A Testament of Devotion | Friend of Silence

A Testament of Devotion | Friend of Silence



A Testament of Devotion

The wellsprings of life
Thomas Kelly | December 2021 (Vol. XXXIV, No. 11)
The wellsprings of life are bubbling up anew each moment. So when the angel is troubling the waters, it is no time to stand on the bank and recite past wonders.
~ Thomas Kelly in A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION
Thomas Kelly
A Testament of Devotion
wonder
winter

Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power
Thomas Kelly | December 2009 (Vol. XXII, No. 11)


Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power. It is serene and radiant. It takes no time, but it occupies all our time, making our life programs new and overcoming. We need not get frantic. Love is at the helm. And when our little day is done, we lie down quietly in peace, for all is well.
~ from A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION by Thomas Kelly
Thomas Kelly
A Testament of Devotion
peace
stillness
winter

The Oneness of each to all through God is real, objective, existential
Thomas Kelley | April 2007 (Vol. XX, No. 4)


The Oneness of each to all through God is real, objective, existential. It is an eternal relationship which is shared in by every stick and stone and bird and beast and saint and sinner of the universe. On all, the wooing love of God falls urgently, persuadingly.

~ from A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION by Thomas Kelley
Thomas Kelley
A Testament of Devotion
oneness
summer

A Light Within which illumines the face of God
Thomas Kelly | December 2000 (Vol. XIII, No. 11)


Deep within us all, there ís an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn líves, warming us wíth intimatíons of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of humanity.
~ from A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION by Thomas Kelly
Thomas Kelly
A Testament of Devotion
light
spring

Behold I stand at the door and knock
Thomas R. Kelly | January 1988 (Vol. I, No. 1)


Our Quaker friends have much to teach us in the way of silence. The following quotations are taken from the little classic, A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION, by Thomas R. Kelly:

"... the Living Christ within us is the initiator and we are the responders. God the Lover, the accuser, the revealer of light and darkness presses within us. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock.' And all our apparent initiative is already a response, a testimonial to His secret presence and working within us.

"The basic response of the soul to the Light is internal adoration and joy, thanksgiving and worship, self-surrender and listening. The secret places of the heart cease to be our noisy workshop. They become a holy sanctuary of adoration and of self-oblation, where we are kept in perfect peace, if our minds be stayed on Him who had found us in the inward springs of our life ... In the Center of Creation all things are ours, and we are Christ's and Christ is God's."
~ from A TESTAMENT OF DEVOTION by Thomas R. Kelly
Thomas R. Kelly
A Testament of Devotion