David Given Schwarm

The world would hate His followers, not because of evil in their lives, but precisely because of the absence of evil or rather their goodness. Goodness does not cause hatred, but it gives occasion for hatred to manifest itself. The holier and purer a life, the more it would attract malignity and hate. Mediocrity alone…

To value only what can be “sold” is to defile what is truly precious. The innocent joy of childhood, the devotedness of a wife, the self sacrificing service of a daughter–none of these have an early market. To reduce everything to the dirty scales of economic values is to forget that some gifts, like Mary’s,…

As all men are touched by God’s love, so all are also touched by the desire for his intimacy. No one escapes this longing; we are all kings in exile, mineable without the infinite. Those who reject the grave of God have a desire to avoid God, as those who accept it have a desire…

Christianity, unlike any other religion in the world, begins with catastrophe and defeat. Sunshine religions and psychological inspirations collapse in calamity and wither in adversity. But the Life of the Founder of Christianity, having begun with the Cross, ends with the empty tomb and victory.