The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.
Saint AugustineRead
He who loves the coming of the Lord is not he who affirms that it is far off, nor is it he who says it is near, but rather he who, whether it be far off or near, awaits it with sincere faith, steadfast hope, and fervent love.
Interpretation
True love for the coming of the Lord is shown through sincere faith and hope, regardless of when it may occur.
In this quote, Saint Augustine emphasizes that genuine devotion to the anticipation of the Lord's arrival is not about debating whether it is near or far. Instead, it is characterized by a faithful heart, a hopeful spirit, and a deep love, regardless of the timing of that arrival. This reflects the essence of spirituality and faith, which is about unwavering belief and love rather than speculation.
In practice
In a sermon about living with faith, a pastor might share this quote to encourage the congregation to remain hopeful.
The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.
There is no health in those who are displeased by an element in Your creation, just as there was none in me when I was displeased by many things You had made. Because my soul didn't dare to say that my God displeased me, it refused to attribute to You whatever was displeasing.
Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul? Man is a great depth, O Lord. The hairs of his head are easier by far to count than his feeling, the movements of his heart.
Whatever skills I have acquired, whatever gifts I have been given, I place them at Your service.
Everyone who observes himself doubting observes a truth, and about that which he observes he is certain; therefore he is certain about a truth. Everyone therefore who doubts whether truth exists has in himself a truth on which not to doubt.... Hence one who can doubt at all ought not to doubt the existence of truth.
Perhaps there are other bits of my life that would take on content, take on shadow, if only I read more and thought less about money.
It might be said that society speaks through the clothing it wears. Through its clothing it reveals its secret aspirations and uses it, at least in part, to build or destroy its future.
The point of mythology or myth is to point to the horizon and to point back to ourselves: This is who we are; this is where we came from; and this is where we're going. And a lot of Western society over the last hundred years - the last 50 years really - has lost that. We have become rather aimless and wandering.
The great question of life is not the question of death but the question of life. Fear of death shames us all.
I stay away from heavy-handed stuff, the good guy and the bad guy. It just doesn't interest me; all it does is create more fences between people, I think.
What must strike any intelligent witch or wizard on studying the so-called history of the Elder Wand is that every man who claims to have owned it has insisted that it is "unbeatable," when the known facts of its passage through many owners' hands demonstrate that has it not only been beaten hundreds of times, but that it also attracts trouble as Grumble the Grubby Goat attracted flies.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.