July 24th. The New Testament is nowhere more impressive than where it insists on the fact of man's dependence. In its view the first step in religion is for man to feel his helplessness. Christ's first beatitude is to the poor in spirit. The condition of entrance into the spiritual kingdom is to possess the child-spirit -- that state of mind combining at once the profoundest helplessness with the most artless feeling of dependence. Natural Law, p.271.