Pastoral and Occasional Sermons

by Ronald Knox

The highly esteemed Catholic convert, writer and apologist Ronald Knox, a master of the English language, was well regarded for his gifts both of writing and preaching. This volume combines both skills as it is a collection of his homilies on all the important themes of the spiritual and moral life, and on his favorite saints, men and women of history who were inflamed with the love of Christ.In his always descriptive, profound and witty style, Knox covers a very wide variety of pastoral themes for Christian living and growth in spiritual perfection. Themes such as The Fatherhood of God, The Sermon on the Mount, The Gifts of God, The Triumph of Suffering, The Divine Sacrifice, and dozens more. In his occasional sermons on saints and Christian heroes, he shows how these heroes of history struggled with many of the same spiritual battles that modern believers encounter daily, and overcame them with faith, courage, character and virtue. These are the shining witnesses of the truth and charity we all seek to emulate.

1112 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

Monsignor Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was a Roman Catholic priest, theologian, author of detective stories, as well as a writer and a regular broadcaster for BBC Radio.

Knox had attended Eton College and won several scholarships at Balliol College, Oxford. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 1912 and was appointed chaplain of Trinity College, Oxford, but he left in 1917 upon his conversion to Catholicism. In 1918 he was ordained a Catholic priest. Knox wrote many books of essays and novels. Directed by his religious superiors, he re-translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into English, using Hebrew and Greek sources, beginning in 1936.

He died on 24 August 1957 and his body was brought to Westminster Cathedral. Bishop Craven celebrated the requiem mass, at which Father Martin D'Arcy, a Jesuit, preached the panegyric. Knox was buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's Church, Mells.

Reviews

[EL Core · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a nonpareil treasury of wisdom and eloquence from a preacher without peer in the 20th Century.

It is a compact one-volume edition of sermons that had been originally published in two volumes in 1959. It is a hardcover book beautifully printed and bound.

(Though the title on the dust jacket is "Pastoral and Occasional Sermons", the actual title of the book is "Pastoral Sermons and Occasional Sermons".)