Wesley Corpus

Last updated: May 24, 2009. "Catholic Love" (1755)1 cf. Baker list, 211 Editorial Introduction: John Wesley's sermon Catholic Spirit is the classic expression of his desire for greater acceptance, love, and mutual support among those who share the central beliefs and practices of Christianity. This sermon first appeared in volume three of John's Sermons on Several Occasions (1750). Then, in 1755, responding to current sharp tensions among his followers over remaining in connection with the Church of England and ongoing tensions between the Calvinist and Wesleyan branches of the Methodist movement, John issued the sermon as a separate tract. Charles lent his voice to the cause by attaching a hymn on "Catholic Love." While this hymn was never added to the "Catholic Spirit" in reprints of John's Sermons or in his collected Works, it was included when John reprinted the separate tract in 1770 (in the context of heightened tensions with the Calvinist Methodists) and 1789. There is a signed manuscript copy of the first two stanzas, with no significant variants, at The New Room, John Wesley's Chapel, in Bristol, England (NR 2001, 338). Editions: Charles Wesley. "Catholic Love." Appended to John Wesley. Catholic Spirit. London: Cock, 1755. 2nd Bristol: Pine, 1770. 3rd London: New Chapel, 1789.