The point of convergence…
· 31 May 2006
Only in Christ are all things in communion. He is the point of convergence of all hearts and beings and therefore the bridge and the shortest way from each to each.
Quotes for May 2006
How can you see Christ in people?
· 30 May 2006
“How can you see Christ in people?” And we only say: It is an act of faith, constantly repeated. It is an act of love, resulting from an act of faith. It is an act of hope, that we can awaken these same acts in their hearts, too, with the help of God…
A perfect summer day is…
· 29 May 2006
A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.
« πλ | Observation »
Some folks say…
· 28 May 2006
Some folks say the cup is half full, some that it is half empty. And some folks just complain about the cup.
« πλ | Attitude, Observation »
Or it is no virtue at all…
· 27 May 2006
Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all; faith means believing the unbelievable, or it is no virtue at all; and to hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.
Striving for perfection is…
· 26 May 2006
Striving for perfection is the greatest stopper there is. It’s your excuse to yourself for not doing anything. Instead, strive for excellence, doing your best.
« πλ | Attitude, Motivation »
Human love is sanctified not in…
· 25 May 2006
A short-lived fascination with another person may be exciting—I think we’ve all seen people aglow, in a state of being “in love with love”—but such an attraction is not sustainable over the long run. Paradoxically, human love is sanctified not in the height of attraction and enthusiasm, but in the everyday struggles of living with another person. It is not in romance but in routine that the possibilities for transformation are made manifest. And that requires commitment.
Prayer is the breath of the soul…
· 24 May 2006
One of the chief duties which [the Christian] will punctually and carefully fulfill is the duty of prayer. You will remember in the Book of Acts, when Saul the persecutor was converted by a special miracle, the sign given of his conversion was this: “Behold he prayeth.” (Acts 9:11). Prayer is the breath of the soul. Just as breathing is the sign of life, prayer is the sign of the life of the soul.
Something we grow in…
· 23 May 2006
Spirituality is something we grow in without even giving it a name that liberates our energy in life to help other people.
« πλ | Spirituality »
Reducing ourselves to a point…
· 22 May 2006
Humility is the luxurious art of reducing ourselves to a point, not to a small thing or a large one, but to a thing with no size at all.
The web of our life is…
· 21 May 2006
The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill, together; our virtues would be proud if our faults whipped them not, and our crimes would despair if they were not cherished by our virtues.
To find the way to himself…
· 20 May 2006
Each man has only one genuine vocation—to find the way to himself… His task is to discover his own destiny—not an arbitrary one—and live it out wholly and resolutely within himself. Everything else is only a would-be existence, an attempt at evasion, a flight back to the ideals of the masses, conformity; and fear of one’s own inwardness.
Difficulty in generating joy…
· 19 May 2006
Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy.
Give in the measure…
· 18 May 2006
A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend upon the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the measure as I have received and am still receiving.
Hate cannot drive out hate…
· 17 May 2006
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness, in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction of evil must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Road to wisdom…
· 16 May 2006
The road to wisdom? — Well, it’s plain and simple to express: Err, and err, and err again, but less, and less, and less.
To seek and to save…
· 15 May 2006
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.
Pride of a mother…
· 14 May 2006
Pride is one of the seven deadly sins; but it cannot be the pride of a mother in her children, for that is a compound of two cardinal virtues—faith and hope.
They’re just one thing…
· 13 May 2006
About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.
Never saw an ugly thing…
· 12 May 2006
I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may—light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.
Sin is the executioner of…
· 11 May 2006
Sin is the executioner of the good God, and the assassin of the soul. It snatches us away from Heaven to precipitate us into Hell. And we love it!
Mastered every survival skill except…
· 10 May 2006
A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
« πλ | Observation »
Bad weather…
· 9 May 2006
There is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is good because it is God’s.
Without suffering…
· 8 May 2006
It’s like growing lotus flowers. You cannot grow lotus flowers on marble. You have to grow them on the mud. Without mud you cannot have lotus flowers. Without suffering, you have no way to learn how to be understanding and compassionate.
« πλ | Attitude, Compassion, Suffering »
Happiness is…
· 7 May 2006
Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
The point of spiritual practice…
· 6 May 2006
The important point of spiritual practice is not to try to escape your life, but to face it—exactly and completely.
« πλ | Spirituality »
Gradualism of seasons…
· 4 May 2006
God seems more favorably inclined towards the gradualism of seasons than dramatic quick fixes.
God does not call…
· 3 May 2006
God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.
« πλ | Discernment »
Believe in God but without passion…
· 2 May 2006
Those who believe they believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God and not in God himself.
![[Jerusalem Cross with Heart]](http://cowpi.com/journal/grafiks/jerusalem-cross-heart.gif "Jerusalem Cross with Heart")