Frederick William Faber lived from 1814-1863 and grew up in Westmorland, England. Though he held to Calvinism in his youth, Frederick had given it up 1837, when he became a fellow of the National Scholars Foundation. He wrote many hymns, poems and other works, including Faith of Our Fathers, The Pilgrims of the Night, The Eternal Father, All for Jesus, Spiritual Conferences, and The Foot of the Cross.
Frederick Faber also founded the Wilfridian religious community at St. Wilfrid’s, with John Henry Newman as the eventual superior when the order merged with the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. He died on September 26, 1863.
This book stands as the “source and origin” of all Father Faber’s other writings. It contains a fundamental insight that leads to a proper understanding of Catholic spirituality. Fr. Faber says that men in the modern era accept God’s existence but deny His sovereignty in practice. Though written in the mid-19th century, this book is absolutely on target today because humanity’s tendency to arrogate itself to the prerogatives of God, although strong in Fr. Faber’s time, is epidemic today. A real eye-opener!
