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"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen." (Ro 11.36)
(1) E.g. "The Desert Fathers" Transl. by Benedicta Ward. (Penguin Books, London, 2003)
(2) In the late 1100s, a handful of men (mostly European pilgrims and retired Crusaders) began living as semi-hermits on Mt. Carmel, looking to Elijah for their inspiration. The Patriarch of Jerusalem took them under his wing as they devoted themselves to a life of "constancy in prayer", poverty and toil.
(3) Martin Luther wrote in his Greater Catechism (1529), "Our enemies may mock us, but we shall defy them and the devil if we continue steadfast in prayer."
(4) Teresa wrote at that time, "How is it that there are not many led by sermons to forsake open sin? Do you know what I think? That it is because preachers have too much worldly wisdom. They are not like the Apostles, flinging it all aside and catching fire with love of God, and so their flames give little heat."
