It is as absurd to argue men, as to torture them, into believing.
A cloud of incense was rising on high; the people suddenly all bowed low; what could it mean? The truth flashed on him, fearfully yet sweetly; it was the Blessed Sacrament - it was the Lord Incarnate who was on the altar, who had come to visit and bless his people. It was the Great Presence, which makes a Catholic Church different from every other place in the world; which makes it, as no other place can be - holy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the significance of the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in a Catholic Church, symbolizing holiness and divine connection.
John Henry Newman captures a moment of reverence and realization as the individuals in a Catholic Church recognize the Holy Eucharist, represented as the Lord Incarnate. This experience evokes a profound sense of awe and respect, emphasizing the unique sanctity of a church where believers gather to encounter the divine. The powerful effect of this awareness transforms the space into a truly holy place, unlike any other environment.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a homily to emphasize the significance of the Eucharist during a church service.
More from John Henry Newman
All quotes →It is seldom we have the heart to throw ourselves, if I may so speak, on the Divine Arm; we dare not trust ourselves on the waters, though Christ bids us. We have not St. Peter's love to ask leave to come to him upon the sea. When we once are filled with that heavenly charity, we can do all things, because we attempt all things - for to attempt is to do.
Now what is it moves our very hearts, and sickens us so much at cruelty shown to poor brutes? I suppose this first, that they have done no harm; next, that they have no power whatever of resistance; it is the cowardice and tyranny of which they are the victims which makes their sufferings so especially touching.
A science is not mere knowledge, it is knowledge which has undergone a process of intellectual digestion. It is the grasp of many things brought together in one, and hence is its power; for, properly speaking, it is Science that is power, not Knowledge.
Evil has no substance of its own, but is only the defect, excess, perversion, or corruption of that which has substance.
How many writers are there... who, breaking up their subject into details, destroy its life, and defraud us of the whole by their anxiety about the parts.
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When people are divided, the only solution is agreement.
And indeed there will be time for the yellow smoke that slides along the street rubbing its back upon the window-panes; there will be time , there will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet; there will be time to murder and create, and time for all the works and days of hands that lift and drop a question on your plate; time for you and time for me, and time yet for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions, before the taking of toast and tea.
Each of us has interests which conflict the interests of everybody else... 'everybody else' we call 'society'. It's a powerful opponent and it always wins. Oh, here and there an individual prevails for a while and gets what he wants. Sometimes he storms the culture of a society and changes it to his own advantage. But society wins in the long run, for it has the advantage of numbers and of age.