What Must I Read To Be Saved? On Reading and Salvation | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | May 4, 2007
"It is this same disciple who attests what has here been
written. It is in fact he who wrote it, and we know that his testimony is true.
There is much else that Jesus did. If it were all to be recorded in detail, I
suppose the whole world could not hold the books that would be written." -- John, 21:24-25.
"For this reason anyone who is seriously studying high
matters will be the last to write about them and thus expose his thought to the
envy and criticism of men. What I have said comes, in short, to this: whenever
we see a book, whether the laws of a legislator or a composition on any other
subject, we can be sure that if the author is really serious, this book does
not contain his best thoughts; they are stored away with the fairest of his
possessions. And if he has committed these serious thoughts to writing, it is
because men, not the gods, have taken his wits away." -- Plato, The Seventh Letter, 344c.
"Books of travels will be good in proportion to what a
man has previously in his mind; his knowing what to observe; his power of
contrasting one mode of life with another. As the Spanish proverb says, 'He,
who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry this wealth of the
Indies with him.' So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him,
if he would bring home knowledge." -- Samuel Johnson, Good Friday, April 17, 1778. [1]
I.
We are familiar with the incident in the Gospel of the rich
young man who asked Christ what good he
must do to be saved. Christ responded to him that he must keep the
commandments. This the young man had done from his youth, a fact that Christ
recognized in him. Christ added, in words that still force us to distinguish
between "obligation" or "duty" and something more and different from it, that,
if he wanted to be perfect, what he should do was to sell what he had, give it
to the poor, and come follow Him.
Continue reading...
Carl,
Seems to be a problem with the 'printer-friendly version' link... is that your dept?
Posted by: Kevin Cary | Friday, May 04, 2007 at 06:59 AM
Yep, that's me. Sorry about that. It's there now. Thanks!
Posted by: Carl Olson | Friday, May 04, 2007 at 08:15 AM
Another Schall gem! Thanks.
Posted by: Jackson | Friday, May 04, 2007 at 06:55 PM
I love how Fr. Schall depicts the beauty of truth of Catholicism-St. Paul, Plato and Peanuts all in one shot!
These essays are treasures! A special thanks to Fr. Schall for taking the time to write them and Ignatius for posting them.
Posted by: Rick | Saturday, May 05, 2007 at 03:51 PM