What job did God ask me to do?
God gave us free will
but when some people do something ugly
and use it to hurt others,
God weeps.
We have to be responsible
for the choices we make.
There will be good times
and there's gonna be bad times...
but the Lord can use you all the time.
Sometimes God chooses the weak
to show how strong He can be.
God gives inspiration.
Every time you try to be a peacemaker,
the world may not recognize it,
but God always will
and He will honor you.
Every time you stop
to honor
even the least of your brothers,
you honor Him.
If we just stand still and listen,
we'll know the right thing to do.
Birds fly
whether or not
they know the laws of aerodynamics.
God exists,
whether or not we believe in Him.
Sometimes,
a feeling
is all we've got.
Who knows?
Maybe this is what it's all for...
perhaps you were brought into the kingdom
for such a times as this.
You are The One.
Sooner or later,
everyone's The One...
they just have to say "yes"
when the time comes.
Some call it luck
but I'd like to think of it as grace.
When something...
a state of mind...
makes you frightened and nervous,
afraid or depressed,
the tendency is to find something
that distracts and soothes.
Watch what you do...
don't give satan an invitation
to give you an answer.
Evil is a little piece of hell
searching for a home.
Faith is the evidence
of things
we have not seen.
Our conscience
is the voice of the Lord
speaking to us.
A chance to ask for forgiveness
and be able to forgive
is a real blessing.
The will of God will never take you
where the Grace of God will not protect you.
Evil thrives when good men do nothing.
There are angels and there are devils.
If it feels good
to have someone looking after me,
make sure it's an angel, not a devil.
Free will is a gift.
Love is a choice.
There's no adventure quite like
being hooked up
with the creator of the universe.
Sometimes it takes a deep hurt
to feel a deep need for God.
Love does not force relationships...
it's always a choice.
Once is happenstance.
Twice is coincidence.
The third time it’s enemy action.
- Ian Fleming in Goldfinger
Once is randomness,
Twice catches my eye,
but the third time is a 3-sigma event
that raises the hair in back of my neck
and makes me pay strict attention to God.
- me
God makes beautiful people
with unlimited potential.
It's all about free will.
There are two ways to live:
you can live as if nothing is a miracle,
or you can live as if everything is a miracle.
- Albert Einstein
What's important
is the ordinary, the daily, the normal.
- Saint Benedict
May Grace take us all home.
The whole idea of compassion
is based on a keen awareness
of the interdependence of all these living beings,
which are all part of one another,
and all involved in one another.
- Thomas Merton
Unless you are faithful in small matters,
you won't be faithful in large ones.
- Luke 16:10
Ask the question
and then listen to the voice that answers it...
listen to God, listen to the angels.
- Touched By An Angel "Manhunt"
Learn to love anyone that comes your way,
and you'll draw back love to yourself.
- Touched By An Angel "Manhunt"
There is no such thing as a coincidence.
When you serve others
with a whole heart,
with love and humility,
then you serve Him.
Who of you by worrying
can add a single hour to his life?
- Jesus
Prayer is being
with someone I love
and who loves me.
- Sister Melannia Svoboda
If I felt grateful...
if something inside of me had to say thank you...
then there must me somebody out there
to feel grateful to.
The devil is possible.
Bad attitude is contagious.
May lack and struggle only serve to make you stronger.
May every doubt and fear be replaced by deep abiding trust
as you observe evidence of a higher being all around you.
And may you always be aware you are loved beyond measure.
The force of evil
can be pretty ordinary.
Even Trapists in silence have community.
When I pray to be strong...
God gives me the opportunity to get strong,
with the right challenge,
so be careful what you pray for.
Sorrow is a fruit...
God does not allow it
to grow on a branch
that is too weak to bear it.
- Victor Hugo
As long as we honor God
nothing is impossible.
Honor God with actions and attitudes...
do your very best,
be your very best.
Do not fear.
- God (365 times)
When people cease to believe in God,
they do not believe in nothing....
they believe in anything.
- G.K. Chesterton
Think of your blessings,
not your problems.
We don't always get what we want,
but we get what we need.
I ask the Lord to bless you,
as I pray for you today.
To guide you and protect you,
as you go along your way.
God's love is always with you,
God's promises are true.
And when you give God your cares,
you know He'll see you through.
Do not ask the Lord
to guide your footsteps
if you're not willing
to move your feet.
Love generously,
care deeply,
speak kindly,
and leave the rest to God.
All that is required for evil to triumph
is for a few good men to do nothing.
- Edmund Burke
Just going to church
doesn't make you a Christian
any more than
standing in your garage
makes you a car.
Heaven is right here,
even within...
you don't have to go off to find it.
A little secret
on the good and evil thing...
it really comes down to you.
Don't have to look too hard
for heaven and hell...
they are right here on earth.
You make the choice.
- Elizabeth Hurley in Bedazzled
Life is too short
to wait for miracles.
To ecstasy
I prefer
the monotony of daily toil.
- St. Teresa de Lisieux
Anytime,
God can deal you a wild card...
be prepared for it!
God helps those
who help themselves.
Contribute!
God gives every bird its food
but He does not throw it in the nest.
Call on God,
but row away from the rocks.
- Hunter S. Thompson
Pray as if everything
depended on God,
Act as if everything
depended on you.
- St. Ignatius of Loyola
Ora et labora.
Remember who sent you.
In solitude alone
can man know true freedom.
- Montaigne
God governs in the affairs of men.
- Ben Franklin
Silence
is often misinterpreted,
but never misquoted.
When we get
tangled up in our problems,
be still.
God wants us to be still
so He can untangle the knot.
As a child of God,
prayer is kinda like
calling home every day.
If you worry, you didn't pray.
If you prayed, don't worry.
When the world pushes you to your knees
you're in the perfect position to pray.
God promises to give us
the necessary new perspective
to see his goodness and grace
in the midst of our abandoned expectations.
- Margaret Manning
Remember to say
"Thanks for being one of my blessings."
God does not play dice.
- Albert Einstein
Quit telling God how to play dice.
- Niels Bohr, physicist
"Are you telling me you think you're a fake?" - kid
"I KNOW I'm a fake, kid..." - Steve Martin
- in the movie "Leap of Faith"
When my young son hurt himself
going down the driveway in his skateboard
(it was his choice)
it did not mean that I was a bad father.
He knew that a father's love meant
that I'd be around to pick him up
and take him to the emergency room.
Our God promises that he'll be right there
with us when bad things happen.
God is like the air
and like the wind...
can't see them,
but we know they're there.
Take the leap of faith to the other side...
the ground IS solid on that other side.
Does God exist?
If so, then that changes everything...
If not, then it doesn't matter.
[Pascal's Wager or Pascal's Gamble, arguing for faith]
- Blaise Pascal 1623-1662, mathematician
Let go
and let God.
Praying only for the understanding of your will,
and the courage to carry it out.
- Robert Blake in "Helltown"
For faith is the lifeline that connects you
to the Almighty and to each other.
It's where true courage comes from.
It's a tether that will never break.
And when the journey seems too long and too frightening,
it's the silver chord that will pull you home.
- Touched By An Angel, "Godspeed"
Don't hold back, Will...
live your life in truth
and then you'll know what real winning is
for it's not about being better or faster...
it's about loving...
- Touched By An Angel, "My Brother's Keeper"
What good is your faith
if you have to leave it behind when you need it most?
- Touched By An Angel, "The Christmas Gift"
He doesn't ask if you deserve His love,
He only asks that you will accept it.
- Touched By An Angel, "With God As My Witness"
I commit all this to you, Lord.
Idleness is an enemy of the soul.
- St. Benedict
God will ask
"Did you make a difference?"
The function of prayer
is not to influence God,
but rather to change the nature of the one who prays
- Soren Kierkegaard
God is a circle
whose center is everywhere
and circumference nowhere.
-Voltaire
Don't drag your cross... carry it!
- Father Joel Martin, OSB
Don't tell God how big your storm is,
tell the storm how big your faith is.
God,
Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change...
Courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
God is not through with me yet.
Certain thoughts are prayers.
There are moments when,
whatever be the attitude of the body,
the soul is on its knees.
- Victor Hugo
If God brings you to it,
He will bring you through it.
God helps those
who help themselves.
- Aechylus, as paraphrased
by Ben Franklin
Man can do what he wants,
but he cannot will what he wills.
- Schopenhauer
God gave me my talent. I gave it to you:
Silver and gold have I none;
but such as I have give I thee.
- Acts 3:6
Cast your care upon the Lord, and He will support you;
never will He permit the just man to be disturbed.
- Psalms 55:23
Cast all your anxiety upon him,
because he cares for you.
- 1 Peter 5:7
The prayer of a righteous man
is powerful and effective.
- James 5:16
To love men and women you must know them;
to know God you must love God.
- Blaise Pascal
Do not aspire to be called holy
before you really are,
but first be holy
that you may more truly be called so.
- The Rule of St. Benedict
The Desert Fathers
did not think of solitude
as being alone,
but as being alone with God.
They did not think of silence
as not speaking,
but as listening to God.
Solitude and silence are the context
within which prayer is practiced.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen
Monasteries are popular places these days.
Even non-Catholic Christians are going
on retreats... praying the Psalms-based
Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours),
following The Rule of St Frances or of
St Benedict, or practicing the Exercises of
St Ignatius of Loyola. What are we seeking?
Serenity, perhaps. God, definitely.
And maybe even wisdom.
O God, help us not to despise what we do not understand.
- William Penn
Everything in the world...
whatever is and whatever happens...
is a test,
disguised to give you the freedom of choice.
Choose wisely.
- Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
A little science may take one away from God;
much science brings one back.
- Roger Bacon
There is an old Christian tradition
that God sends each person into this world
with a special message to deliver,
with a special song to sing for others,
with a special act of love to bestow.
No one else can speak my message or sing my song
or offer my act of love.
These have been entrusted only to me.
- Fr. John Powell, S.J.
Let your religion be less of a theory
and more of a love affair.
- G.K. Chesterton
Stradivari of Cremona, the famous maker of violins,
is said to have marked every violin he made with the name of Jesus.
Today his incredible work is still called Stradivarius del Gesù.
Wouldn't you love everything in your life to bear the mark of Jesus?
- Tricia McCary Rhodes
Nothing that anyone says will be that important.
The great thing is prayer. Prayer itself.
If you want a life of prayer,
the way to get it is by praying.
- Thomas Merton
A generous person will be enriched,
and one who gives water will get water.
- Proverbs 11:25
You pay God a compliment by asking great things.
- St. Teresa of Avila
If charity is the material of holiness,
it follows that the nearer we get to becoming saints,
the less critical we shall be of others,
and the more welcoming.
- Hubert van Zeller
Beware of false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
you will know them by their fruits.
- Matthew 7:15-16
If your heart is straight with God,
then every creature will be to you
a mirror of life
and a book of holy doctrine.
- Thomas à Kempis
I am not made or unmade
by the things that happen to me...
but by my reaction to them.
- Saint John of the Cross (Juan de la Cruz)
God loves me with all my weaknesses
and with all my defects. God loves me as I am,
with my idiosyncrasies and my temperament,
my habits and my complexes, just as I am.
My soul is open.
- Ernesto Cardenal
If you feel a great loneliness
and a deep longing for human contact,
you have to be extremely discerning...
and ask yourself whether this situation
is truly God-given.
Because where God wants you to be,
God holds you safe and gives you peace,
even when there is pain.
To live a disciplined life is to live in such a way
that you want only to be where God is with you.
The more deeply you live your spiritual life,
the easier it will be to discern the difference
between living with God and living without God,
and the easier it will be to move away from
the places where God is no longer with you.
- Henri Nouwen
Life is fragile...
handle with prayer.
Prayer is the cry of the heart,
whether expressed or unexpressed.
- Helen Steiner Rice
I want to know God's thoughts...
the rest are just details.
- Albert Einstein
I desire to know God and the soul.
Nothing else? Nothing.
-Saint Augustine
For what is faith
unless to believe what you do not see?
- St. Agustine
Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith.
They keep it awake and moving.
- Frederick Buechner
Grace has been defined as
the outward expression
of the inward harmony of the soul.
- William Hazlitt
"Thy will be done" must be said with an accent of perfect trust,
rather than in utter frustration, or helpless submission,
or as one who has been battered into submission.
It should be said in submission to the love that will never let us go.
- William Barclay on Luke 22
The man who walks with God can cope with any situation
and look any foe in the eyes, unbowed and unafraid.
It is he who can say...
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
- Henley
Today you will meet all kinds of unpleasant people,
who will hurt you and injure you and insult you...
but you cannot live like that... you know better,
for you are a man in whom the spirit of God dwells.
- Marcus Aurelius.
For if we bet that He exists and it turns out that He does not
exist, we have lost nothing. But if we bet that He does not exist
and it turns out that He does, we have lost everything in terms
of happiness, the end of life.
- Blaise Pascal, 17th Century philosopher
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
- Phillippians 4:13
God exists since mathematics is consistent,
and the devil exists since we cannot prove it.
- Andre Weil
Hospitality is a form of worship.
- The Talmud
We want to see results, and preferably instantly...
But God works in secret and with a divine patience.
- Henri Nouwen
Humility and simplicity are the two wings which will raise aloft
all that is trully great in the eyes of the Most High.
- Thomas Kempis
Two wings lift a person up from earthly concerns:
Simplicity in intention, and Purity in feeling.
- Thomas Kempis
Be patient. When you feel lonely, stay with your loneliness.
Avoid the temptation to let your fearful self run off.
Let it teach you its wisdom; let it tell you that you can live
instead of just surviving. Gradually you will become one,
and you will find that Jesus is living in your heart
and offering you all you need.
- Henri Nouwen
Solitude bears the same relation to the mind
that sleep does to the body. It affords it the necessary
opportunities for repose and recovery.
- W.G. Simms
We who face problems beyond our ingenuity,
ask questions beyond our wisdom,
and bear burdens beyond our strength
often daydream of how nice it would be
if God would just work miracles in our lives...
Real faith involves riding out the storm in the boat with Jesus,
not constantly asking Him to be calming the sea.
- Donald Lindman
The wise man in the storm prays to God,
not for safety from danger,
but for deliverance from fear.
It is the storm within that endangers him,
not the storm without.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Giving the gift of self means doing all those little favors
that only make a difference to the one who receives them.
Like Veronica with her veil, Simon with his hands to help
carry the cross, the gift of self is the gift of compassion
and strength.
- Harry Paige
Meditation is a prayerful request engaging thought, imagination,
emotion, and desires. Contemplative prayer is the simple expression
of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus...
a silent love.
- The Cathechism of the Catholic Church
Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God
or the requesting of good things from God.
Prayers and the Christian life are inseparable.
- St. John Damascene
The chief exercise of prayer is to speak to God
and to hear God speak in the bottom of your heart.
- St. Francis de Sales
Prayer is conversation with God.
- Clement of Alexandria
Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God
speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message
- Malcolm Muggeridge
God's inspiration does not come to the man
who sits with folded hands and waits,
but to the man who thinks, seeks, and searches.
True inspiration comes when the seeking mind of man
joins with the revealing Spirit of God.
The word of God is given, but it is given
only to the man who is seeking for it.
- William Barclay on Luke 1:1-4.
Vocatus at que non vocatus, Deus aderit.
- Jung's epitaph
Our life is full of brokenness... broken relationships,
broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live that
brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except
by returning again and again to God's faithful presence
in our lives?
- Henri Nouwen
There are a thousand hacking at the
branches of evil to one who is striking at the
root, and it may be that he who bestows the
largest amount of time and money on the
needy is doing the most by his mode of life to
produce the misery which he strains in vain to
relieve.
- from Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
Even in human life we have seen the passion to
dominate, almost to digest, one's fellow; to make
his whole intellectual and emotional life merely
an extension of one's own... If he resists this
suppression, he is being very selfish. On earth
this is often called love. In hell I feign that
they recognize it as hunger.
- C.S. Lewis in the preface to The Screwtape Letters
Am I doing God's will
better than before?
If I am, prayer has brought its fruits.
- St. Theophane the Recluse
The fruit of prayer is a deepening of faith.
And the fruit of faith is love...
And the fruit of love is service.
- Mother Teresa
The greatest thing is a life of obedience
in the routine things of everyday life.
No amount of fine feeling can
take the place of faithful doing.
- William Barclay on Luke 11:27-28
Behind anything that can be experienced,
there is something that our mind can't grasp,
whose beauty and sublimity reaches us
only indirectly, and as a feeble reflection...
this is religiousness.
- Albert Einstein
God does not wish to be feared
as a terrible tyrant, but wishes to be treated
like a most affectionate friend. Therefore,
God desires that you speak
often and with familiarity and with no restrictions.
- St. Alphonsus Ligori
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
One cannot help but be in awe when contemplating
the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the
marvelous structure of reality.
- Albert Einstein
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a
part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his
thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest...
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is
a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task
must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our
circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the
whole of nature in its beauty.
- Albert Einstein
My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the
infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that
we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can
comprehend of reality.
- Albert Einstein
Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that
takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this
holds for the actions of people.
For this reason, a research
scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be
influenced by a prayer, i.e., by a wish addressed to a supernatural
Being. However, it must be admitted that our actual
knowledge of these laws is only imperfect and fragmentary,
so that, actually, the belief in the existence of basic
all-embracing laws in Nature also rests on a sort of faith.
All the same this faith has been largely justified so far
by the success of scientific research.
But, on the other hand, every one
who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes
convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe...
a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face
of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.
In this way the pursuit of science
leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed
quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.
- Albert Einstein
In C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce,
he tells of a busload of misfits en route from hell to heaven,
in which each character has a particular obstacle to entry,
and that conflict forms the fabric of the story.
One soul is seen wandering in with a little red lizard
on his shoulder. This tiny beast whips his tail
back and forth while whispering filth into the soul's ear
and irritating him constantly. The angel at the Pearly Gates
refuses to pass the soul into heaven with the creature
on his shoulder and reaches to kill the thing.
The soul recoils, growing wimpish and fearful...
and stubbornly defends the nightmarish ranting of the
lizard... in a vain attempt to hang onto familiarity
despite its obviously ruinous effect on him.
In the end, of course, the angel wins
and the lizard is turned into a stallion
for the soul to ride through the gates...
a metaphor that lust (or bad) can be harnessed
and transformed into healthy desire.
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