The Eightfold Kingdom Within

Essays on the Beatitudes and The Gifts of the Holy Ghost

The Collected Works of Carol Jackson Robinson, Volume 2

This book is the second in Carol Robinson's Collected Works series. Her penetrating and original analysis of the modern world shows the fruit of a mind absorbed in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas— her life-long companion. We hope that these essays will help Catholics understand how the Faith has importance for the totality of their lives which must not be hidden away from the public square.

Excerpt from the Foreword by Fr. James Doran

Christianity, when it is orthodox, is a religion of the heart, but not one of sentimentality. Catholicism in all its tradition has been a religion illuminating the mind so that the spirit might find dwelling with God.

Confusion and discomfort: this is the prospect of embracing the Gospel in the modern world. Add to these the incomprehension or enmity from others, and you have a potent source of discouragement to living an integral and integrated Catholic life today.

Must it be so?

The Good One of course remains ever the same in charity and omnipotence, so the root and source of all holiness is still sound. The unknown factor then must lie in the hearts of men if Christianity is to be put into action. There will always be some— "the world"— who will consistently resist the grace and action of the Almighty. Holding this book, it must be otherwise with us. Faith has been given, grace has taken root, and so must the flourishing of fidelity and holiness. Is this the happiness we seek?....

The Beatitudes act as a defibrillator to these lethal conditions, should we choose to listen. They re-animate the soul by enkindling charity and warmth within a heart that has grown cold. And everyone knows that without a healthy heart one eventually dies for good.