Spiritual Quote of the Day (Acts of the Apostles, on the First Pentecost)

“When the day of Pentecost had come,
  they were all together in one place.
And suddenly from heaven there came
  a sound like the rush of a violent wind,
  and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,
  and a tongue rested on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
  and began to speak in other languages,
  as the Spirit gave them ability.”—Acts 2: 1-4 (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition)

The image accompanying this post, Pentecost, was created in 1545 by the Venetian Renaissance painter Titian (c. 1485–1576)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Marilynne Robinson, on the Bible’s ‘Interest in the Human’)

“The remarkable realism of the Bible, the voices it captures, the characterization it achieves, are products of an interest in the human that has no parallel in ancient literature. The Lord stands back, so to speak. The text does not blur the unlikeness of the mortal and the divine by giving us demigods.” —American novelist-essayist Marilynne Robinson, Reading Genesis (2024)

The image accompanying this post, Abraham and Isaac (also known as The Sacrifice of Isaac), was created by the Venetian painter Titian (ca. 1488-1576).

Quote of the Day (Gospel of Mark, on John the Baptist)

“John the Baptist was in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey. In the course of his preaching he said, ‘After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’”—Mark 1: 4-8 (New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition)

The image accompanying this post is a painting created between 1550 and 1555 by the Italian Renaissance master Titian (1488-1576).

Quote of the Day (Gospel of Luke, as John the Baptist Speaks of the Rich and the Poor)

“And the multitudes asked him [John the Baptist], ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’--Luke 3: 10-11

(St. John the Baptist, 1542 oil-on-canvas painting by Titian, is held in the Academy of Venice.)