Spiritual Letters of Monsignor R Hugh Benson: To One of His Converts
Spiritual Letters of Monsignor R Hugh Benson: To One of His Converts
Overview
THE letters of which this volume consists had begun to appear in my brother's lifetime, with his full consent and approval, as a series of articles. He had indeed himself seen and criticised the earliest of them. The recipient of the letters consulted me as to their publication in book-form, and as my brother left me in his will the whole of his papers and manuscripts, I feel that he intended me to have the full responsibility of using my discretion as to publication. In the present case it is perfectly clear to me that it was his wish and intention that the letters should appear, while I have no doubt that he would have sanctioned their appearance in the form of a book. Moreover, on reading them, it seemed to me that they illustrate in a very peculiar way some of my brother's most marked characteristics, not only his enthusiasm and swift expressiveness, but his eager desire to respond to every call and claim for sympathy and interest, as well as his grace of loyal and continuous kindness. He said once that he could not "prop "-that people came to him and passed on. This may sometimes have been true, but I think it was generally his consultants who passed on, and not himself! I have been allowed to see more than one series of his letters, and there is never any sign of his care and sympathy failing, so long as they were needed and desired. Let us look at one of these letters in part: "I will do my best to answer your questions; for, poor as my answers will be, I think to attempt them is the best way to show my real gratitude for your sympathy. "First, I would like to say this: that to my mind all such difficulties are secondary. There are unanswerable difficulties in Christianity, widely considered: but we trust our Lord personally in spite of them: knowing that there is an answer to them all in His Divine Wisdom. So with the Church. The first thing to make sure of is the grounds of Faith. (1) Did or did not our Lord intend there to be a Divine Teacher on earth to the end? (2) If He did, where is it to be found? All else to my mind is secondary to that. Once one has found the Divine Teacher one asks questions, indeed; but it is only in order to know what to believe. " It is possible, I suppose, to hold all, or nearly all the Catholic doctrines one by one, individually, because we have examined them and found them probable and reasonable; but that is not the root of the matter. The root is to have made the Act of Submission to the Divine Teacher. Then one's business is to find out what She teaches: but even before one knows any theology, one implicitly believes the entire Faith in its principles and details, just because one believes the Teacher who delivers it. " Having said that, may I go on ? "(1) You say: 'If it was not wrong to use private judgment to go to an Authority, how can it be wrong to use it after?' Test that by practical experience: e.g. you become persuaded, by Private Judgment, that a certain doctor understands your constitution better than you do yourself: and you put yourself in his hands. Would it not be suicidal, after that, to judge of his remedies one by one, as to whether you would use them? The Church says: 'Here am I, with certain claims and credentials. I have a continuous spiritual experience for nineteen centuries; no break; I have a wide Catholic experience over all countries; my head is the Apostolic See with 1200 bishops in unity of faith. I point to the Scriptures that you accept, and I ask you to look at your own heart. Judge whether I am trustworthy or not. If you think I am, then put yourself wholly in my charge, and let me deal with you as I have dealt with millions of others of all races and ages and characters. If not, you must see to yourself."Description
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- Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, but the text cannot be obscured or unreadable.
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To complete your return, we require a tracking number, which shows the items which you already returned to us.
There are certain situations where only partial refunds are granted (if applicable)
- Book with obvious signs of use
- CD, DVD, VHS tape, software, video game, cassette tape, or vinyl record that has been opened
- Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error
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Items returned to us as a result of our error will receive a full refund,some returns may be subject to a restocking fee of 7% of the total item price, please contact a customer care team member to see if your return is subject. Returns that arrived on time and were as described are subject to a restocking fee.
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You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, please Contact Us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return. We will respond quickly with instructions for how to return items from your order.
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Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary.
If you are shipping an item over $75, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We don’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item.
Overview
THE letters of which this volume consists had begun to appear in my brother's lifetime, with his full consent and approval, as a series of articles. He had indeed himself seen and criticised the earliest of them. The recipient of the letters consulted me as to their publication in book-form, and as my brother left me in his will the whole of his papers and manuscripts, I feel that he intended me to have the full responsibility of using my discretion as to publication. In the present case it is perfectly clear to me that it was his wish and intention that the letters should appear, while I have no doubt that he would have sanctioned their appearance in the form of a book. Moreover, on reading them, it seemed to me that they illustrate in a very peculiar way some of my brother's most marked characteristics, not only his enthusiasm and swift expressiveness, but his eager desire to respond to every call and claim for sympathy and interest, as well as his grace of loyal and continuous kindness. He said once that he could not "prop "-that people came to him and passed on. This may sometimes have been true, but I think it was generally his consultants who passed on, and not himself! I have been allowed to see more than one series of his letters, and there is never any sign of his care and sympathy failing, so long as they were needed and desired. Let us look at one of these letters in part: "I will do my best to answer your questions; for, poor as my answers will be, I think to attempt them is the best way to show my real gratitude for your sympathy. "First, I would like to say this: that to my mind all such difficulties are secondary. There are unanswerable difficulties in Christianity, widely considered: but we trust our Lord personally in spite of them: knowing that there is an answer to them all in His Divine Wisdom. So with the Church. The first thing to make sure of is the grounds of Faith. (1) Did or did not our Lord intend there to be a Divine Teacher on earth to the end? (2) If He did, where is it to be found? All else to my mind is secondary to that. Once one has found the Divine Teacher one asks questions, indeed; but it is only in order to know what to believe. " It is possible, I suppose, to hold all, or nearly all the Catholic doctrines one by one, individually, because we have examined them and found them probable and reasonable; but that is not the root of the matter. The root is to have made the Act of Submission to the Divine Teacher. Then one's business is to find out what She teaches: but even before one knows any theology, one implicitly believes the entire Faith in its principles and details, just because one believes the Teacher who delivers it. " Having said that, may I go on ? "(1) You say: 'If it was not wrong to use private judgment to go to an Authority, how can it be wrong to use it after?' Test that by practical experience: e.g. you become persuaded, by Private Judgment, that a certain doctor understands your constitution better than you do yourself: and you put yourself in his hands. Would it not be suicidal, after that, to judge of his remedies one by one, as to whether you would use them? The Church says: 'Here am I, with certain claims and credentials. I have a continuous spiritual experience for nineteen centuries; no break; I have a wide Catholic experience over all countries; my head is the Apostolic See with 1200 bishops in unity of faith. I point to the Scriptures that you accept, and I ask you to look at your own heart. Judge whether I am trustworthy or not. If you think I am, then put yourself wholly in my charge, and let me deal with you as I have dealt with millions of others of all races and ages and characters. If not, you must see to yourself."Description
Condition Guidelines
Books - New and Used
The following guidelines apply to books:
- New: A brand-new copy with cover and original protective wrapping intact. Books with markings of any kind on the cover or pages, books marked as "Bargain" or "Remainder," or with any other labels attached, may not be listed as New condition.
- Used - Good: All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Item may be missing bundled media.
- Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, but the text cannot be obscured or unreadable.
Note: Some electronic material access codes are valid only for one user. For this reason, used books, including books listed in the Used – Like New condition, may not come with functional electronic material access codes.
Shipping & Delivery
Shipping Fees
- Stevens Books offers FREE SHIPPING everywhere in the United States for ALL non-book orders, and $3.99 for each book.
- Packages are shipped from Monday to Friday.
- No additional fees and charges.
Delivery Times
The usual time for processing an order is 24 hours (1 business day), but may vary depending on the availability of products ordered. This period excludes delivery times, which depend on your geographic location.
Estimated delivery times:
- Standard Shipping: 5-8 business days
- Expedited Shipping: 3-5 business days
Shipping method varies depending on what is being shipped.
Tracking
All orders are shipped with a tracking number. Once your order has left our warehouse, a confirmation e-mail with a tracking number will be sent to you. You will be able to track your package at all times.
Damaged Parcel
If your package has been delivered in a PO Box, please note that we are not responsible for any damage that may result (consequences of extreme temperatures, theft, etc.).
If you have any questions regarding shipping or want to know about the status of an order, please contact us or email to support@stevensbooks.com.
Returns & Refunds
You may return most items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.
Several types of goods are exempt from being returned. Perishable goods such as food, flowers, newspapers or magazines cannot be returned. We also do not accept products that are intimate or sanitary goods, hazardous materials, or flammable liquids or gases.
Additional non-returnable items:
- Gift cards
- Downloadable software products
- Some health and personal care items
To complete your return, we require a tracking number, which shows the items which you already returned to us.
There are certain situations where only partial refunds are granted (if applicable)
- Book with obvious signs of use
- CD, DVD, VHS tape, software, video game, cassette tape, or vinyl record that has been opened
- Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error
- Any item that is returned more than 30 days after delivery
Items returned to us as a result of our error will receive a full refund,some returns may be subject to a restocking fee of 7% of the total item price, please contact a customer care team member to see if your return is subject. Returns that arrived on time and were as described are subject to a restocking fee.
Items returned to us that were not the result of our error, including items returned to us due to an invalid or incomplete address, will be refunded the original item price less our standard restocking fees.
If the item is returned to us for any of the following reasons, a 15% restocking fee will be applied to your refund total and you will be asked to pay for return shipping:
- Item(s) no longer needed or wanted.
- Item(s) returned to us due to an invalid or incomplete address.
- Item(s) returned to us that were not a result of our error.
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, please Contact Us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return. We will respond quickly with instructions for how to return items from your order.
Shipping Cost
We'll pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.). In other cases, you will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item. Shipping costs are non-refundable. If you receive a refund, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund.
Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary.
If you are shipping an item over $75, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We don’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item.
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