Ebook The Christian Philosophy of Life

The author of "The Christian Philosophy of Life" has reached the close of his earthly pilgrimage. "Finita sunt omnia. In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti! Amen?" Such were his last words. On October 18, 1899, death came to end his sharp, prolonged sufferings. It found him an exile at Valkenburg, a small town in the Netherlands, and his mortal remains have been laid to rest in foreign soil, but we trust that his soul is at home once more in the land where light and peace reign eternally.

Tilmann Pesch was born in Cologne on February 1, 1836, and entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Munster on October 15, 1852. He was consecrated to the priesthood in January 1866, by that splendid champion of the liberty of the Church, Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, in the chapel of the episcopal palace at Munich, and made his solemn vows at Aix-la-Chapelle on February 2, 1871. For the space of many years he filled the post of lecturer on philosophy, first at Maria-Laach, and subsequently at Blijenbeck, in Holland.

The numerous works for which we are indebted to his pen form no mean contribution to Catholic letters, and attest alike his intellectual gifts and industry, whilst through the medium of his spiritual writings, sermons and conferences, he has brought counsel and comfort to many souls. Wide learning, in his case, was accompanied by a childlike humility, and his gentle, benignant spirit knew neither fear nor compromise wherever principles were at stake.