set foot in this department before noon . . . but maybe that’s just me. I’m so busy in the mornings I don’t see the latte sitting in front of me till it’s as cold as ice, you know?’ To women like Lydia, women like Claire made no sense at all.

• From On Beauty (2005)

  The pictures of Howard multiply as we near the ground: Howard in Bermuda shorts with shocking white, waxy knees; Howard in academic tweed under a tree dappled by the Massachusetts light; Howard in a great hall, newly appointed Empson Lecturer in Aesthetics; in a baseball cap pointing at Emily Dickinson’s house; in a beret for no good reason; in a Day-Glo jumpsuit in Eatonville, Florida, with Kiki beside him, shielding her eyes from either Howard or the sun or the camera. Now Howard paused on the middle landing to use the phone. He wanted to speak with Dr Erskine Jegede, Soyinka Professor of African Literature and Assistant Director of the Black Studies Department. He put his suitcase on the floor and tucked his air ticket into his armpit. He dialled and waited out the long ring, wincing at the thought of his good friend hunting through his satchel, apologizing to his fellow readers and making his way out of the library into the cold. ‘Hello?’ ‘Hello, who is this? I am in the library.’ ‘Ersk – it’s Howard. Sorry, sorry – should have called earlier.’ ‘Howard? You’re not upstairs?’ Usually, yes. Reading in his beloved Carrel , on the uppermost floor of the Greenman, Wellington College’s library. Every Saturday for years, barring illness or snowstorm. He would read all  On Beauty morning, and then convene with Erskine in the lobby at lunchtime, in front of the elevators. Erskine liked to grip Howard fraternally by the shoulders as they walked together to the library cafe´. They looked funny together. Erskine was almost a foot smaller, completely bald, with his scalp polished to an ebony sheen and a short man’s stocky chest, thrust forward like plumage. Erskine was never seen out of a suit (Howard had been wearing different versions of the same black jeans for ten years), and the mandarin impression he gave was perfectly completed by his neat salt-and-pepper beard, pointed like a White Russian’s, with a matching moustache and -D freckles around his cheeks and nose. During their lunches he was always wonderfully scurrilous and bad tempered about his peers, not that his peers would ever know it – Erskine’s freckles did incredible diplomatic work for him. Howard had often wished for a similarly benign face to show the world. After lunch, Erskine and Howard would part, always somewhat reluctantly. Each man returned to his own carrel until dinner. For Howard there was great joy in this Saturday routine. ‘Ah, now that is unfortunate,’ said Erskine upon hearing Howard’s news, and the sentiment covered not only Jerome’s situation but also the fact that these two men should be deprived of each other’s company. And then: ‘Poor Jerome. He’s a good boy. It is surely a point he is trying to prove.’

• From My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018)

  “Well, that would be a more authentic rebirth. Have you seen any Tarkovsky? Haven’t you read Rousseau?” “I was born into privilege,” I told Ping Xi. “I am not going to squander that. I’m not a moron.” “I might have to, like, downgrade to Super 8 then. Can I take down the blinds in the bedroom?” He pulled a handwritten document from his messenger bag. “Put the contract away,” I said. “I won’t sue you. Just don’t fuck this up for me.” Ping Xi shrugged. I gave him the key to the new lock. “If I need anything, I’ll stick a Post-it note here,” I said, pointing to the dining table. “You see this red pen?” Each time Ping Xi came over, he was to mark off the days on a calendar hanging on the door to my bedroom. Every three days, I’d wake up, look at the calendar, eat, drink, bathe, et cetera. I would only spend one hour awake each time. I did the math: for the next four months, 120 days total, I would spend only forty hours in a conscious state. “Sweet dreams,” said Ping Xi. His face was wan, fleshy, something blurry about it—maybe it was the Vaseline on his chin—but his eyes were sharp, hooded, dark, clear, and although I understood that he was foolish, I trusted his resolve. He wouldn’t let me out of there. He was too conceited to fail to keep his word, and too ambitious to give up the opportunity to take advantage of my offer. A woman out of her mind, locked in an apartment. I shut the door in his face. I heard him slide in the key and lock it. I took the first of forty Infermiterol, went into the bedroom, fluffed the pillow, and lay down. • • • THREE NIGHTS LATER, I came to in pitch darkness, crawled off the mattress, turned on the lights, and went into the living room, expecting to find scratches at the door, evidence of a wild animal being held against her will. But I found nothing. Ping Xi hadn’t even crossed out the days on the calendar. My apartment was almost unrecognizable in its blankness, clean and empty. I could imagine some well-dressed real estate agent bursting in —a floral scarf fluttering like a sail from her upheld arm as she extolled the virtues of the unit to a newly married couple: “High ceilings, hardwood, all the original molding, and quiet, quiet. From those windows, you can even see the East River.” The agent’s suit was canary yellow. The couple, I imagined, were the ones whose photo I’d taken a few days earlier on the Esplanade. My memory had blundered into my imagination, but I knew what was what. I understood that three days had passed without me, and there was a long way ahead.

• From The Golden Ass (Metamorphoses) (2)

  After that those two Companions were departed I entred into the City: where I espied an old woman, of whom I enquired whether that city was called Hipata, or no: Who answered, Yes. Then I demaunded, Whether she knew one Milo an Alderman of the city: Whereat she laughed and said: Verily it is not without cause that Milo is called an Elderman, and accounted as chiefe of those which dwel without the walls of the City. To whom I sayd againe, I pray thee good mother do not mocke, but tell me what manner of man he is, and where he dwelleth. Mary (quoth shee) do you see these Bay windowes, which on one side abut to the gates of the city, and on the other side to the next lane? There Milo dwelleth, very rich both in mony and substance, but by reason of his great avarice and insatiable covetousnes, he is evill spoken of, and he is a man that liveth all by usurie, and lending his money upon pledges. Moreover he dwelleth in a small house, and is ever counting his money, and hath a wife that is a companion of his extreame misery, neither keepeth he more in his house than onely one maid, who goeth apparelled like unto a beggar. Which when I heard, I laughed in my self and thought, In faith my friend Demeas hath served me well, which hath sent me being a stranger, unto such a man, in whose house I shall not bee afeared either of smoke or of the sent of meat; and therewithall I rode to the doore, which was fast barred, and knocked aloud. Then there came forth a maid which said, Ho sirrah that knocks so fast, in what kinde of sort will you borrow money? Know you not that we use to take no gage, unless it be either plate or Jewels? To whom I answered, I pray you maid speak more gently, and tel me whether thy master be within or no? Yes (quoth shee) that he is, why doe you aske? Mary (said I) I am come from Corinth, and have brought him letters from Demeas his friend. Then sayd the Maid, I pray you tarry here till I tell him so, and therewithall she closed fast the doore, and went in, and after a while she returned againe and sayd, My master desireth you to alight and come in. And so I did, whereas I found him sitting upon a little bed, going to supper, and his wife sate at his feet, but there was no meat upon the table, and so by appointment of the maid I came to him and saluted him, and delivered the letters which I had brought from Demeas. Which when hee had read hee sayd, Verily, I thanke my friend Demeas much, in that hee hath sent mee so worthy a guest as you are. And therewithall hee commanded his wife to sit away and bid mee sit in her place; which when I refused by reason of courtesie, hee pulled me by my garment and willed me to sit downe; for wee have (quoth he) no other stool here, nor no other great store of household stuffe, for fear of robbing. Then I according to his commandement, sate down, and he fell in further communication with me and sayd, Verily I doe conjecture by the comly feature of your body, and by the maidenly shamefastnesse of your face that you are a Gentleman borne, as my friend Demeas hath no lesse declared the same in his letters. Wherfore I pray you take in good part our poore lodging, and behold yonder chamber is at your commaundement, use it as your owne, and if you be contented therewithall, you shall resemble and follow the vertuous qualities of your good father Theseus, who disdained not the slender and poore Cottage of Hecades.

• From Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014)

  He freely acknowledged that he’d made poor decisions, particularly where women were concerned. By all accounts—from friends, family, and associates like Sam Crook—Walter generally tried to do the right thing. I never regarded our time together as wasted or unproductive. In all death penalty cases, spending time with clients is important. Developing the trust of clients is not only necessary to manage the complexities of the litigation and deal with the stress of a potential execution; it’s also key to effective advocacy. A client’s life often depends on his lawyer’s ability to create a mitigation narrative that contextualizes his poor decisions or violent behavior. Uncovering things about someone’s background that no one has previously discovered—things that might be hard to discuss but are critically important—requires trust. Getting someone to acknowledge he has been the victim of child sexual abuse, neglect, or abandonment won’t happen without the kind of comfort that takes hours and multiple visits to develop. Talking about sports, TV, popular culture, or anything else the client wants to discuss is absolutely appropriate to building a relationship that makes effective work possible. But it also creates genuine connections with clients. And that’s certainly what happened with Walter. — Shortly after my first trip to see Walter’s family, I received a call from a young man named Darnell Houston who told me that he could prove that Walter was innocent. His voice shook with nerves but he was determined to speak to me. He didn’t want to talk on the phone, so I drove down to meet with him one afternoon. He lived in a rural part of Monroe County on farmland that his family had worked since the time of slavery. Darnell was a sincere young man, and I could tell he’d been debating for a while whether to contact me. When I arrived at his home, he walked out to greet me. He was a young black man in his twenties who had joined the “Jheri curl” craze. I had already noticed that the popular process of chemically treating black hair to make it looser and easier to style had come to Monroeville; I’d seen several black men, young and old, sporting the look with pride. The cheerful bounce of Darnell’s hair contrasted with his worried demeanor. As soon as we sat down, he got right to business. “Mr. Stevenson,” he began. “I can prove that Walter McMillian is innocent.” “Really?” “Bill Hooks is lying. I didn’t know he was even involved in that case until they told me he was part of how they put Walter McMillian on death row. First, I didn’t believe Bill could have been part of this, but then I found out that he testified that he drove by that cleaners on the day that girl was killed, and that’s a lie.” “How do you know?” “We were working together all that day. We both worked at the NAPA auto parts store last November.

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

  AUGUSTINE. (Cont. Faust. 12. 45, and 13. 7.) Who so mad as to say with Manichæus, that it is a weak faith not to believe in Christ without a witness; whereas the Apostle says, How shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard? Or how shall they hear without a preacher? (Rom. 10:14.) That those things which were preached by the Apostles might not be contemned, nor thought to be fables, they are proved to have been foretold by the Prophets. For though attested by miracles, yet there would not have been wanting men to ascribe them all to magical power, had not such suggestions been overcome by the additional testimony of prophecy. For none could suppose that long before He was born, He had raised up by magic prophets to prophesy of Him. For if we say to a Gentile, Believe on Christ that He is God, and he should answer, Whence is it that I should believe on Him? we might allege the authority of the Prophets. Should he refuse assent to this, we establish their credit from their having foretold things to come, and those things having truly come to pass. I suppose he could not but know how great persecutions the Christian religion has formerly suffered from the Kings of this world; let him now behold those very Kings submitting to the kingdom of Christ, and all nations serving the same; all which things the Prophets foretold. He then hearing these things out of the Scriptures of the Prophets, and beholding them accomplished throughout the whole earth, would be moved to faith. GLOSS. (ap. Anselm.) This error then is barred by the Evangelist saying, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet. Now one kind of prophecy is by the preordination of God, and must needs be fulfilled, and that without any free choice on our part. Such is that of which we now speak; wherefore he says, Lo, to shew the certainty of prophecy. There is another kind of prophecy which is by the foreknowledge of God, and with this our free will is mixed up; wherein by grace working with us we obtain reward, or if justly deserted by it, torment. Another is not of foreknowledge, but is a kind of threat made after the manner of men; as that, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown: (Jonah 3.) understanding, unless the Ninevites amend themselves. 1:24–2524. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25. And knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born Son: and he called his name JESUS.

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

  CHRYSOSTOM. (Ubi sup.) It had indeed been enough that one Evangelist should have written all; but whereas four speak all things as with one mouth, and that neither from the same place nor at the same time, nor having met and discoursed together, these things are the greatest test of truth. It is also a mark of truth, that in some small matters they seem to disagree. For had their agreement been complete throughout, adversaries might have supposed that it was by a human collusion that this was brought about. Indeed in essentials which pertain to direction of life, and preaching the faith, they do not differ in the least thing. And if in their accounts of miracles, one tells it in one way, another in another, let not this disturb you; but think that if one had told all, the other three would have been a needless superfluity; had they all written different things, there would have been no room for proof of their harmony. And if their account differs in times or modes, this does not hinder the truth of the facts themselves which they relate, as shall be shewn below. AUGUSTINE. (Ubi sup.) Though each seems to have followed an order of narration of his own, yet we do not find any one of them writing as if in ignorance of his predecessor, or that he left out some things which he did not know, which another was to supply; but as each had inspiration, he gave accordingly the cooperation of his own not unnecessary labour. GLOSS. (Ubi sup.) But the sublimity of the Gospel doctrine consists, first, in its preeminent authority. AUGUSTINE. For among all the Divine instruments which are contained in Holy Writ, the Gospel has justly the most excellent place; its first preachers were the Apostles who had seen the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ present in the flesh; and some of them, that is, Matthew and John, published each a book of such things as seemed good to be published concerning Him. And that it should not be supposed, that, as far as relates to receiving and preaching the Gospel, it makes any difference whether it is announced by those who followed Him during His sojourn in the flesh, or by those who faithfully believed what they heard from others, it is provided by Divine Providence through the Holy Spiritd, that a commission, as well of writing as of preaching the Gospel, should be bestowed on some out of the number of those that followed the first Apostles.

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

  AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 13) She does not say to Him, Bring my brother to life again; for how could she know that it would be good for him to come to life again; she says, I know that Thou canst do so, if Thou wilt; but what Thou wilt do is for Thy judgment, not for my presumption to determine. CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 3) But our Lord taught her the truths which she did not know: Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Observe, He does not say, I will ask God, that he may rise again, nor on the other hand does He say, I want no help, I do all things of Myself; a declaration which would have been too much for the woman; but something between the two, He shall rise again. AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 14) Shall rise again, is ambiguous: for He does not say, now. And therefore it follows: Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day: of that resurrection I am certain; of this I am doubtful. CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii) She had often heard Christ speak of the resurrection. Jesus now declares His power more plainly: Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He needed therefore none to help Him; for if He did, how could He be the resurrection. And if He is the life, He is not confined by place, but is every where, and can heal every where. ALCUIN. I am the resurrection, because I am the life; as through Me he will rise at the general resurrection, through Me he may rise now. CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii) To Martha’s, Whatsoever Thou shall ask, He replies, He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: shewing her that He is the Giver of all good, and that we must ask of Him. Thus He leads her to the knowledge of high truths; and whereas she had been enquiring only about the resurrection of Lazarus, tells her of a resurrection in which both she and all present would share. AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 15) He that believeth in Me, though he were dead: i. e. though his flesh die, his soul shall live till the flesh rise again, never to die more. For faith is the life of the soul. And whosoever liveth, in the flesh, and believeth in Me, though he die for a time in the flesh, shall not die eternally. ALCUIN. Because He hath attained to the life of the Spirit, and to an immortal resurrection. Our Lord, from Whom nothing was hid, knew that she believed, but sought from her a confession unto salvation: Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, I believe that Thou art the Christ the Son of God, which should come into the world.

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

  LET THY WILL BE DONEIt must be noted that the very words used in this petition teach us a lesson. It does not say “Do” or “Let us do,” but it says, “[Let] Thy will be done,” because two things are necessary for eternal life: the grace of God and the will of man. Although God has made man without man, He cannot save man without his cooperation. Thus, says St. Augustine: “Who created thee without thyself, cannot save thee without thyself,” because God wills that man cooperate with Him or at least put no obstacle in His way: “Turn ye to Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you.” “By the grace of God, I am what I am. And His grace in me hath not been void.” Do not, therefore, presume on your own strength, but trust in God’s grace; and be not negligent, but use the zeal you have. It does not say, therefore, “Let us do,” lest it would seem that the grace of God were left out; nor does it say, “Do,” lest it would appear that our will and our zeal do not matter. He does say “Let it be done” through the grace of God at the same time using our desire and our own efforts. Thirdly, the will of God in our regard is that men be restored to that state and dignity in which the first man was created. This was a condition in which the spirit and soul felt no resistance from sensuality and the flesh. As long as the soul was subject to God, the flesh was in such subjection to the spirit that no corruption of death, or weakness, or any of the passions were felt. When, however, the spirit and the soul, which were between God and the flesh, rebelled against God by sin, then the body rebelled against the soul. From that time death and weaknesses began to be felt together with continual rebellion of sensuality against the spirit: “I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind.” “The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.”

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

  THE Apostle treats of three things in these words. Firstly, he treats of the faith of the Saints, “Such trust have we.” Secondly, he shews on whose account there is this trust, “Through Christ.” Thirdly, he shews in whom the Saints have trust, “To God-ward.” Remark that this trust is twofold—good and evil. I. The good trust is of the Saints or of the good men; but the evil trust is the confidence of bad men or of sinners. But the trust of the good, as gathered from the text, consists in seven things. (1) In the fear of God, Prov. 14:26, “In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence.” (2) In prayer, 1 Chron. 17:25, Vulg., “Thy servant hath found confidence to pray before thee.” 1 S. John 3:21, “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (3) In consecration of himself to God, Job 11:14–18, “If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles, for then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot, yea, thou shalt be stedfast and shall not fear; because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away, and thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety: also thou shalt lie down and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.” (4) In bountiful almsgiving, Tobit 4:12, “Alms shall be a great confidence before the Most High God.” (5) In the keeping of the Divine law, Prov. 22:17–19, “Bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge; for it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee: they shall withal be fitted in thy lips that thy trust may be in the Lord”—i.e., not in the world, not in anything else. (6) In the blood of Christ, Heb. 10:19, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way.” (7) In the day of judgment, 1 S. John 4:17, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”

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

  On the third point: the simple minded have faith implicit in the faith of the wiser only to the extent to which the wiser adhere to the divine teaching. Hence the apostle says: “ Wherefore I beseech you be ye followers of me ” (I Cor. 4:16). Thus it is not human knowledge that is the rule of faith, but divine truth. If some of the wiser should err therein, this will not prejudice the faith of the simpler minded who believe that they have a true faith, unless they hold pertinaciously to their particular errors in opposition to the faith of the universal Church, which cannot err, since the Lord said: “ I have prayed for thee [Peter], that thy faith fail not ” (Luke 22:32). ARTICLE SEVEN Whether Explicit Belief in the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ is Necessary for the Salvation of Everybody1. It seems that explicit belief in the mystery of the incarnation of Christ is not necessary for the salvation of everybody. A man is not required to have explicit belief in matters of which angels are ignorant, since the faith is made explicit by divine revelation, which reaches men through the medium of angels, as was said in the preceding article. Now even angels have been ignorant of the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, since they asked: “ Who is this king of glory? ” (Ps. 24:8), and “ Who is this that cometh from Edom? ” as Dionysius observes (Coel. Hier. 7). Hence men are not required to believe explicitly in the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. 2. Again, it is obvious that the blessed John the Baptist was one of the wise, and that he was very near to Christ. For the Lord said of him: “ Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater. ” But even John the Baptist does not seem to have known the mystery of the incarnation of Christ explicitly, since he inquired of Christ: “ Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? ” (Matt. 11:3). Thus even the wise are not required to have explicit faith concerning Christ. 3. Again, according to Dionysius (Coel. Hier. 9, 4), many of the Gentiles obtained salvation through the ministry of angels. Now it appears that the Gentiles had neither explicit nor implicit faith concerning Christ, since no revelation of the faith was given unto them. Thus it seems that explicit faith in the mystery of the incarnation of Christ has not been necessary for the salvation of everybody. On the other hand: Augustine says (De Corrept. et Grat. 7, Epist. 190): “ That faith is sound by which we believe that no man, whether old or young, is set free from the contagion of death or from the debt of sin, except by the one mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ. ”

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

  PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) He works the cures below, and does none in the mount; for there is a time for all things under heaven, a time for teaching, and a time for healing. On the mount He taught, He cured souls, He healed hearts; which being finished, as He came down from the heavenly heights to heal bodies, there came to Him a leper and made adoration to Him; before he made his suit, he began to adore, shewing his great reverence. PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. He did not ask it of Him as of a human physician, but adored Him as God. For faith and confession make a perfect prayer; so that the leprous man in adoring fulfilled the work of faith, and the work of confession in words, he made adoration to him, saying; PSEUDO-ORIGEN. (ubi sup.) Lord, by Thee all things were made, Thou therefore, if thou will, canst make me clean. Thy will is the work, and all works are subject to Thy will. Thou of old cleansedst Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy by the hand of Elisha, and now, if thou will, thou canst make me clean. CHRYSOSTOM. He said not, If Thou wilt ask of God, or, If Thou wilt make adoration to God; but, If thou wilt. Nor did he say, Lord, cleanse me; but left all to Him, thereby making Him Lord, and attributing to Him the power over all. PSEUDO-CHRYSOSTOM. And thus he rewarded a spiritual Physician with a spiritual reward; for as physicians are gained by money, so He with prayer. We offer to God nothing more worthy than faithful prayer. In that he says, If thou wilt, there is no doubt that Christ’s will is ready to every good work; but only doubt whether that cure would be expedient for him, because soundness of body is not good for all. If thou wilt then is as much as to say, I believe that Thou wiliest whatever is good, but I know not if this that I desire for myself is good.

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

  Reply to Objection 2: He who renounces all his possessions for Christ’s sake exposes himself to no danger, neither spiritual nor corporal. For spiritual danger ensues from poverty when the latter is not voluntary; because those who are unwillingly poor, through the desire of money-getting, fall into many sins, according to 1 Tim. 6:9, “They that will become rich, fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil.” This attachment is put away by those who embrace voluntary poverty, but it gathers strength in those who have wealth, as stated above. Again bodily danger does not threaten those who, intent on following Christ, renounce all their possessions and entrust themselves to divine providence. Hence Augustine says (De Serm. Dom. in Monte ii, 17): “Those who seek first the kingdom of God and His justice are not weighed down by anxiety lest they lack what is necessary.” Reply to Objection 3: According to the Philosopher (Ethic. ii, 6), the mean of virtue is taken according to right reason, not according to the quantity of a thing. Consequently whatever may be done in accordance with right reason is not rendered sinful by the greatness of the quantity, but all the more virtuous. It would, however, be against right reason to throw away all one’s possessions through intemperance, or without any useful purpose; whereas it is in accordance with right reason to renounce wealth in order to devote oneself to the contemplation of wisdom. Even certain philosophers are said to have done this; for Jerome says (Ep. xlviii ad Paulin.): “The famous Theban, Crates, once a very wealthy man, when he was going to Athens to study philosophy, cast away a large amount of gold; for he considered that he could not possess both gold and virtue at the same time.” Much more therefore is it according to right reason for a man to renounce all he has, in order perfectly to follow Christ. Wherefore Jerome says (Ep. cxxv ad Rust. Monach.): “Poor thyself, follow Christ poor.”

• From The Best American Erotica 2001 (2001)

  His grip was firm but, in a way, delicate, which surprised me. He finished with my right hand and began with my left, and again, tenderness mixed with the heat I could feel coming off his body. He was preparing me, and once more he warned me about getting the wraps right: too loose, he said, and you can break your own hand throwing a punch. Then Ness showed me how to stand like a boxer, at an an gle, with my left foot planted firmly before me and my right foot skewed. You have to keep your knees slightly bent, he told me, so you can bounce easily and swerve quickly. Hold your right hand clenched and raised as if you’re holding a tele phone. Keep the left hand before you, as if to pound on a door. Both hands hover at eye level, ready to jab forward into the face of an opponent or to deflect a blow to the head. “Now punch it,” Ness said, holding up a padded red glove that looked like a catcher’s mitt. I threw my first punch, a left, straight ahead into the red glove. Phap. “Good. Again.” Another left. Phap. “Good. Now give me a right.” A right hook is a harder punch, because the right hand has to travel farther across the space between two boxers in order to connect. It’s a complicated move that involves turning the whole body and churning power up through the legs so that the body becomes a spring, coiled with force. When I threw the right hook, my feet scraped the floor and my hip lurched, throwing me off my balance. I stopped mid move when I realized I had fucked up. “Naw, man. You gotta turn, move your hip into it. Like this.” Ness pantomimed the punch and raised his padded hand right to my face. “Pow,” he said, “like that, turn your whole body into it. Now do it.” I repeated the punch until he said stop. I got better with each repetition. My body learned the move, my foot shifted stiffly, my hip turned, my right arm crossed the space between us, all for that connection with the red pad: Phap. “Okay, C, let’s do a jab, then a hook, one-two, one-two, like when you fuck.” Ness held his hands low in front of him as if he were grip ping a pair of hips and gestured fucking. One-two, in-out. He grinned as he was doing this, and I couldn’t believe the raw ness of the move. Surrounded by men hitting leather bags or clinging sweatily to each other, he stood in the middle of it all and pretended to fuck the space in front of him. Before he could think, This white boy can’t even fitch, I started doing it too, but with my arms throwing the punches.

• From The Swimming-Pool Library (1988)

  But he didn’t do so. ‘I will explain it to you one day. You’re quite right though. At the Corinthian Club I’m Hawkins, but down here with the lads I’m Shillibeer—Shilly Billy, they call me. All in good fun, of course.’ ‘You’re a dark one,’ I said flirtatiously, and he looked pleased. ‘But tell me about the Nantwich Cup.’ ‘The Nantwich? Well, his Lordship established it in 1955. He did a lot for this Club—he paid for those new changing-rooms. He used to come down a good deal himself, but we don’t see much of him nowadays.’ ‘So you’ve been coming here a long time.’ ‘Thirty years or so, I suppose.’ Bill picked up his drink, then put it down again. ‘No, Hitler knocked it about, you see. It used to be the Congregational Church for this area, but it was burnt out in the Blitz. The old club building was completely destroyed, but they say it was much too small anyway. Then his Lordship says, I’ll put up the money if you can find somewhere else and convert it. That was all done, of course, when I started coaching here.’ ‘But not the changing-rooms, I guess.’ ‘That’s right. There was just an outside latrine at the back. The lads’d get all their kit on at home. Or else they just had to change in the gym.’ ‘I suppose he’s always been interested in boxing,’ I asked. ‘Lord Nantwich? Oh, he loves it, yes. I believe he used to be quite a fighter himself. I think that’s why he was interested in the Boys’ Clubs—boxing’s always been at the heart of the Clubs. It’s what holds them together, and the kids respect the boxers, of course. Some of the lads spend all day at the Club. It’s what gives meaning to their lives; they don’t hang around the streets, you know, that lot. What do you do, by the way, Will, if you don’t mind me asking?’ We had got on for years without such questions being put. ‘Ah. Nothing, I’m afraid.’ I tried to make the best of it. ‘Not until now, anyway. Now I’m going to write about Lord Nantwich.’ Bill looked perplexed. ‘How do you mean?’ ‘His life. He’s asked me to do his biography.’ ‘Oh yes …’ He weighed this up and looked again at his untouched drink. ‘You’ll be a kind of ghost writer, don’t they call it?’ I hadn’t thought of this. ‘I don’t think so, no. It’ll just be by me. I think he thinks he’ll be dead by the time it comes out. That’s why I’m trying to find out all about him.’

• From The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon (2009)

  Air, however, is a free offer that only becomes a free gift when we accept it and cooperate with it. We are always free either to take in too little air and choke or to take too much and hyperventilate. Furthermore, if we choose asphyxiation or hyperventilation, we should not say that the air is punishing us. It is always a matter of collaboration and participation with what is already there everywhere. Paul’s good news (gospel) is that God’s righteousness—that is, God’s very character as distributive justice—is a grace, a free gift offered to us all absolutely and unconditionally for our justification—that is, for our collaboration with God in the transformation of God’s world. In other words, God’s primary distribution is of God’s own self, own nature, own being, own character, or, as Paul prefers to say, God’s own Spirit. It is from that primary distributive justice, which is God’s gift of self, that the secondary distributive justice, which transforms the world, must come. Faith as total commitment. As any free offer must be activated into a free gift by free acceptance, so must the gift of God’s self, the grace of God’s universal offer of a Spirit transplant, be accepted by faith. To continue our analogy: believing is to grace as breathing is to air. And, as always, watch for misunderstanding. Faith does not mean theoretical assent to a proposition, but vital commitment to a program. Obviously, one could summarize a program in a proposition and believe in that proposition, but faith can never be reduced to factual assent rather than total dedication. Faith (Greek pistis) is a total life-style commitment. Furthermore, faith as commitment is always an interactive process, a bilateral covenant that presumes faithfulness from both parties with, of course, all appropriate differences and distinctions. As Paul emphasizes in Romans, therefore, God and Christ are faithful to the world and so, in faith response, is the world meant to be faithful to them. God’s righteousness in Christ is faithfully consistent, and Christians should be consistently faithful in response to that gift of grace. Abraham is Paul’s great model for that response of faith as total commitment to God’s gift of self. Abraham was, says Paul, the common ancestor of Gentiles, who live by faith without circumcision, as well as of Jews, who live by faith with circumcision. “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also” (3:29). Works as unfair polemic. With “works” we have two major chances for misunderstanding. When Paul contrasts faith and works, it is his shorthand for faith-with-works versus works-without-faith and should always be seen as such. Here again an everyday analogy may help us with a correct interpretation of his theology.

• From Martin Luther (2016)

  An early portrait of 1509 shows Spalatin with delec- table curls, dressed in a simple grey gown with a black lining which combines academic reserve with courtly display. A woodcut from 1515 depicts a serious young man in sober garb, meditating on the Cross. But Spalatin was not a courtier by birth. His father was a tanner, and he came from Spalt near Nuremberg. One of the ‘new men’, he had risen through education. He joined the court but knew that, as a - commoner, he was not an aristocrat’s equal; there was also specula- tion that he may have been illegitimate. While he was a trusted servant and important advisor — and on occasion intimate enough to be present when the Elector did his toilette before dinner — he was not invited to join the table afterwards.* Spalatin seems to have had a sure touch for negotiation and manoeuvre, a grasp of the possible and a sense of realism which Luther lacked. Like Luther he was educated in Greek as well as Latin, and he became part of the humanist circles around Conrad Mutian and Nikolaus Marschalk at the University of Erfurt. He did not possess Luther’s abrasive self-confidence, and was a poor speaker. But the two men formed a hugely creative partnership. Spalatin bought books for the university library and supported university reforms that brought in biblical studies and those of the Church Fathers. Together they made a series of brilliant appointments, of whom Melanchthon was the star. Repeatedly Luther would recommend people to Spalatin, asking for small favours, pensions from Friedrich or seeking posts for them. Spalatin worked tirelessly in the service of the Elector, often late into the night; he nevertheless found time to translate Luther’s Latin works into German, and did so with a fine musical sense.? We have just Luther’s side of the friendship, because it is only his letters that have survived — carefully catalogued and reverentially THE DIET OF WORMS 175 34. Lucas Cranach the Elder, Georg Spalatin Honouring the Cross, 1515. annotated, often in Greek, by Spalatin.° As the sheer number of Luther’s letter indicates — over 400 — this was perhaps the central rela- tionship in his life in between 1518 and 1525: he wrote more letters to Spalatin than to anyone else, even though they saw each other regularly.