Best Apostolic Classics Podcasts (2025)

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Elizabeth Anscombe - War and Murder 36:49

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12d ago36:49

36:49

"Two attitudes are possible: one, that the world is an absolute jungle and that the exercise of coercive power by rulers is only a manifestation of this; and the other, that it is both necessary and right that there should be this exercise of power, that through it the world is much less of a jungle than it could possibly be without it, so that one…

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Christian Raab, OSB - In Search of the Masculine Genius 1:06:11

26d ago1:06:11

1:06:11

"When attention to the theological meaning of femininity is not accompanied by reflection on masculinity, men are left without a sense of the existential and sacramental significance of their own sex." A reading of a fascinating essay originally published in the journal Logos, about the work of Walter Ong, SJ. In the wake of an emphasis on the “fem…

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Soul of the Apostolate | Ep. 3 - Without Interior Life, Active Life Full of Danger 1:19:48

1M ago1:19:48

1:19:48

"These falls can be MOST CERTAINLY avoided when one knows how to use the precious balancing pole of the interior life. It is only the abandonment of this INFALLIBLE instrument that brings dizziness and the fatal false step into space." Part Three of this classic work by the French Trappist monk, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858-1935), warns of the …

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St. John Henry Newman - The Oxford Sermons | 3. Evangelical Sanctity the Completion of Natural Virtue 29:41

2M ago29:41

29:41

"The true light of the world offends more men than it attracts; and its divine origin is shown, not in its marked effects on the mass of mankind, but in its surprising power of elevating the moral character where it is received in spirit and in truth." St. John Henry Newman's Oxford Sermons, delivered during his time as an Anglican preacher at the …

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Soul of the Apostolate | Ep. 2 - Union of Active & Interior Life 42:24

3M ago42:24

42:24

"The life of action ought to flow from the contemplative life, to interpret and extend it, outside oneself, though at the same time being detached from it as little as possible." Part Two of this classic work by the French Trappist monk, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858-1935), further explores the inseparable interdependence of the active and the i…

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Soul of the Apostolate | Ep. 1 - Active Works & the Interior Life 1:26:01

3M ago1:26:01

1:26:01

"If God calls me to apply my activity not only to my own sanctification, but also to good works, I must establish this firm conviction, before everything else, in my mind: Jesus has got to be, and wishes to be, the life of these works. My efforts, by themselves, are nothing, absolutely nothing." Part One of this classic work by the French Trappist …

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St. John Henry Newman - The Indwelling Spirit 30:38

4M ago30:38

30:38

"The Comforter who has come instead of Christ, must have vouchsafed to come in the same sense in which Christ came; I mean, that He has come, not merely in the way of gifts, or of influences, or of operations, as He came to the Prophets, for then Christ's going away would be a loss, and not a gain, and the Spirit's presence would be a mere pledge, …

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Rule of St. Benedict | Ep. 3 - Work, Governance, and Conclusion 55:05

5M ago55:05

55:05

"Prefer nothing whatever to Christ. And may He bring us all together to life everlasting!" The Rule of St. Benedict is a foundational spiritual guide composed by St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism, around 530 AD. In this third episode, covering Chapters 39–73, Benedict details daily routines like meals and work, outlines hosp…

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Rule of St. Benedict | Ep. 2 - Prayer and Community Life 37:22

5M ago37:22

37:22

"We believe that the divine presence is everywhere... But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God." The Rule of St. Benedict is a foundational spiritual guide composed by St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism, around 530 AD. In the chapters comprising this second episode, Bene…

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Rule of St. Benedict | Ep. 1 - Foundations of Monastic Life 40:02

6M ago40:02

40:02

"And so we are going to establish a school for the service of the Lord. In founding it we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome. But if a certain strictness results… do not be at once dismayed and fly from the way of salvation, whose entrance cannot but be narrow." In this first of five episodes, we begin The Rule of St. Benedict, a foundat…

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St. Dionysius the Areopagite - On Minding One's Own Business 29:09

7M ago29:09

29:09

"It is not for Demophilus to set these things straight. For if the Word of God commands us to pursue just things justly... this must be pursued by all justly, not beyond their own fitness." This letter—historically attributed to St. Dionysius the Areopagite, a 1st-century convert of Saint Paul from Acts, but now considered the work of an anonymous …

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St. John Henry Newman - The Oxford Sermons | 2. The Influence of Natural and Revealed Religion Respectively 36:47

8M ago36:47

36:47

"The philosopher aspires towards a divine principle; the Christian, towards a Divine Agent." St. John Henry Newman's Oxford Sermons, delivered during his time as an Anglican preacher at the University of Oxford, were isntrumental in shaping the Oxford Movement, which sought to revive High Church traditions within the Church of England and ultimatel…

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St. John Henry Newman - The Oxford Sermons | 1. The Philosophical Temper, First Enjoined by the Gospels 22:50

8M ago22:50

22:50

"The philosopher might speculate, but the theologian must submit to learn." St. John Henry Newman's Oxford Sermons, delivered during his time as an Anglican preacher at the University of Oxford, were instrumental in shaping the Oxford Movement, which sought to revive High Church traditions within the Church of England. In this collection of fifteen…

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St. Vincent Ferrer - On the Purification of Mary 38:15

8M ago38:15

38:15

“This present feast is one of the greater of the whole year... Because there are three grades of sanctity which we celebrate in this feast.” St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) was a Spanish Dominican friar, theologian, and renowned preacher known for his fiery sermons and missionary work across Europe. He was deeply devoted to calling people to repenta…

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Full 9:28:30

9M ago9:28:30

9:28:30

"Be sure that wherever our lot is cast we may and must aim at the perfect life." Written over 400 years ago, Introduction to the Devout Life is still one of the most popular books for those pursuing holiness. St. Francis de Sales explains how to turn that desire for sanctity into resolutions that yield grace-filled results. Themes include: Pursuing…

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Pope Benedict XVI - Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) | Part 2 55:38

9M ago55:38

55:38

“Love is the light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working. Love is possible, and we are able to practice it because we are created in the image of God. To experience love and in this way to cause the light of God to enter into the world—this is the invita…

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St. John Henry Newman - Reverence, a Belief in God's Presence 30:54

10M ago30:54

30:54

"They are the class of feelings we should have—yes, have in an intense degree—if we literally had the sight of Almighty God; therefore they are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize His presence." This sermon appears among a collection of sermons originally written and preached by St. John Henry Newman before his conversion to Ca…

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St. Henry Walpole - Upon the Death of M. Edmund Campion 12:16

10M ago12:16

12:16

"You thought perhaps when learned Campion dies, His pen must cease, his sugared tongue be still; But you forgot how loud his death it cries How far beyond the sound of tongue and quill." In 1581, a young Englishman named Henry Walpole attended the execution of the Jesuit Edmund Campion. As Campion was hung, drawn and quartered, Walpole stood close …

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Pope Benedict XVI - Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) | Part 1 48:17

11M ago48:17

48:17

“This is love in its most radical form. By contemplating the pierced side of Christ, we can understand the starting-point of this Encyclical Letter: “God is love”. It is there that this truth can be contemplated. It is from there that our definition of love must begin. In this contemplation the Christian discovers the path along which his life and …

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G.E.M. Anscombe - Contraception and Chastity 1:03:45

11M ago1:03:45

1:03:45

"For we don't invent marriage... any more than we invent human language. It is part of the creation of humanity and if we're lucky we find it available to us and can enter into it. If we are very unlucky, we may live in a society that has wrecked or deformed this human thing." Elizabeth Anscombe was a prominent 20th-century British philosopher, kno…

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St. John Henry Newman - Three Poems on the Angels 6:04

1y ago6:04

6:04

My oldest friend, mine from the hour When first I drew my breath; My faithful friend, that shall be mine, Unfailing, till my death... "St. Michael" full text: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/st-michael "Angelic Guidance" full text: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/angelic-guidance "Guardian Angel" full text: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/guardian-…

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St. John Henry Newman - The Self-Wise Inquirer 26:34

1y ago26:34

26:34

"In proportion as we lean to our own understanding, we are driven to do so for want of a better guide. Our first true guide, the light of innocence, is gradually withdrawn from us; and nothing is left for us but to 'grope and stumble in the desolate places,' by the dim, uncertain light of reason." This sermon appears among a collection of sermons o…

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Pope St. Paul VI - Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life) 47:46

1y ago47:46

47:46

"But to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. Just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so also, and with more particular reason, he has no such domi…

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Pope St. Gelasius I - Famuli Vestrae Pietatis: On the Two Swords 19:27

1y ago19:27

19:27

"For there are two, O emperor Augustus, by which the world is principally ruled: the sacred authority of pontiffs and the royal power." Pope St. Gelasius I reigned as pope from 492 to 496 AD and is best known for articulating the doctrine of "the two swords." This doctrine explains that man is subject to two powers: the temporal and the spiritual. …

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St. John Damascene - Sermon on the Assumption 39:56

1y ago39:56

39:56

"And just as the all-holy body of God's Son, which was taken from her, rose from the dead on the third day, it followed that she should be snatched from the tomb, that the mother should be united to her Son; and as He had come down to her, so she should be raised up to Him." John of Damascus, also known as St. John Damascene, was an influential mon…

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St. John Henry Newman - Appearance of the Cross in the Sky to Constantine 21:03

1y ago21:03

21:03

"Constantine's submission of his power to the Church has been a pattern for all Christian monarchs since, and the commencement of her state establishment to this day; and, on the other hand, the fortunes of the Roman empire are in prophecy apparently connected with her in a very intimate manner, which we are not yet able fully to comprehend. If any…

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St. Aphrahat - On Penitents 35:51

1y ago35:51

35:51

"So the man whom Satan has smitten ought not to be ashamed to confess his sin, and depart from it, and entreat for himself the medicine of penitence. For gangrene comes to the wound of him who is ashamed to show it, and harm comes to his whole body; and he who is not ashamed has his wound healed, and again returns to go down into the conflict." St.…

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St. John Henry Newman - Many Called, Few Chosen 29:53

1+ y ago29:53

29:53

"Your very perplexity in reconciling the surface of things with our Lord's announcements, the very temptation you lie under to explain away the plain words of Scripture, shows you that your standard of good and evil, and the standard of all around you, must be very different from God's standard." In this sermon from his Anglican period, Newman refl…

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The Shepherd of Hermas | Pt. 4 (Parables 9-10) 1:12:06

1+ y ago1:12:06

1:12:06

“Keep his commandments, and you will have a cure for sin.” The Shepherd of Hermas is an apocryphal text written in Rome in the 2nd century. It belongs to the category of "apocalyptic" literature, as it relates a series of revelations given to its titular character, Hermas, who may or may not also have been the work's author. The Shepherd of Hermas …

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St. John Henry Newman - The Work of the Christian 27:14

1+ y ago27:14

27:14

"It cannot be said, then, because we have not to bear the burden and the heat of the day, that therefore we have returned to paradise. It is not that our work is lighter, but our strength is greater." This sermon from Newman's Anglican period was originally preached on Septuagesima Sunday. In it, Newman addresses the misconception that grace exempt…

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The Shepherd of Hermas | Pt. 3 (Parables 1-8) 1:04:05

1+ y ago1:04:05

1:04:05

“These mandates are advantageous for those who intend to repent. For, if they do not walk in them, their repentance is worthless. You who repent must cast off the wickedness of this world which wears you down; if you put on every excellence of justice, you can observe these mandates and keep from committing any additional sins.” The Shepherd of Her…

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The Shepherd of Hermas | Pt. 2 (Mandates) 59:01

1+ y ago59:01

59:01

“Put the Lord in your hearts, then, you who are empty and fickle in the faith. You will then know that nothing is easier, sweeter, or more gentle than these mandates. Be converted, you who walk in the commandments of the Devil, commandments that are hard, bitter, cruel, and foul. And do not fear the Devil either, because he has no power against you…

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The Shepherd of Hermas | Pt. 1 (Visions) 54:06

1+ y ago54:06

54:06

“So I wrote the commands and parables as he bade me. If you hear them and keep them, and walk in them, and fulfill them in a pure heart, you will receive from the Lord what He promised you. But if you hear them and do not repent, or even add to your sins, you will receive the contrary from the Lord.” The Shepherd of Hermas is an apocryphal text wri…

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 5 & Conclusion 48:02

1+ y ago48:02

48:02

“Consider the love with which our dear Lord Jesus Christ bore so much in this world, especially in the Garden of Olives and on Mount Calvary; that love bore you in mind, and through all those pains and toils he obtained your good resolutions for you, as also all that is necessary to maintain, foster, strengthen and consummate those resolutions. "Ho…

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St. Basil the Great - On the Right Use of Greek Literature 36:12

1+ y ago36:12

36:12

"... it is incumbent upon us, for the present, to trace, as it were, the silhouette of virtue in the pagan authors. For those who carefully gather the useful from each book are wont, like mighty rivers, to gain accessions on every hand." Drawing from his deep understanding of both classical Greek literature and Sacred Scripture, St. Basil the Great…

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 4 1:18:44

1+ y ago1:18:44

1:18:44

"If anyone strives to be delivered from his troubles out of love of God, he will strive patiently, gently, humbly and calmly, looking for deliverance rather to God's goodness and providence than to his own industry or efforts; but if self-love is the prevailing object, he will grow hot and eager in seeking relief, as though all depended more upon h…

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St. John Henry Newman - The Idea of a University | Duties of the Church towards Knowledge 54:50

1+ y ago54:50

54:50

"If the Catholic Faith is true, a University cannot exist externally to the Catholic pale, for it cannot teach Universal Knowledge if it does not teach Catholic theology. This is certain; but still, though it had ever so many theological Chairs, that would not suffice to make it a Catholic University... a direct and active jurisdiction of the Churc…

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 3 (Ch.36-41) 35:56

1+ y ago35:56

35:56

"No indeed, I would not even have people wish for more wit or better judgment, for such desires are frivolous, and take the place of the wish everyone ought to possess of improving what he has. We ought not to desire ways of serving God that He does not open to us, but rather desire to use what we have rightly." Part 3 (00:38) Chapter 36—A Well-Bal…

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St. John Henry Newman - The Idea of a University | Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Religion 1:08:06

2y ago1:08:06

1:08:06

"True Religion is slow in growth, and, when once planted, is difficult of dislodgement; but its intellectual counterfeit has no root in itself: it springs up suddenly, it suddenly withers. It appeals to what is in nature, and it falls under the dominion of the old Adam. Then, like dethroned princes, it keeps up a state and majesty, when it has lost…

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 3 (Ch.23-35) 1:10:32

2y ago1:10:32

1:10:32

"Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily... If you do all in God's name, all you do will be well done." Part 3 (00:38) Chapter 23—The Practice of Bodily Mortification (11:15) Chapter 24—Society and Solitude (16:40) Chapter 25—Modesty in Dress (20:36) Chapter 26—Conversation: First, How to Speak of God (23:08) …

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St. Philip Howard - A Fourfold Meditation: On the Four Last Things 57:12

2y ago57:12

57:12

"Thou findest here what thou wilt wish at last, And that account which none can ever shun; Then frame thy life before thy time be past, As thou wilt wish that thou in time hadst done: Lest thou in vain doth wail thy wretched state, When time is past and wailing comes too late." A poem by Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel (1557-1595), an English n…

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St. John Henry Newman - The Idea of a University | Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Professional Skill 55:32

2y ago55:32

55:32

"If then the intellect is so excellent a portion of us, and its cultivation so excellent, it is not only beautiful, perfect, admirable, and noble in itself, but in a true and high sense it must be useful to the possessor and to all around him; not useful in any low, mechanical, mercantile sense, but as diffusing good, or as a blessing, or a gift, o…

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 3 (Ch.11-22) 1:01:35

2y ago1:01:35

1:01:35

"In the world those who aim at a devout life require to be united one with another by a holy friendship, which excites, stimulates, and encourages them in well-doing." Part 3 (00:39) Chapter 11 - Obedience (06:04) Chapter 12 - Purity (09:26) Chapter 13 - How to Maintain Purity (13:09) Chapter 14 - Poverty of Spirit amid Riches (18:49) Chapter 15 - …

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Pope St. John Paul II - Veritatis Splendor: Regarding Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church's Moral Teaching | Chapter III 1:22:47

2y ago1:22:47

1:22:47

“While exchanges and conflicts of opinion may constitute normal expressions of public life in a representative democracy, moral teaching certainly cannot depend simply upon respect for a process: indeed, it is in no way established by following the rules and deliberative procedures typical of a democracy... Opposition to the teaching of the Church'…

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Pope St. John Paul II - Veritatis Splendor: Regarding Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church's Moral Teaching | Chapter II 2:03:09

2y ago2:03:09

2:03:09

“If acts are intrinsically evil, a good intention or particular circumstances can diminish their evil, but they cannot remove it. They remain irremediably evil acts; per se and in themselves they are not capable of being ordered to God and to the good of the person... Consequently, circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsicall…

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Pope St. John Paul II - Veritatis Splendor: Regarding Certain Fundamental Questions of the Church's Moral Teaching | Chapter I 1:05:20

2y ago1:05:20

1:05:20

“No damage must be done to the harmony between faith and life: the unity of the Church is damaged not only by Christians who reject or distort the truths of faith but also by those who disregard the moral obligations to which they are called by the Gospel.” Veritatis Splendor, or “The Splendor of Truth”, was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope S…

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The So-Called Letter of Barnabas 56:16

2y ago56:16

56:16

"The helpers of our faith are fear and patience; our allies are long-suffering and self-control." The so-called Letter of Barnabas is neither a letter nor by St. Barnabas. Written by an anonymous author sometime between the years 70 and 150 AD, it is a work of allegorical scriptural interpretation chiefly notable for its early date. Having been com…

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St. John Henry Newman - The Idea of a University | Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Learning 52:20

2+ y ago52:20

52:20

"I say, a University, taken in its bare idea, and before we view it as an instrument of the Church, has this object and this mission; it contemplates neither moral impression nor mechanical production; it professes to exercise the mind neither in art nor in duty; its function is intellectual culture... It educates the intellect to reason well in al…

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St. Thomas More - Poems from the Tower of London 5:55

2+ y ago5:55

5:55

"Give me thy grace, good Lord, To set the world at naught;" The 16th and 17th centuries produced a number of men whose courageous faith was accompanied by prodigious learning and literary talent. Among these was St. Thomas More, who wrote poems while languishing in the Tower of London, 1534-1535. Read here are "Lewis the Lost Lover" and "Davey the …

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St. Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life | Pt. 3 (Ch.1-10) 1:13:47

2+ y ago1:13:47

1:13:47

"Anyone who will calmly consider what he has done without God, cannot fail to realize that what he does with God is no merit of his own; and so we may rejoice in that which is good in us, and take pleasure in the fact, but we shall give all the glory to God alone, who alone is its author." Part 3 Chapter 1 - How to Select That Which We Should Chief…