Frederick William Faber
Frederick William Faber
Full Name and Common Aliases
Frederick William Faber was born on June 28, 1814, in Calverley, England, to Rev. Anthony and Anne (née Maberly) Faber. He is commonly known as Frederick Faber.
Birth and Death Dates
June 28, 1814 - September 26, 1863
Nationality and Profession(s)
English Catholic priest, theologian, hymnodist, and writer.
Early Life and Background
Faber was the youngest of nine children. His father, Rev. Anthony Faber, was a clergyman in the Church of England. From an early age, Frederick demonstrated a strong inclination towards spirituality and faith. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in 1836.
Major Accomplishments
Faber converted to Catholicism in 1845 and became an Anglican priest shortly after. However, due to the requirements of the Oxford Movement (a revival within the Church of England), Faber resigned from the clergy and joined the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1847.
Notable Works or Actions
Faber's most notable contributions include:
"Gathered Moments": A collection of sermons, which showcases his eloquence and ability to convey spiritual truths.
"The Creator and the Creature": An influential work that explores the relationship between God and humanity.
Hymns: Faber is renowned for composing numerous hymns that reflect his deep spirituality.Impact and Legacy
Faber's impact on Christianity extends far beyond his literary works. As a pioneer of the Oxford Movement, he played a significant role in shaping the spiritual landscape of England during the 19th century.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Faber's legacy is built upon three key pillars:
Spiritual depth: His writings and sermons are characterized by profound insights into the human condition and our relationship with God.
Influence on hymnody: Faber's contributions to Christian hymnology have been immense, with many of his compositions remaining popular today.
Pioneering spirit: As a trailblazer in the Oxford Movement, he paved the way for future generations of spiritual leaders.
Frederick William Faber is widely remembered as a devout priest, gifted writer, and influential figure in Christian history.
Quotes by Frederick William Faber
Kind words are the music of the world. They have a power which seems to be beyond natural causes, as if they were some angel's song, which had lost its way and come on Earth, and sang on undyingly, smiting the hearts of men with sweetest wounds, and putting for the while an angel's nature into us.
Love’s secret is always to be doing things for God, and not to mind because they are such very little ones.
Even a well-founded suspicion more or less degrades a man. His suspicion may be verified, and he may escape some material harm by having cherished the suspicion. But he is unavoidably the worse man in consequence of having entertained it.
It has been curiously remarked by St. Andrew Avellino that those who have a special devotion to the Passion generally die quiet and sweet deaths, as the Virgin Mary, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Mary Magdalen did. Certainly it is remarkable that, while most of those close to Our Lord died violent deaths, the three who assisted at Calvary should have died so softly, as if already their real death had been died there.
Her sorrows went up into regions of sublimity, of which we can form only the vaguest conceptions. They went down into profound depths of the soul, which we cannot explore because they have no parallel in ourselves. They were heightened by the unappreciable perfection of her nature, by the exuberant abundance of her grace, by the exceeding beauty of Jesus, and above all by His Divinity.
A spiritual life, without a very large allowance of disquietude in it, is no spiritual life at all. It is but a flattering superstition of self-love.
We cannot resist the conviction that this world is for us only the porch of another and more magnificent temple of the Creator’s majesty.
Many a friendship – long, loyal, and self-sacrificing – rested at first upon no thicker a foundation than a kind word.
Every hour comes with some little fagot of God’s will fastened upon its back.
We must wait for God, long, meekly, in the wind and wet, in the thunder and lightning, in the cold and the dark. Wait, and He will come. He never comes to those who do not wait.