Parliament voted for the law to change on assisted dying “in the face of mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society”, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said on Friday.

Responding to the decision by the House of Commons on Friday afternoon to progress the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (News, 20 June), Bishop Mullally, who is the lead bishop on health and social care, warned that, “if enacted, this legislation would come into force amid serious shortfalls in adult social care, a postcode lottery in palliative care and well documented pressures on the NHS, multiplying the potential risks to the most vulnerable.

“It does not prevent terminally ill people who perceive themselves to be a burden to their families and friends from choosing ‘assisted dying’. And it would mean that we became a society where the state fully funds a service for terminally ill people to end their own lives but, shockingly, only funds around one third of palliative care.”

Read it all.

“Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need.”

Read the Bishop of London's statement following the third reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

📜 https://t.co/74PloAghZ2.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) June 20, 2025

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house, and took his place at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “What is it, Teacher?” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

–Luke 7:36-50

Good morning. feeling fresher this morning. Hedges need trimming.☀️🌿 pic.twitter.com/tmwpQHP90w

— Sharon Welby📷 (@sharonwelby1) May 19, 2025

Lyrics:

Haec dies quam fecit Dominus;
Exsultemus etlaetemur in ea,
Alleluia, Alleluia
Haec dies quam fecit Dominus;
Exsultemus etlaetemur in ea,
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alleluia.
(Psalm 118:24)

Alone thou goest forth, O Lord, in sacrifice to die;

is this thy sorrow nought to us who pass unheeding by?

Our sins, not thine, thou bearest, Lord; make us thy sorrow feel,

till through our pity and our shame love answers love’s appeal.

This is earth’s darkest hour, but thou dost light and life restore;

then let all praise be given thee who livest evermore.

Grant us with thee to suffer pain that, as we share this hour,

thy cross may bring us to thy joy and resurrection power.

Gustave Doré, The Agony in the Garden c.1880's pic.twitter.com/i8ERC5suMi

— Solas (@solas_na_greine) April 16, 2025

O Lord Jesus Christ, enthroned in the majesty of heaven, who, when thou camest forth from God, didst make thyself as one that serveth: We adore thee because thou didst lay aside the garment of thy glory, and gird thyself with lowest humility, and minister to thy disciples, washing their feet.  Teach us to know what thou hast done and to follow thine example; deliver us from pride, jealousy and ambition, and make us ready to be subject one to another, and with lowliness to serve one another for thy sake, O Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

—Prayers for the Christian Year (SCM, 1964)

A Maundy scene in an Anglo-Saxon manuscript: monks washing feet and a king giving to the poor.

Maundy Thursday takes its medieval name from these acts of charity, following Christ's commandment at the Last Supper. His 'mandatum' became 'mandé' in French, 'maundy' in English. pic.twitter.com/DsYOtfKZTy

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) April 17, 2025

Much of my childhood was spent in vicarages, apart from a small stint at a theological college. Emerging into adulthood, I’ve realised that many of the habits that I picked up from years spent immersed in clergy life and the Church of England remain with me. Most fundamentally, it has formed my lasting view of the Church, of politics, and of the world around me.

I am now a member of a congregation in my own right, no longer lurking in the shadows of my parents. Perhaps, for some, I am an ideal parishioner: I will gladly sign up for rotas and pull my weight; for others, perhaps, I am an inconvenient know-it-all, who will gladly correct them when they misquote the Thirty-Nine Articles. But what I am sure of is this: having grown up in a vicarage, my view of the Church has been distinctly coloured.

The biggest challenge facing clergy children, if they remain churchgoers in adulthood, is readjusting to being in the pews. I am aware of what goes on behind the scenes of a church, but now I am no longer privy to those decisions.

Engrained in clergy children is a sense of responsibility for an institution. This is no light thing to carry, especially when this responsibility is often mixed with different emotions of pain and joy, hope and anger, at different things witnessed or experienced. When you grow up in a vicarage, the church becomes an additional family member whom you will inevitably squabble with from time to time, but whom you love despite their flaws.

Read it all.

Good Day!
Eric Ravilious, The Vicarage in Winter, 1935 pic.twitter.com/Uv1hiKWzyy

— John Constable (@JohnConstableRA) December 27, 2018

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoi′akim the son of Josi′ah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil which I intend to do to them because of their evil doings. You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not heeded, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. Then the priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent of the evil which he has pronounced against you. But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

–Jeremiah 26:1-16

Nothing says #spring quite like
the beautiful cherry blossoms! #Cherryblossoms #BlossomWatch #April2025 #Blossoms 🌸💗🌸 pic.twitter.com/krrpUlAe84

— Margaret O'Connell🌻 (@MargaretOC6) April 10, 2025

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, says the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when men shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

–Jeremiah 23:1-8

A faint Sun Halo over the #Thames at #Twickenham on this fine April morning. @StormHour #loveukweather @itvweather @SallyWeather pic.twitter.com/GmXNZrPr93

— CaptainQuack (@KaptainKwack) April 4, 2025

said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem,  and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.  And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

–Jeremiah 17:19-23

Glorious sunrise – Armadale, Isle of Skye #Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #AprilFoolsDay @angie_weather @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @VisitScotland @BBCScotWeather @SeanBattyTV pic.twitter.com/sj0a546uDU

— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) April 1, 2025

You may find some basic information about it there.

Off to Diocesan Convention for today and Tomorrow https://t.co/i2B8MUZl63 #anglican #diocese #southcarolina #parishministry #lowcuntrylife @CityCharleston #charlestonsc #saintphilipschalreston #meetings pic.twitter.com/TsxY68ajqr

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 14, 2025

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers, and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Good morning. A nice sunrise just now in County Antrim @Louise_utv @angie_weather @bbcniweather pic.twitter.com/e2p8hWD7Dw

— Sharon Welby📷 (@sharonwelby1) February 25, 2025

O God, who hast sown in our hearts the precious seed of thy truth: Grant us to nourish it by meditation, prayer and obedience, that it may not only take root, but also bring forth fruit unto holiness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Good morning!👋🌞😊
Have a nice day!#sunrise #winter #sea #nature #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty #naturelovers #NatureTherapy #photography pic.twitter.com/Zksmi6B8fd

— Kersti Sandström (@KerstiSandstrom) February 13, 2025

Edgar met Rita on LinkedIn. He worked for a Canadian software company, she was from Singapore and was with a large consultancy. They were just friends, but they chatted online all the time. One day Rita offered to teach him how to trade crypto. With her help, he made good money. So he raised his stake. However, after Edgar tried to cash out, it became clear that the crypto-trading site was a fake and that he had lost $78,000. Rita, it turned out, was a trafficked Filipina held prisoner in a compound in Myanmar.

In their different ways, Edgar and Rita were both victims of “pig-butchering”, the most lucrative scam in a global industry that steals over $500bn a year from victims all around the world. In “Scam Inc”, our eight-part podcast, The Economist investigates the crime, the criminals and the untold suffering they cause. “Scam Inc” is about the most significant change in transnational organised crime in decades.

Pig-butchering, or sha zhu pan, is Chinese criminal slang. First the scammers build a sty, with fake social-media profiles. Then they pick the pig, by identifying a target; raise the pig, by spending weeks or months building trust; cut the pig, by tempting them to invest; and butcher the pig by squeezing “every last drop of juice” from them, their family and friends.

The industry is growing fast….

Read it all.

Online scamming is a vast, sophisticated and fast-growing global enterprise that compares in size and scope to the illegal drug industry. Except that in many ways it is worse. As our investigation finds, nobody is safe from Scam Inc https://t.co/MMKm0TeOIW pic.twitter.com/QIUMvOCjDW

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 6, 2025

‘Our experience is that most of us are a bit high on ourselves, and the retelling of some of Jesus’s parables would help to get at our own lack of forgiveness…., or our own anger at grace when we want God to be “fair…“, or our pride in our own position in Christ as compared to the “bad guys”…’

–Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to read the Bible for all It’s Worth, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), p. 167

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Als het mist gordijn open zou trekken, zou het er met deze temperaturen best mooi winters uit kunnen zien. Fijne zondag😀 #zonsopkomst #vorst #mist pic.twitter.com/k9CcKERYeY

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) January 19, 2025

“This place, which is the holy place of the baptism of Jesus, which also marks the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, marks a new beginning for the life of our Church,” said Cardinal Parolin.

And that “holy place” has a special geographical significance. The baptism of Jesus took place in the Jordan River, in the valley east of Jerusalem, just north of the Dead Sea and not far from the ancient city of Jericho. Far from accidental, all of this is significant.

Noting that the nearby Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, Cardinal Parolin said that “it is precisely here that God came to meet us, as if to gather into his embrace also those from afar.”

That embrace extends to the “lowest,” the “deadest” and “oldest.”

Read it all.

Today is the Feast of the Holy Theophany (Epiphany), which celebrates the Baptism of Christ
Mosaic depiction of the Baptism of Christ from the 5th century Neonian Baptistery in Ravenna pic.twitter.com/jNklmTTyKY

— The Byzantine Legacy (@ByzantineLegacy) January 6, 2019

To whom then will you compare me,
    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might,
    and because he is strong in power
    not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,
    and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hid from the Lord,
    and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
    his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint.

–Isaiah 40:25-31

Zon en wolken geven kleur aan het hoge rivier water. Fijne dinsdag😀 #zonsopkomst #hoogwater pic.twitter.com/Qjx7PaWGee

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) January 14, 2025

Words: Bishop Reginald Heber
Tune: ‘Epiphany’ – Joseph Thrupp

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

🌟Ich wünsche euch einen besinnlichen 2. Advent.✨️ pic.twitter.com/rP133dROt3

— Constanze Riegel (@ConstanzeRiegel) December 8, 2024

O God, grant that looking upon the face of the Lord, as into a glass, we may be changed into His likeness, from glory to glory.  Take out of us all pride and vanity, boasting and forwardness; and give us the true courage which shows itself by gentleness; the true wisdom which shows itself by simplicity; and the true power which shows itself by modesty.     

Autumn colour on a grey day in Glastonbury. Walking towards Avalon Orchard this morning. pic.twitter.com/6anY6KKRU1

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) November 9, 2024

Show, don’t tell

This is one of the first things any writing instructor tells her students. There you are trying to be Ernest Hemingway with your short, spare prose. “The woman is tired,” you write, going straight for the bottom line, but why should your readers believe you? You have told them something you apparently know about the woman, but you have not given them a chance to make up their own minds. You have kept the details entirely to yourself, so that their only choice is whether to believe you or not. Jesus is Lord. God is love. The gospel is true.

“Show them,” your teacher says. “Don’t tell them the woman is tired. Show them how tired she is.” This is much harder. Finding a way to help people see takes more time than telling them what you see. How do you know the woman is tired? What is it about her gait, her posture, her face, her breath that says “tired” to you? If you can find the right words, you may be able to help people name their own tiredness on their way to seeing just how tired this woman is.

“The woman looked as if she had been moving rocks all day, as if everything she had touched since the moment she got up had been heavy, hard, and grey.”

Read it all.

How to make your sermons come alive

Routines, deviations, and other writerly tips, according to Barbara Brown Taylorhttps://t.co/cuqiZYAPsL

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 14, 2024

Most Americans don’t see either of this year’s presidential candidates as particularly religious or Christian.

In a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, 64 percent of adults said they don’t consider former president Donald Trump religious and 53 percent said they don’t consider Kamala Harris religious. A majority also agreed that they wouldn’t describe either as “Christian.”

A plurality of Americans—41 percent—say neither Trump nor Harris represents their religious views.  

Read it all.

This election year, who’s the Christian candidate?@HarvestPrude reports that a majority of Americans would say neither candidate represents their religious views.https://t.co/Y43HDgXVH1

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) September 25, 2024

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: Deliver us, we pray thee, from an inordinate love of this world, that inspired by the devotion of thy servant Sergius of Moscow, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Saint Sergius of Radonezh #byzantineorthodoxart #byzantineart #byzantine #icons #paintings #art #history #artwork #artworks pic.twitter.com/T1U9DgF3S4

— Byzantine Orthodox Art (@ArtOrthodox) September 25, 2024

Almighty God, who knowest our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking: Set free thy servants from all anxious thoughts for the morrow; give us contentment with thy good gifts; and confirm our faith that according as we seek thy kingdom, thou wilt not suffer us to lack any good thing; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Guten Morgen 👋

Die Erinnerung ist das einzige Paradies, aus welchem wir nicht getrieben werden können.

Jean Paul pic.twitter.com/SQDKyZ2i2k

— Claudi (@CLAUDI_143de) September 12, 2024

Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Ander weer op komst. Fijne dinsdag😀 #natuur #landschap #zomer #Rhenen #ElstUt #Elsterbuitenwaard #Nederrijn #zonsondergang #mooieluchten pic.twitter.com/JQyt0VFDub

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) September 3, 2024

‘It was an unusual thing for a ruler of the synagogue to be at the feet of Jesus, yet that is the best place for us all. If God has placed any of you in an eminent position, it will well become you to fall at the feet of Jesus as Jairus did. There is no place more suitable, no place more honourable, no place more profitable, than at the feet of Jesus. What brought Jairus there? It was his great necessity; and that is what will bring us there, a sense of our great need.’

–C H Spurgeon, also quoted by yours truly in last Sunday’s sermon

Jesus heals Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5.21–43)

21 Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake. There at the lakeside a large crowd gathered round him.

22 Jairus, an official of the local synagogue, arrived, and when he saw Jesus, he threw himself down at his feet pic.twitter.com/1DY4oWgGqV

— Stained Glass Zealot (@glass_zealot) March 2, 2021

Attendance within the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) rebounded in 2023 to pre-COVID numbers, according to congregational report data released June 25 at the denomination’s Provincial Council meeting at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

The denomination in 2023 reported an increase of 36 congregations to a total of 1,013, an increase in membership of 3,115 (+2.5 percent) to a total of 128,114 and an increase in attendance of 9,211 (+12 percent) to a total of 84,794.

The 2023 attendance numbers are a full rebound, exceeding pre-COVID levels, and are broad: only four ACNA dioceses reported any attendance decline in 2023. One was the now-dissolved Via Apostolica Missionary District, which saw most of its congregations transfer to the Anglican Network in Canada, the ACNA’s Canadian diocese.

Read it all.

“I have been targeted to be kidnapped and killed,” Archbishop Ali Buba Lamido of Wusasa shares. “Kidnapping has become an industry in Nigeria.” A Muslim-background believer, Lamido shares testimony @The_ACNA Assembly. Anglicanism isn’t a country club: Christian faith is costly. pic.twitter.com/dBO1w0BOdk

— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) June 26, 2024

Day two of the GSFA Assembly was focused on mission, as promised by Archbishop Justin Badi in his keynote address. Today began with a powerful opening illustration by Archbishop Samy Shahata from a book, The Minds of Billy Milligan, the only person ever acquitted of murder because of Multiple Personality Disorder. The Global South Assembly begins every day with Bible Studies on Ephesians, and today its focus on chapter one was on our identity in Christ. It’s this identity that has come into crisis through the modern confusion brought on by progressive ideology. Archbishop Sami likened the Anglican Communion today to Billy Milligan and the sickness of Multiple Personality Disorder, characterized by fracture, loss of consciousness, multiple identities, and an ignorance by each identity of the other. The result is a seared conscience and a lack of responsibility. This describes what happened in the Anglican Communion over the last fifty years.

Ephesians chapter one reminds us we have one identity only: it is not our work, feelings, gender, or sexual orientation. As followers of Jesus Christ our identity is in him alone. Yes, we express that identity in different ways and gifts, but from this one identity we receive from Christ spiritual blessings and being called chosen by God. We receive a purpose to be holy and blameless. We receive a deep sense of belonging in a world where we feel lost and isolated. We receive total forgiveness – no longer defined by our past mistakes but defined by Christ’s lavish grace, redemption, and forgiveness. As a result, we are free from condemnation (Romans 8:1). This is the gift at the heart of the Good News.

It is the gift that Christ bought for us with his blood and which he revealed to the world by his Resurrection. This is the heart of the mission to which the Global South was called in being a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6). Unfortunately, theological divisions and false teaching within the Anglican Communion distracted us from the mission. 

Canon Phil reflects on the significance of mission, the focus of Day 2, as the heart of the GSFA. https://t.co/Q9aLMvQzCL

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) June 13, 2024

Lord of all truth and peace, who didst raise up thy bishop John to be servant of the servants of God and bestowed on him wisdom to call for the work of renewing your Church: Grant that, following his example, we may reach out to other Christians to clasp them with the love of your Son, and labor throughout the nations of the world to kindle a desire for justice and peace; through Jesus Christ, who is alive and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Pope Saint John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in a stone farm house on November 25, 1881 in Sotto il Monte, a small country village 40 miles from Milan. His father was a sharecropper who had saved enough money to buy a plot of his own. https://t.co/GT5WMEW6V6 pic.twitter.com/hauvrILoO7

— Trivia Encyclopedia (@edpearce080759) November 25, 2019

For (such is our innate pride) we always seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced, by clear evidence, of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity. Convinced, however, we are not, if we look to ourselves only, and not to the Lord also—He being the only standard by the application of which this conviction can be produced. For, since we are all naturally prone to hypocrisy, any empty semblance of righteousness is quite enough to satisfy us instead of righteousness itself….

So long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods. But should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of Being he is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity; what strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom will disgust by its extreme folly; and what presented the appearance of virtuous energy will be condemned as the most miserable impotence. So far are those qualities in us, which seem most perfect, from corresponding to the divine purity.

–John Calvin, Institutes I.1.2