Category Archives: Quotes
April 3, 2021 · 5:15 am
Lenten Quotes
Let us ponder on these quotes during these last days of Lent.
Of fasting, I say this: It is right to fast frequently in order to subdue and control the body. For when the stomach is full, the body does not serve for preaching, for praying, for studying, or for doing anything else that is good. Under such circumstances, God’s Word cannot remain. But one should not fast with a view to meriting something by it as by a good work.
—Martin Luther
Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It’s a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are.
— Thomas Keating
“Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.”
—St. Francis de Sales
“The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.”
—St. John of the Cross
“Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what
we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.”
-Pope Francis
The man who never fasts has no more way to heaven than the man who never prays.
—John Wesley
Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.
—John Wesley
Prayer
As I continue of my Lenten journey, guide me to the path that leads to you. Fill my heart with gratitude, patience, strength, and peace as I strive to become the-best-version-of-myself, honestly admitting my shortcomings and sins.
As I renew my resolve each day to become a better person, let me hear your voice in the deepest reaches of my heart. Give me rest in you.
Help me to accept others, showing them your great love instead of casting judgment.
Stay with me through the busy days this week and remind me that when I need comfort, solitude, wisdom, or guidance, I can always turn to you.
Help me develop discipline and generosity through fasting and almsgiving, and come closer to you through prayer this Lent.
In your name I pray,
Amen.
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Quotes to Ponder
For the past six years I have been sharing quotes, reflections and prayers with you by way of this blog and my emails.Today I give you a collection of quotes as fodder for your prayers and journaling. I hope you will find them helpful and inspiring.
Surely we cannot take an open question like the supernatural and shut it with a bang, turning the key of the madhouse on all the mystics of history. You cannot take the region of the unknown and calmly say that, though you know nothing about it, you know all the gates are locked. We do not know enough about the unknown to know that it is unknowable.”
—G.K. Chesterton
The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.
—Meister Eckhart
If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love.
—Julian of Norwich
I will soothe you and heal you, I will bring you roses. I too have been covered with thorns.
—Jalaluddin Rumi
Every word, every image used for God is a distortion more than a description.
― Anthony de Mello
For if the will has nothing to employ it and love has no present object with which to busy itself, the soul finds itself without either support or occupation, its solitude and aridity cause it great distress and its thoughts involve it in the severest conflict.
—Teresa of Ávila
That which we cannot speak of is the one thing about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking.
—Peter Rollins
I used unexpectedly to experience a consciousness of the presence of God, or such a kind that I could not possibly doubt that He was within me or that I was wholly engulfed in Him. This was in no sense a vision: I believe it is called mystical theology. The soul is suspended in such a way that it seems to be completely outside itself. The will loves; the memory, I think, is almost lost; while the understanding, I believe, thought it is not lost, does not reason—I mean that it does not work, but is amazed at the extent of all it can understand; for God wills it to realize that it understands nothing of what His Majesty represents to it.
—Teresa of Ávila
Faith is the door to the full inner life of the Church, a life which includes not only access to an authoritative teaching but above all to a deep personal experience which is at once unique and yet shared by the whole Body of Christ, in the Spirit of Christ.”
—Thomas Merton
Have you ever wanted More? Not more stuff . . . or success . . . or fame . . . but more intimacy, more connection, more mystery, more awe
—Mariah McKenzie
Anyone who truly loves God travels securely.
—Saint Teresa of Avila
All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.
—Julian of Norwich
Live simply and without thinking too much, like a child with his father. Faith without too much thinking works wonders. The logical mind hinders the Grace of God and miracles. Practice patience without judging with the logical mind.
—Elder Paisios of Mount Athos
Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.
—-Benedict of Nursia
Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us. The important thing is not to think much but to love much and so do that which best stirs you to love. Love is not great delight but desire to please God in everything.
—- Saint Teresa of Avila
When Abba Anthony thought about the depths of the judgments of God, he asked, ‘Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?’ He heard a voice answering him, ‘Antony, keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgment of God, and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them.
—Anthony the Great
PRAYER
God, of thy goodness, give me Thyself;
for Thou art enough for me,
and I can ask for nothing less
that can be full honor to Thee.
And if I ask anything that is less,
ever Shall I be in want,
for only in Thee have I all.”
AMEN
___Julian of Norwich
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Natural Faith
Though it may seem as though faith is absent more often than it is present, it is possible to strengthen this quality through silence and meditation. Like the sun and the stars, faith is a natural part of our soul life—we have only to learn to put our trust in this intuitive sense to begin to feel its healing effects. Faith is the fountain of spiritual discipline…an inner sense that allows us to bear with patience our doubts and despair, as well as the dry, depressing passages of life, knowing that somehow, some way, we are being led forward in the right direction.
~ from SOUL SISTERS by Pythia Peay
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Filed under Quotes
Some Quotes to Ponder
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
ARISTOTLE
Happiness depends upon ourselves.
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.
The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead.
All men by nature desire knowledge.
Augustine of Hippo
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.
Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.
You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
Patience is the companion of wisdom.
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.
It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
The Cloud of Unknowing Quotes
“The universes which are amenable to the intellect can never satisfy the instincts of the heart.”
“For I tell you this: one loving, blind desire for God alone is more valuable in itself, more pleasing to God and to the saints, more beneficial to your own growth, and more helpful to your friends, both living and dead, than anything else you could do.”
“And therefore take good heed unto time, how that thou dispendest it: for nothing is more precious than time. In one little time, as little as it is, may heaven be won and lost.”
Perhaps one or more of these quotes can act as a meditation or writing guide to you this week.
PRAYER
Lord, allow me to make the most of the time that you have allotted to me. Let my hours be productive. and my days be meaningful . I trust your grace to bring me through.
Amen.
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Closing the Chasm
I share this story from an early friend and mentor of mind. John Claypool was one of the greatest story tellers I ever knew. He had a way of turning the very simple into something God given.
Many years ago, I was walking in the farm that has belonged to my father’s family in Kentucky for many generations, and I happened to looked down and I saw this giant anthill. There must have been thousands of these little creatures scurrying back and forth. It was a world unto itself. And as I looked down, I thought to myself, given the capacity of an ant, they have no way of understanding something as big and complex as a human being. If they were aware of me at all, I must have loomed over them as some kind of ominous presence. Then it dawned on me that if I had the power to somehow become an ant and yet take into that new condition as much of the reality of a human being as would be possible – in other words, if I could cross this chasm of otherness from my side – then it would be possible for ants to understand the human in ways that they could never have known before.
As I walked away, I began to realize that the chasm between an ant and a human being, vast as it is, is nothing to compare between the chasm between a human being and this mysterious, divine reality that gives life. And I realized that we are as incapable of understanding God on our own as an ant would be incapable of understanding us.
—-John Claypool
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Making a Difference
Our Lord God wills that we have great regard to all the deeds that He has done: in the great nobleness of the making of all things; and the excellency of man’s making, which is above all his works; and the precious Amends(intercessions) that He has made for man’s sin, turning all our blame into endless worship. In which also our Lord says: Behold and see! For by the same Might, Wisdom, and Goodness that I have done all this, by the same Might, Wisdom, and Goodness I shall make well all that is not well; and thou shalt see it. And in this He wills that we keep us in the Faith and truth of Holy Church, not desiring to see into His secret things now, save as it belongs to us in this life
—–Julian of Norwich
In this thought Julian tells us of the great work of Jesus our redeemer and invites us to make a difference in our world. We must ask ourselves:
- What is it that we are making well?
- Does our touch make a positive difference in the world?
- Do we do our best to help make those we touch better persons?
- Do we learn from the goodness of others?
Filed under Julian of Norwich, Quotes
Goodness or Resentment
Richard Rohr at a conference in Prague
People who are already good, tend to be good and forgiving to me. People who are already resentful or negative, tend to be that way with me too. Why do I bother to take either the credit or the blame? It is mostly about them! Yet it still has much to teach me too.
—Richard Rohr
This thought has two messages. First,understand that not all the bad things that come your way are your doing. Second, are you good or resentful?
Lord God our greatest rewards come when we make life more fulfilling for others. May you give us the wisdom to spend this day as “other centered” people. Center us in your circle. Forgive when we vie for the chief seats and make our ways a blessing to all we meet. Amen
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Filed under Quotes, Richard Rhor
Teresa of Avila #1
“If, then, you sometimes fall, do not lose heart, or cease striving to make progress, for even out of your fall God will bring good, just as a man selling an antidote will drink poison before he takes it in order to prove its power.”
~ Teresa of Avila ~
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Filed under Quotes, Teresa of Avila
A Pastor's Thoughts 