Christopher Dawson. I grew up in a house full of books. That was thanks to my father, to whom I give thanks for that—also, and above all, for having fixed me up with the love of my life. On related matters … Cardinal McElroy Accidentally Tells the Truth about “St. John Paul II Catholics”
You’ve presented his quotes in reverse chronological order to how Dawson  posted them
You’ve given us 11 quotes starting with his conclusion and working down to his beginning
I began  to realize this  After reading the first five or so quotes & noticing the posting dates 
So I started with your last quote and worked backwards
The insight that he provides is incredible and it’s much easier I think to see the logic & flow of his discussion  if you start with his first quote which is your last quote 
I only subscribe to this and one other Substack but, here, I’m thinking I must’ve landed in the right place, because I nearly fell out of my chair at seeing mention of Christopher Dawson. For many years I’ve had his “The Judgment of the Nations” on my bookshelf and I had thought he was utterly forgotten. Thank you for retrieving this treasure. I wonder if perhaps you may have gotten the idea for the title, Meaning in History, from Dawson? He says, after quoting the dry bones verses in Ezekiel 37, “The Spirit blows through the world like wind and fire, driving the kingdoms before it, burning up the works of man like dry grass, but the meaning of history is found not in the wind or in the fire, but in ‘the small voice’ of the Word which is never silent, but which cannot bear fruit unless man co-operates by an act of faith and spiritual obedience.”
Per JP2, "...the living character of Tradition, which, as the Second Vatican Council clearly taught, ‘comes from the apostles and progresses in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on. This comes about in various ways. It comes through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts. It comes from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience'."
If believer McElroy has had
1. a growth of insights into realities and words, and
2. he has pondered these insights in his heart,
given the intimacy with which he experiences his spiritual realities, we can surely accept his contributions to a living Tradition.
Great quotes and thoughts by Dawson. I would have liked to have had him as an instructor, which in effect you have had, Mark. I especially like:
"The victory that overcomes the world is not success but faith and it is only the eye of faith that understands the true value of history."
This is a good description of how the Christian views and deals with the world. He could have elaborated, of course, that faith has as its object the historical atoning work (death and resurrection) of Christ. Furthermore, faith is only conferred through the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace. In short, faith is entirely a gift of God and our exercise of it is the mechanism through which He works in the world.
I only remember Dawson as the “Six Ages” construct through which the last 2-3 years of my HS Church history classes were taught. Don’t think I’ve ever read him in the primary, but, from the quotes shared and some quick digging around, I probably should. Good place to get started?
I started with Religion and the Modern State as a teen, but you'll see there are a number of good collected essays volumes. From a Meaning in HIstory standpoint you can't beat Progress and Religion:
Our youngest was born in mid-2004. Speaking of heroes, we named him after Pope John Paul II. Though I still have a soft spot in my heart for the late Pope (despite the serious flaws of his pontificate), if my son were born today, I would rather name him Marcel or Carlo.
In your study of the Word, you must have noticed that the early church grew as congregations, the apostles had real authority, and they appointed elders in the churches that they planted. The writer to the Hebrews explicitly admonished his readers to take care that they meet together regularly. Jesus even implied an expectation that the church develop as unified communities when he stated "where two or more are gathered..."
Understand my perspective: I write as a Protestant.
Sure, the organized church has had its share of problems. But it's still God's chosen vehicle to build his Kingdom. Here, when I say organized, I refer strictly to churches in communities. I know that the term usually refers to denominations and I have little interest in pursuing that in this forum; those have their uses as well, but the important thing here is that we need to be involved in a Christian community.
Regardless of all this, whatever your situation may be, I am confident that God uses the brokenness of our experience to advance his gracious purpose as well.
"Jesus Himself taught no man comes to The Father but through HIM--not through a priest or a church intermediary."
So what's all this talk of shepherds, vines and branches, sowers going out to sow, even of churches being founded, of 12 apostles who had the power to judge, etc.?
You’ve presented his quotes in reverse chronological order to how Dawson  posted them
You’ve given us 11 quotes starting with his conclusion and working down to his beginning
I began  to realize this  After reading the first five or so quotes & noticing the posting dates 
So I started with your last quote and worked backwards
The insight that he provides is incredible and it’s much easier I think to see the logic & flow of his discussion  if you start with his first quote which is your last quote 
FWIW
I only subscribe to this and one other Substack but, here, I’m thinking I must’ve landed in the right place, because I nearly fell out of my chair at seeing mention of Christopher Dawson. For many years I’ve had his “The Judgment of the Nations” on my bookshelf and I had thought he was utterly forgotten. Thank you for retrieving this treasure. I wonder if perhaps you may have gotten the idea for the title, Meaning in History, from Dawson? He says, after quoting the dry bones verses in Ezekiel 37, “The Spirit blows through the world like wind and fire, driving the kingdoms before it, burning up the works of man like dry grass, but the meaning of history is found not in the wind or in the fire, but in ‘the small voice’ of the Word which is never silent, but which cannot bear fruit unless man co-operates by an act of faith and spiritual obedience.”
I read through the Remnant piece.
Per JP2, "...the living character of Tradition, which, as the Second Vatican Council clearly taught, ‘comes from the apostles and progresses in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on. This comes about in various ways. It comes through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts. It comes from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience'."
If believer McElroy has had
1. a growth of insights into realities and words, and
2. he has pondered these insights in his heart,
given the intimacy with which he experiences his spiritual realities, we can surely accept his contributions to a living Tradition.
Great quotes and thoughts by Dawson. I would have liked to have had him as an instructor, which in effect you have had, Mark. I especially like:
"The victory that overcomes the world is not success but faith and it is only the eye of faith that understands the true value of history."
This is a good description of how the Christian views and deals with the world. He could have elaborated, of course, that faith has as its object the historical atoning work (death and resurrection) of Christ. Furthermore, faith is only conferred through the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace. In short, faith is entirely a gift of God and our exercise of it is the mechanism through which He works in the world.
I only remember Dawson as the “Six Ages” construct through which the last 2-3 years of my HS Church history classes were taught. Don’t think I’ve ever read him in the primary, but, from the quotes shared and some quick digging around, I probably should. Good place to get started?
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christopher+dawson&i=stripbooks&crid=3P9UH686H3B2C&sprefix=christopher+dawson%2Cstripbooks%2C300&ref=nb_sb_noss
I started with Religion and the Modern State as a teen, but you'll see there are a number of good collected essays volumes. From a Meaning in HIstory standpoint you can't beat Progress and Religion:
https://meaninginhistory.substack.com/?sort=search&search=progress%20and%20religion
Thank you very much!!
Great quotes from Dawson. Thank you.
Our youngest was born in mid-2004. Speaking of heroes, we named him after Pope John Paul II. Though I still have a soft spot in my heart for the late Pope (despite the serious flaws of his pontificate), if my son were born today, I would rather name him Marcel or Carlo.
“You are Peter and upon you I will build My Church”.
Unmediated does not mean unaffiliated.
In your study of the Word, you must have noticed that the early church grew as congregations, the apostles had real authority, and they appointed elders in the churches that they planted. The writer to the Hebrews explicitly admonished his readers to take care that they meet together regularly. Jesus even implied an expectation that the church develop as unified communities when he stated "where two or more are gathered..."
Understand my perspective: I write as a Protestant.
Sure, the organized church has had its share of problems. But it's still God's chosen vehicle to build his Kingdom. Here, when I say organized, I refer strictly to churches in communities. I know that the term usually refers to denominations and I have little interest in pursuing that in this forum; those have their uses as well, but the important thing here is that we need to be involved in a Christian community.
Regardless of all this, whatever your situation may be, I am confident that God uses the brokenness of our experience to advance his gracious purpose as well.
"Jesus Himself taught no man comes to The Father but through HIM--not through a priest or a church intermediary."
So what's all this talk of shepherds, vines and branches, sowers going out to sow, even of churches being founded, of 12 apostles who had the power to judge, etc.?
Apparently, Catholics are more likely to have heard of him. I’m not Catholic, but I can say he’s not just for Catholics!