THE CHRISTIAN QUOTATION OF THE DAY
Christ, our Light
Tuesday, July 16, 1996
Commemoration of Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, 1099

What does this desire and this inability of ours proclaim to us but that there was once in man a genuine happiness, of which nothing now survives but the mark and the empty outline; and this he vainly tries to fill from everything that lies around him, seeking from things that are not there the help that he does not get from those that are present? Yet they are quite incapable of filling the gap, because this infinite gulf can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object—that is, God, Himself. He alone is man’s veritable good, and since man has deserted Him it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature that has not been capable of taking His place for man: stars, sky, earth, elements, plants, cabbages, leeks, animals, insects, calves, serpents, fever, plague, war, famine, vices, adultery, incest. And since he has lost the true good, everything can equally appear to him as such—even his own destruction, though that is so contrary at once to God, to reason, and to nature.
... Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées (Thoughts) [1660], P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, #425, p. 138-139 (see the book; see also Amos 8:11-12; Ps. 42; 86:10; John 4:13-14; 6:32-35; more at Apologetics, Emptiness, God, Happiness, Infinite, Man, Nature, Preach, Reason)

 
Compilation Copyright, 1996-2024, by Robert McAnally Adams,
        Curator, Christian Quotation of the Day,
        with Robert Douglas, principal contributor
Logo image Copyright 1996 by Shay Barsabe, of “Simple GIFs”, by kind permission.
Send comments to curator@cqod.com.

Last updated: 12/11/20

 

 



Fun stuff

Tweet this      

     CQOD is now available to include on your personal home page, blog, or church web site—perfect for a sidebar.
     To display CQOD on your web site, updating daily, copy the line below and paste directly into the position that CQOD should appear:

     <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cqod.com/js/"></script>

     To display this particular quotation on your web site, copy the line below and paste directly into the position that CQOD should appear:

     <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cqod.com/js/index-07-16-96.js"></script>

     For more information, see CQOD Web Home

 

Christ, our Light

    Welcome to the CQOD home page. This page changes daily, publishing a different quotation each day, so return here often. Many people use this page as their browser home page. Bookmark this page by pressing cntl-d.
     means text and bibliography have been verified.
    CQOD makes numerous features and links available. Here are some important links to help you get around:

    Previous day’s CQOD (Law)
    Following day’s CQOD (John of the Cross)
    This month’s CQODs

 
    CQOD for today
    CQOD on the go!
 
    Use our double opt-in listserve to receive CQOD by email
 
    CQOD daily index
    All monthly archives
    What’s New on CQOD
    Author index
    Title index
    Poetry index
    Scripture index
    Subject index
    Search CQOD (or see below)
    CQOD Blog
 
     CQOD RSS
 
     Facebook CQOD Fan Page  
     Follow CQOD on Twitter  
     Follow CQOD on Instagram     About CQOD
    CQOD on the Web
    CQOD FAQ
    CQOD Liturgical Calendar
 
    Mere Christianity: a conversation
    Simple Songs for Psalms
    Quotations Bible Study
    Essays Archive
    Bookworms
    Spotlights
 
    Publications:
    Jonah: a miracle play
    Ruth: a play
 
    Also visit these organizations:
    Arab Vision
    Crescendo
    Oratorium
    More devotionals
 
    Search CQOD:

 
Gospel.com Community Member