Christian Art | George Herbert | Sepulchre | The Church | Constancie
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Constancie
Who is the honest man?
He that doth still and strongly good pursue,
To God, his neighbour, and himself most true:
Whom neither force nor fawning can
Unpinne, or wrench from giving all their due.
Whose honestie is not
So loose or easie, that a ruffling winde
Can blow away, or glittering look it blinde:
Who rides his sure and even trot,
While the world now rides by, now lags behinde.
Who, when great trials come,
Nor seeks, nor shunnes them; but doth calmly stay,
Till he the thing and the example weigh:
All being brought into a summe,
What place or person calls for, he doth pay.
Whom none can work or wooe
To use in any thing a trick or sleight,
For above all things he abhorres deceit:
His words and works and fashion too
All of a piece, and all are cleare and straight.
Who never melts or thaws
At close tentations: when the day is done,
His goodnesse sets not, but in dark can runne:
The sunne to others writeth laws,
And is their vertue; Vertue is his Sunne.
Who, when he is to treat
With sick folks, women, those whom passions sway,
Allows for that, and keeps his constant way:
Whom others faults do not defeat;
But though men fail him, yet his part doth play.
Whom nothing can procure,
When the wide world runnes bias, from his will
To writhe his limbes, and share, not mend the ill.
This is the Mark-man, safe and sure,
Who still is right, and prayes to be so still
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Constancie
This poem explores characteristics of the ‘honest man’, presenting him as an ideal figure who embodies integrity, constancy, and compassion. Through a series of tightly crafted six-line stanzas, Herbert develops a portrait of this moral archetype, contrasting his steadfast virtues with instability and corruption of the world around him.
The opening question, ‘Who is the honest man?’ invites reflection, and the answer unfolds in a detailed examination of his traits. The honest man is described as unwavering in his pursuit of good, true to God, his neighbours, and himself. His commitments remain firm, unshaken by ‘force’ or ‘fawning’. This insistence on steadfastness establishes honesty as an active and resilient quality, impervious to external pressures.
The six-line stanza form allows for a steady, deliberate rhythm that mirrors the honest man’s unchanging character. Herbert introduces each virtue systematically, with the regularity of the stanza structure reinforcing the idea of constancy. The phrase ‘an even trot’ emphasizes this regularity, contrasting the honest man’s steady course with the erratic pace of a world that alternately ‘rides by’ and ‘lags behind’.
Honesty is further characterized by its durability. It is not ‘so loose or easy, that a ruffling wind / Can blow away’, a metaphor that critiques superficial or circumstantial virtue. Instead, the honest man is immovable, maintaining his integrity even when faced with great trials. He neither ‘seeks, nor shuns’ such challenges but approaches them calmly and thoughtfully, weighing their demands. This image presents honesty as a balanced and deliberate quality, one that prioritizes duty and justice over personal comfort or avoidance.
Transparency and coherence are central to the honest man’s character. His ‘words and works and fashion too’ are ‘all of a piece’, emphasizing a unity between speech, action, and demeanour. This alignment contrasts with deceit, which he ‘abhors’, and underscores the idea that true honesty is holistic, extending to all areas of life. His virtue is intrinsic, not dependent on external validation, and persists even in darkness, where others falter. The verse ‘The sun to others writeth laws, / And is their virtue; virtue is his sun’ highlights this distinction, suggesting that the honest man’s goodness is self-sustaining, not reliant on external oversight or conditions.
The poem also acknowledges complexities of human interaction, particularly in the lines describing the honest man’s dealings with ‘sick folks, women, those whom passions sway’. Here, he is depicted as compassionate and adaptable, understanding the vulnerabilities of others without compromising his principles. This balance between firmness and empathy demonstrates that honesty is not rigid or inflexible but accommodates imperfections of human experience.
In its final stanza, the poem addresses corrupting forces of the world, described as running ‘bias’, a term suggesting both deviation and partiality. The honest man resists these influences, refusing to ‘writhe his limbs’ or participate in perpetuating harm. Instead, he remains the ‘Mark-man’, a figure of precision and focus who stays true to his moral aim. This archer metaphor underscores disciplined effort required to maintain honesty amid distraction and distortion.
The concluding prayer, ‘to be so still,’ highlights the active and ongoing nature of honesty. The honest man’s qualities are not static but require constant vigilance and renewal. The poem connects human virtue with divine grace, suggesting that honesty is both an individual effort and a reflection of alignment with higher moral truths.
Christian Art | A Boy At Prayer Receives Communion | Eucharist | Jesus Saves Office Of Readings | Easter Saturday | A Reading From The Instructions To The Newly Baptized At Jerusalem | The Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation ‘The bread of heaven and the cup of salvation.’ Commentary on the Jerusalem Catechesis | The Instructions To The Newly Baptized At Jerusalem The Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Salvation The reading from the Jerusalem Catecheses offers a luminous and powerful reflection on the mystery of the Eucharist, the sacrament at the very heart of Christian life. Attributed traditionally to Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, these catecheses were designed to unfold the hidden mysteries of the faith to those who had newly received baptism and first communion at the Easter Vigil. The context is important: these were not casual theological musings, but careful, pastoral teachings meant to anchor the newly-initiated in the life-giving truths they had just entered into. The heart of this passage is the unwavering assertion of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Cyril does not argue cautiously; he proclaims boldly: ‘Since Christ himself has declared the bread to be his body, who can have any further doubt?’ In an era where some were tempted to interpret Christ’s words metaphorically, Cyril insists on a straightforward, literal faith. Christ’s own words — ‘This is my body… this is my blood’ — are treated as sufficient warrant for full-hearted belief. There is no room for skepticism: to doubt the Eucharist is, by implication, to doubt Christ himself. This teaching reflects a deep continuity with the apostolic faith. Already in the New Testament, St. Paul affirms, ‘The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?’ (1 Corinthians 10:16) The Eucharist is not a mere symbol among symbols, but a sacramental participation in the living Christ. Saint Cyril continues this tradition, reinforcing that the Eucharistic elements, though appearing to human senses as bread and wine, are indeed the body and blood of the Lord. This appeals directly to the primacy of faith over sight, recalling Paul’s teaching that Christians ‘walk by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7). Moreover, the catechesis emphasizes the transformative power of the Eucharist. In receiving Christ’s body and blood, the believer is made a ‘bearer of Christ’ — a Christophoros. Here, the early Church’s mystical understanding of the sacraments is beautifully clear: to receive the Eucharist is not only to commemorate Christ, but to be conformed to him, to be transfigured into his likeness. Saint Peter’s phrase that Christians are made ‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4) finds vivid application here: the Eucharist draws us into the very life of God. Cyril is also careful to explain how the Old Testament prefigurations — the showbread in the Temple, the manna in the desert — point to the fullness of the Eucharist. The showbread, which had meaning under the old covenant, gave way before the true ‘bread from heaven’ that Christ provides (John 6:32-35). This biblical typology strengthens the catechesis, showing that the Eucharist was not a novelty, but the culmination of God’s long preparation of his people. What was hinted at in figures has now been given in fullness. The dual effect of the Eucharist — sanctifying both body and soul — is also beautifully emphasized. The bread sanctifies the body; the Word sanctifies the soul. This integrated vision of human nature, so typical of patristic thought, avoids any dualism that would prize the soul over the body. Salvation in Christ is for the whole person. The Eucharist thus nourishes human beings at every level, preparing them not just for a spiritual existence, but for the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. The passage ends with a tender exhortation to interior purity. Echoing Paul’s words that Christians should examine themselves before receiving the body and blood of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:28), Cyril urges his hearers to cleanse their consciences. Only with a pure heart can the Christian ‘be transformed from glory to glory’ — an allusion to 2 Corinthians 3:18 — contemplating the Lord’s glory and being conformed more and more to his image. This Holy Saturday reading, poised on the edge of the Easter Vigil, is profoundly fitting. The catechumen, freshly baptized and anointed, stands ready to partake of the Eucharist for the first time. The reading calls him or her — and by extension, all of us — to approach the altar with wonder, reverence, and firm faith, recognizing that in the humble forms of bread and wine is contained the infinite love and life of God. As the Church sings at every Mass: ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.’ In the Eucharist, the word has been spoken; the healing has been given; the divine life has been offered. To Christ Jesus, true bread from heaven, be all glory and praise, now and forever. Amen. Living Memory | Pope Francis And The Eucharistic Mystery The spirit of the Jerusalem Catecheses finds a vibrant echo in the teaching of Pope Francis, who often returns to the centrality of the Eucharist in Christian life. In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (2013), Francis calls the Eucharist ‘not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak’ (§47). This insight harmonizes deeply with the tone of the early Church’s catechesis: the Eucharist is offered not as a reward for the righteous but as the necessary food for pilgrims on the journey of faith — those who, like the neophytes of Jerusalem, are continually being transformed by grace. Moreover, Pope Francis stresses that the Eucharist is an encounter with Christ that transforms the believer into a living member of his Body. In a 2018 homily on the Feast of Corpus Christi, he spoke these striking words: ‘The Eucharist is simple food, like […]
In this deeply moving catechesis, St. John Chrysostom leads us into the mystery of Christ’s Passion, focusing our attention on the extraordinary power and significance of his blood. For Chrysostom, this blood is not just a historical detail or a symbol of suffering—it is life itself. It is protection, healing, rebirth, and nourishment. It is the very source from which the Church is born [ … ]
John the Baptist is born into a small and close-knit community, in which all Elizabeth’s neighbours and family relations rejoice with her at the gift of new life the Lord has bestowed on her. This is clearly a good and healthy community environment, and this will be important to John’s formation, howbeit the people are, as small communities can often be, quite conservative in their ways, such that when Elizabeth tells them the child will be called John, she causes something of a fuss, because this is an unusual thing to do: ‘There is none of thy kindred called by this name,’ her friends complain to her [ … ]
