1997
From N.T. Wright, Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (October 1997) at page 53:
In 1924, as the iron grip of Communism shadowed Russia and began to menace the entire world, the Kremlin dispatched Nikolai Bakunin off to Kiev to reinforce the repression of Christianity. Browbeating the large cowed crowd for hours, he summed up Therefore, there is no God: Jesus Christ never existed; there is no such thing as a Holy Spirit. The Church is an oppressive institution, and anyway it’s out of date. The future belongs to the State, and the State is in the hands of the Party.” He was about to sit down when an old priest stood up near the front, “May I say three words?” As Bakunin disdainfully assented, the frail little priest turned to the sullen crowd and shouted: “Christ is risen!” and back came the traditional cry as the crowd jumped to its feet with a roar. “He is risen indeed!”
From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers," trans. by Benedicta Ward, S.L.G., at pg 21-22:
The Desert Fathers, men of faith who retreated to the desert in the third and fourth centuries, told an ancient story of a monk who was going to town to sell some wares in order to buy food to live on. A paralytic on the roadside said, “Where are you going, Teacher?” And when the monk said [he was going] to town, the paralytic said, “Would you do me the favor of carrying me there with you?” So the monk carried the paralytic into the town. Then the paralytic said, “You can just put me down where you sell your wares.” And the monk did so. When the monk sold an article, the paralytic said, “What did you sell it for?” And when the Monk stated the price, the paralytic said, “Will you buy me a cake with that?” And the monk did so. When the selling time was over, the paralytic said, “Now will you do me the favor of carrying me back to the place you found me? And once more, the monk did so. When they arrived at the place where the monk had found the paralyzed beggar, the paralytic said, “You are filled with divine blessings, in heaven and on earth,” and disappeared. Then the monk realized that the paralytic had really been an angel, sent to try both spirit and flesh.
From Henry David Thoreau, Walden (September 19, 1995)
Henry David Thoreau wrote, In the long run, me only hit what they aim at.” RefMgr field[22]: 2″
From Diane Fassel, Working Ourselves to Death" at 123, 46:
As Diane Fassel wrote, “Everywhere I go it seems people are killing themselves with work, busyness, rushing, caring, and rescuing. Work addiction is a modern epidemic and it is sweeping our land. I call it the cleanest of all the addictions. It is socially promoted beause it is seemingly socially productive.”
From St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 57, 5:
As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, Everything gives pleasure to the extent that it is loved. It is natural for people to love their own work…” and the reason is that we love to be and to live, and these are made manifest in our work.