December 10

“Standing still. . . . I mean being content with yourself; content to struggle no more against the evil within you; content with the poor victory you have already gained, and making no effort to lift yourself higher and higher, nearer and nearer to the pattern of Christ. This is a sin, and you may not plead that you have done much; for much is not enough if you could do more. While there is left in you a trace of ill-temper, or of vanity, or of pride, or of selfishness; while there is left in you a single sin or germ of sin, you must not rest from the battle. God does not require from you to be sinless when you come before Him, but He does require you to be unceasing in your perseverance. He does not require that you shall never have fallen, but He does require unwearied efforts. He does not require you to win, but He does require you to fight. . . . In return for the love which brought the Son of Man down from heaven, in return for the love which led Him to die for us upon the cross, we cannot give Him holy lives, for our lives are not holy; we cannot give Him pure souls, for our souls are not pure; but this one thing we can give, and this is what He asks, hearts that shall never cease, from this day forward till we reach the grave, to strive to be more like Him; to come nearer to Him; to root out from within us the sin that keeps us from Him.”

Bishop TEMPLE

“Do not stand still, even for a moment; for to stand still in the way of holiness and perfection is, not to take breath or courage, but, to fall back and become weaker than before.”

SCUPOLI