"Physical pleasure only brings us happiness in as much as it helps us achieve
our essential purpose. Pleasure is only truly fulfilling when it also helps us
become the-best-version-of-ourselves."
"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!
You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.
In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were
with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they
had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted,
and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my
blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant
for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me,
and I burned for your peace."
"There is another aspect of prayer which we need to remember: silent
contemplation. Saint John, for example, tells us that to embrace God?s
revelation we must first listen, then respond by proclaiming what we have heard
and seen (cf. 1 Jn 1:2-3; Dei Verbum, 1). Have we perhaps lost something of the
art of listening? Do you leave space to hear God?s whisper, calling you forth
into goodness? Friends, do not be afraid of silence or stillness, listen to God,
adore him in the Eucharist. Let his word shape your journey as an unfolding of
holiness."
"We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our
automobiles rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to mankind."
What level of intimacy are you at with God?
"The only way to say NO is to have a deeper YES"
"May you continue to be freed up from all that hinders you from loving and
serving the Lord this Easter Season."
The Student?s Prayer
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not flunk:
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying.
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break:
He restoreth my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits
For my GPA?s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown:
For thou are with me.
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
Thou givest me answers in moments of blankness:
Thou anointest my head with understanding.
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize.
Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me
All the days of my examinations.
And I shall not dwell in this university forever. (But Glenn will)
Amen!
Why doesn?t God simply reveal himself? Why doesn?t God walk into a room, with
proof of his existence? God actually did this in Jesus. He has already
revealed himself in the flesh, in the incarnation. God also is ineffable. God
is beyond anything we can think or construct in our minds. He is of another
order. Thomas Aquinas said: ?The finite can never grasp the infinite.? These
are two different ways of being. Carlo Corretto, in his book, ?Search of the
Beyond,? said, ?Why can?t we see God the way we see one another?? He answered,
?For the same reason that a baby cannot see the mother in the womb. The mother
is too present. The mother is omnipresent. The child has to be born first in
order to see the mother.? So, too with God. He is too present. In God we live
and move and have our being.
"'But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other also' (Matthew 5:39). Be the first to be
free of the web of violence. As in judo, surprise the other by making the very
move he was not expecting: he may then see that he was mistaken. Jesus has no
doubt that this renunciation of violence and of our own interests obliges the
Father to intervene and come to our aid. Do not forget that Jesus wants us to
?see God? at work in our lives.?
"The person who does not decide to love forever will find it very difficult to
really love for even one day."
"Human persons know themselves only when they learn to understand themselves in
the light of God, and they know others only when they see the mystery of God in
them."
"In the Old Testament, Isaiah 5:1-7 presents us with a song about a vineyard and
a vine. (God planted a vine, but it was a disappointment, and only produced
inedible sour grapes. The vine is an image for Israel, the people of God and
their unfaithfulness. God answers their unfaithfulness in a unique way: by
becoming one with humanity. Hence, in John's Gospel, Jesus says, "I am the true
vine). The Son identifies himself with the vine; he himself has become the
vine. He has let himself be planted in the earth. He has entered into the
vine: The mystery of the Incarnation, which John spoke of in the prologue to
his Gospel, (John 1) is taken up again here in a surprising new way. The vine
is no longer merely a creature that God looks upon with love, but that he can
still uproot and reject. In the Son, he himself has become the vine; he has
forever identified himself, his very being, with the vine. This vine can never
again be uprooted or handed over to be plundered. It belongs once and for all
to God; through the Son God himself lives in it. The promise has become
irrevocable, the unity indestructible."
"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
"Ten thousand fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man
forgets himself into immortality."
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds
of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you.
"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should
have accomplished with your ability."
"Place your talents and enthusiasm at the service of life"
"The Church is not 'our way' of finding answers to our religious quest for
Truth; it is the method through which the Truth becomes humanly
present to us. As the prolongation of Christ's presence in the world, it is
the method through which the Truth becomes incarnate for us.... We
come together as the Church to learn how to recognize the fact of this
Presence, and to witness to it in any circumstance of life, especially
when there are no answers. Jesus Christ is the way to the Answer. In
him, way and answer coincide."
The Student?s Prayer
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not flunk:
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying.
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break:
He restoreth my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits
For my GPA?s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown:
For thou are with me.
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
Thou givest me answers in moments of blankness:
Thou anointest my head with understanding.
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize.
Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me
All the days of my examinations.
And I shall not dwell in this university forever. (But Glenn will)
Amen!
"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which
matter least."
Away from actual, historical church community, whatever its faults, we
have an open field to live the unconfronted life, to make religion a private
fantasy that we can selectively share with a few like-minded individuals
who will never confront us where we most need challenge. The
churches are compromised, dirty, and sinful, but, just like our blood
families, they are also real. In the presence of people who share life
with us regularly, we cannot lie, especially to ourselves, and delude
ourselves into thinking we are generous and noble. In community the
truth emerges and fantasies are dispelled. Not being involved with
church because of the church?s faults is often a great rationalization.
What is too painful to deal with is not the church?s imperfection but my
own fantasies about my own goodness, which, in the grind of real
community, will become painfully obvious. Nobody deflates us more
than does our own family. The same is true of the church. Not all of this
is bad.
"In vain do we talk of happiness who never subdued an impulse in
obedience to a principle. He who never sacrificed a present to a future
good, or a personal to a general one, can speak of happiness only as
the blind speak of color."
"Some people are going to like me and some people aren't, so I might
as well be me. Then, at least, I will know that the people who like me,
like me."
Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for
cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against
sadness.
"What is missing in your life?
Whatever it is, the first step to finding or regaining it is time for you. Most
people don't have fifteen minutes' time for themselves each day... We
know the things that make us happy. We just don't do them. Why? We
forget. We get distracted. We need this time (alone in prayer) for
ourselves to remember. Remember what? Time to remember what
matters most. Give this hour to yourself each day as a gift. Make it a
habit in your life, a ritual in your day. Give it priority over all the little things
that distract you and drain you. Discipline yourself to do it. Every
disciplined effort has its own multiple rewards."
The purpose of prayer is to help you make the journey from point A to
point B and to become the-best-version-of-yourself, which indeed is the
purpose of life?. In prayer we come face-to-face with ourselves and face-
to-face with God?. Prayer is difficult. But those who learn to master
prayer come to master themselves, and those who come to master
themselves become the instruments of tremendous good and are able
to master every other human activity.
?In a time when so many people are turning their backs on prayer, I am
trying to embrace prayer with my whole being. Prayer gives me peace.
Prayer teaches me to use my life for a worthy purpose. Prayer reveals
that purpose. Prayer warns me when I wander from the narrow path.
Prayer increases my ability to love and my ability to be loved. Prayer fills
me with hope, and that hope is not the conviction that everything will turn
out well, but rather the certainty that the way I am spending my life makes
sense regardless of how it turns out. Prayer allows me to live my life in
peace.?
"You can learn more in an hour of silence than you can in a year from
books. Learn to enjoy silence. For until your are comfortable in silence
you are not ready for life."
"First do what is necessary, then do what is possible, and before long
you will find yourself doing the impossible."
"Goals give us direction and purpose. Goals add meaning to our lives.
Goals challenge us. Goals make life more interesting. Goals make life
more rewarding. Goals make life better."
"The joy and serenity that eminated from Mother Teresa's face was not a
mask, but the reflection of profound union with God in which her soul
lived. It was she who 'deceived' herself about her spiritual status, not the
people."
"Of my free will, dear Jesus, I shall follow you whereveer you shall go in
search of souls, at any cost to myself and out of pure love of you."
"You learn more from your friends than you ever will from books... and
sooner or later you will rise or fall to the standards of the people you
surround yourself with."
"The call for a sincere gift of self is the fullest way to realize personal
freedom."
"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the
Gospel of God." .... The word "Gospel" has been translated "Good News." This
translation "sounds attractive, but it falls far short of the order of magnitude
of what is actually meant by the word euangelion (the Greek word)."
This term figures in the vocabulary of the Roman emperors, who understood
themselves as lords, saviors and redeemers of the world. The messages issued by
the emperor were called in Latin evangellium, regardless of whether their
content was particularly cheerful and pleasant. The idea was that what comes
from the emperor is a saving message, that it is not just a piece of news, but a
change of the world for the better."
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings
having a human experience"
"I know this now. Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every
woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe
in little or nothing, and yet they give their lives to that little or nothing. One
life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it and then it's
gone. But to surrender what you are and to live without belief is more
terrible than dying--even more terrible than dying young."
"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we
miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it"
"I divide the world into learners and non-learners. There are people who
learn, who are open to what happens around them, who listen, who hear
the lessons. When they do something stupid, the don't do it again. And
when they do something that works a little bit, they do it even better and
harder the next time. The question to ask is not whether you are a
success or a failure, but whether you are a learner or a non-learner."
"Decisions form actions. Actions create habits. Habits form character.
Your character is your destiny."
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter."
"The only way to say NO is to have a deeper YES."
Finals Week is here!
It’s that special time of year!
The Library is full to the top floor
Of students studying and catching a snore.
It is a time for study groups, study guides and late nights
Cramming, coffee and prayer for insights
Students hunker down under the weight of work from teachers
Some relieve their stress engaging the Park Blocks Preachers
But this week of serious work is no time for quips
What you need is the wisdom that comes from Glenn’s 6 tips
Study hard so you can never say
That you didn’t give your all at the end of the day
Time in the gym is hard to find
But it can be the best thing to perk up your mind
Frequenting the vending machine will give just a quick fix
So, eat right and forget the Twix
As you plow through your notes, take frequent breaks
These will sustain your energy and keep you’s awakes
Lean on your friends during this week of stressors
They will take away the edge and tone down the pressures.
Last but not least, pray twice as hard when twice as busy
The Lord will give you perspective and his words won’t leave you dizzy
Remember the Lord in your studies this week and in every paper and test
Look for guidance from his Spirit, our heart’s most welcome guest.
As you grab for coffee, tea and soda when you feel slothful
Seek the Lord and his strength and you will remain hopeful
So, don’t panic when the answer escapes your view
When everyone finishes an hour before you
This is one week and no longer
Remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
So forget about the grade
This too shall fade.
It’s in the effort that Saints are made.
Whether you ace or fail your exams
The Lord can still use you in his plans.
It’s your learning coupled with grace
That’ll make the world a better place.
“I believe that we are in this world and in this particular time to help bring
about the Father’s reign in ourselves and in others.
I believe that Jesus Christ delivered us from the past by his cross, so that we
might freely work for the fulfillment of the Word of God there where we are.
I do not believe that this earth is a land of exile. I consider it a place of
glory for God. I believe that each of us has a mission on earth. It is simply a
question of seeking how God can use us to make his Gospel known and lived.
I believe that we must carry out this mission courageously and by means of faith
— the poor means of Jesus Christ. We know that all success comes from Jesus Christ.
I believe in a truly Christian society where God, although invisible, reigns
everywhere and is preferred to everything.
To make Jesus Christ known as liberator and King of the world, to teach that
everything belongs to him, that he wants to form in each of us the great work of
the Kingdom of God and wishes each of us to enter into his plan – either to
pray, to suffer or to act – this is for me the beginning and end of all
Christian education.
My gaze is fixed on Jesus Christ and the extension of his Kingdom here on earth.”
"You are never too young to preach the Gospel; never too young to bring
Good News! Never too young to work for justice; never too young to be God's
light! We are never too young to witness, we are never too young to serve; we
are never too young to be disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
"You can learn more in an hour of silence than you can in a year from
books. Learn to enjoy silence. For until you are comfortable in silence and
solitude you are not ready for life...15 minutes in the classroom of silence
every day will change your life."
“It takes spiritual discipline to forgive others; it takes a different, though
related, spiritual discipline to forgive myself, to echo within my own heart the
glad and generous offer of forgiveness which God holds out to me and which, if
I’m fortunate, my neighbor holds out to me as well. Here, too, my sense of
self-worth comes not from examining myself and discovering that I’m not so bad
after all but from gazing at God’s love and discovering that nothing can stand
between it and me.... Of course, as with all the other forgiving we’ve been
thinking about, this does not mean pretending it wasn’t so bad after all or that
it didn’t really happen or that it didn’t matter that much. It was bad and it
did happen and it did matter. But if God has dealt with it and forgiven you
(and if you have made amends as best you can with any other people it may have
involved), then it is part of living and authentically Christian life that you
learn to forgive yourself as well."
“Jesus (echoing the Old Testament) told us to love our neighbors as we love
ourselves. The first thing to note here is that he wasn’t basically talking
about feelings. As often in Jewish and Christian thought, ‘love’ is first and
foremost something you do, not something you feel; the feelings often follow the
actions, not (as in some modern thinking) the other way around. ‘Loving
myself,’ in Jesus’ teaching, does not therefore mean what the modern therapeutic
movements mean when they speak of ‘feeling good about myself.’ That may or may
not be involved. What ‘love’ means first and foremost is taking thought for
someone, taking care of them, looking ahead in advance for their needs, in the
way that you would take careful thought about, and plan wisely for, your own life.”
"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should see sorrow and
suffering enough to disarm all hostility."
“The twenty-first century world is not becoming more secular. In
that sense, the hypothesis that modernization inevitably leads to secularization
has been falsified. For better and for worse, the world of this new century and
the new millennium is becoming more intensely religious… what needs explaining
is not the endurance and tenacity of religious belief; what needs explaining are
those bunkers of secularism that still dominate our high culture… As a religious
person, you are not alone. And you’re not… odd. The real minority are those
pockets of people in the world who do not feel the constant presence of God in
their lives, who do not fill their days with rituals and prayers and garments
that bring them into contact with the divine, and who do not believe that God’s
will should shape their public lives.”
"When we humans commit idolatry--worshiping that which is not God as if
it were--we thereby give to other creatures and beings in the cosmos a power, a
prestige, an authority over us which we, under God, were supposed to have over
them. When you worship an idol, whatever it is, you abdicate something of your
own proper human authority over the world and give it instead to that thing,
whatever it is.”
Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen!
Spanish - Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!
French - Le Christ est ressuscité! Vraiment Il est ressuscité!
Hawaiian - Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!
Arabic - Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam!
Polish - Chrystus Zmartwychwstal! Zaprawde Zmartwychwstal!
Korean - Kristo Gesso! Buhar ha sho Nay!
German - Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
Latin - Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Italian - Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto!
Swahili - Kristo Amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka!
"All work and no play makes Johny a dull boy."
The Student’s Prayer
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not flunk:
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying.
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break:
He restoreth my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits
For my GPA’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown:
For thou are with me.
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
Thou givest me answers in moments of blankness:
Thou anointest my head with understanding.
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize.
Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me
All the days of my examinations.
And I shall not dwell in this university forever. (But Glenn will)
Amen!
"The distinction between wrongdoing and sin or culpability should warn
the reader to avoid judging others. We can recognize evil in others, but if we
wish to look on the face of sin, we will see it most clearly in ourselves. One
can discern wrongdoing on the part of others, but only in oneself can one begin
to discern sin, the reponsibility for wrongdoing. Even in self-examination,
scrupulosity on the one hand and callousness on the other can prompt serious
misjudgment. If love is the essence of human life, and if sin is missing one's
purpose, all sin may be seen in terms of misdirected love."
“Of her very nature, the Church is missionary. This means her members are
called by God to bring the Gospel by word and deed to all peoples and to every
situation of work, education, culture, and communal life in which human beings
find themselves. The members of the Church seek to transform society not by
power but by persuasion and by example. Through participation in political
life—either as voters or as holders of public office—they work for increasing
conformity of public policy to the law of God as know by human reason and Divine
Revelation. This they do especially by showing the coherence of Catholic
teaching with the fundamental yearnings and dignity of the human person.”
"Looking back on my own life, what are the turning points that marked a
shift for good or for ill.... the mileposts that I can look back to and say:
'From that time on ... '? Take a moment to think of some. Now, go to the
future. Years from now, looking back to Lent 2007, how would I like to be able
to finish that sentence: 'From that time on....'?
"The moral life is not an arbitrary set of rules imposed on us by God and the
Church. The moral life involves rules for living that emerge from inside the
human heart and its thirst for happiness with God. The basic moral question is
not that familiar teenage query, How far can I go? The basic moral question is
the adult question, What must I do to become a good person?--the kind of person
who can actually enjoy living with God forever. In answering that question, we
discover rules. But they emerge organically, not 'from outside.' They emerge
from the dynamics of becoming a good person."
"The beautiful Gothic, Chartres Cathedral in France powerfully reinforces our
old friend Chesterton's claim that tradition is the democracy of the dead. Do
we want to give the people who built Chartres 'votes' in the forming of our
humanity and our faith today? I certainly hope so. To cut ourselves off from
the civilization that produced something as beautiful as this is to lobotomize
ourselves culturally."
"You are going to live your Catholic life in a world in which death is
increasingly seen as a disease to be cured. Hormonal therapies, the possibility
of ‘replacement parts’ being grown out of stem cells, and research into the
genetic basis of aging all suggest the possibility that the human life span can
be dramatically expanded, perhaps indefinitely. What does a ‘pro-life’ Church
say about that?...Leon Kass (appointed chairman of the President’s Commission on
Bioethics) says that we should look on the immortality project with robust
skepticism...He believes that death is good for us, in a deeply human if
mysterious sense.... Would an infinite life span really increase our
satisfaction...or add to the sum total of human happiness? He says, ‘Could life
be serious or meaningful without the limit of mortality? Is not the limit on
our time the ground of our taking life seriously and living it passionately?’
When the Psalms enjoin us to ‘number our days’ so that we may ‘get a heart of
wisdom,’ the psalmist is teaching us a very large truth... In the ‘Iliad’ and
the ‘Odyssey,’ it’s the immortals who are silly, frivolous, aimless; Homer’s
mortals, by comparison, are full of striving, passion, courage, and
fellow-feeling... Immortals, Kass argues, ‘cannot be noble.’ The only kind of
people who can reach genuine nobility of character are those willing to spend
‘the precious coinage of the time of our lives for the sake of the noble and the
good and the holy.’”
"Humans are dependent. They cannot live except from others and by trust. But
there is nothing degrading about dependence when it takes the form of love, for
then it is no longer dependence, the diminishing of self through competition
with others. Dependence in the form of love precisely constitutes the self as
self and sets it free, because love essentially takes the form of saying, ‘I
want you to be.’ It is creativity, the only creative power, which can bring
forth the other as other without envy or loss of self. Humans are
dependent—that is the primary truth about them. And because it is, only love
can redeem them, for only love transforms dependence into freedom.”
"Chrisitianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult
and left untried."
"Patience with God is faith, patience with self is hope and patience with others
is love."
Christmas shows us that God wants to share our life--not just our joys and
successes, but our pains and sufferings, too. So, we can no longer say, 'No one
understands me and my trials.' On Christmas, God became a player in human
history and is still a part of human history in us.
"There is a gentle voice within each of us. This voice within is your truest
guide. It has absolutely no self-interest. That is what sets it apart from
every other voice in your life. The gentle voice within you is interested in
only one thing, helping you become the-best-version-of-yourself. Whether you
call it your 'conscience' or give it some other name, we all have this gentle
voice within us. It is our true self, directing us toward our essential
purpose.... Take a moment to think about it. When was the last time you obeyed
that gentle voice within you and it made you miserable? When was the last time
the gentle voice within led you to become a-lesser-version-of-yourself? It may
lead you to the pain of discipline and self-sacrifice, but always in the quest
to help you embrace more fully the-best-version-of-yourself.”
Finals Week is here!
It’s that special time of year!
The Library is full to the top floor
Of students studying and catching a snore.
It is a time for study groups, study guides and late nights
Cramming, coffee and prayer for insights
Students hunker down under the weight of work from teachers
Some relieve their stress engaging the Park Blocks Preachers
But this week of serious work is no time for quips
What you need is the wisdom that comes from Glenn’s 6 tips
Study hard so you can never say
That you didn’t give your all at the end of the day
Time in the gym is hard to find
But it can be the best thing to perk up your mind
Frequenting the vending machine will give just a quick fix
So, eat right and forget the Twix
As you plow through your notes, take frequent breaks
These will sustain your energy and keep you’s awakes
Lean on your friends during this week of stressors
They will take away the edge and tone down the pressures.
Last but not least, pray twice as hard when twice as busy
The Lord will give you perspective and his words won’t leave you dizzy
Remember the Lord in your studies this week and in every paper and test
Look for guidance from his Spirit, our heart’s most welcome guest.
As you grab for coffee, tea and soda when you feel slothful
Seek the Lord and his strength and you will remain hopeful
So, don’t panic when the answer escapes your view
When everyone finishes an hour before you
This is one week and no longer
Remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
So forget about the grade
This too shall fade.
It’s in the effort that Saints are made.
Whether you ace or fail your exams
The Lord can still use you in his plans.
It’s your learning coupled with grace
That’ll make the world a better place.
"Do not let your life be like a shooting star, which lights up the sky for
only a brief moment. Let your life be like the sun, which always burns brightly
in the Heavens, bringing light and warmth to all those on earth. Let your light
shine!"
"The Second Vatican Council considered as one of its main objectives the
re-establishment of full Christian unity. This is also my objective…to work
without sparing energies for the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of
all the followers of Christ. I let myself be challenged in the first person by
this request and I am prepared to do all that is in my power to promote the
fundamental cause of ecumenism. Enormous work has been done at the universal
and local level. Fraternity has been rediscovered among all Christians and has
been established as the condition of dialogue, cooperation and common prayer of
solidarity."
"A young Christian patrician, Cecilia (Cecily) lived in the 3rd century and was
betrothed to a pagan named Valerius. Maintaning her vow of virginity, she
converted her husband, who accepted baptism and died a martyr. Cecilia refused
to sacrifice to the idols and was beheaded. The figure of this saint is closely
tied to music, perhaps because the passio that relates her story refers to how
during her wedding 'as the organs were playing, Cecilia sung in her heart to the
Lord.' Since the 14th century it has been customary to depict her together with
musical instruments, particularly an organ. (Saint Cecilia's feast day is on
Nov. 22nd)."
“Thank you Jesus, even when you see us just as we are, fragile, frail and so far
from who you want us to be. Thank you Jesus even when the pieces are broken and
small. Dreams shatter and scatter like the wind. Thank you even then."
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
“Separating God’s sphere and ours in the Epicurean fashion, with a distant God
whom you might respect but who wasn’t going to appear or do anything within our
sphere, became very popular in the Western world of the eighteenth century
(through the movement known as Deism), and has continued to be so in many places
to this day. In fact, many people in the Western world assume that when they
talk about “God” and “heaven” they’re talking about a being and a place which—if
they exist at all—are a long way away and have little or nothing to directly to
do with us. That is why, when many peope say they believe in god, they will
often add in the same breath that they don’t go to church, they don’t pray, and
in fact they don’t think much about god from one year’s end to the next.
I don’t blame them. If I believed in a distant, remote God like that, I
wouldn’t get out of bed on a Sunday morning either. “The real problem with
Epicureanism in the ancient world, and Deism in ours, is that it has to plug its
ears to all those echoing voices we were talking about earlier in this book.
Actually, that’s not so difficult in today’s busy and noisy world. It’s quite
easy, in fact, when you’re sitting in front of the television or hooked up to an
Ipod… to be a modern Epicurean. But turn the machines off, read a different
kind of book, wander out under the night sky, and see what happens. You might
start wondering about another option: that heaven and earth overlap and
interlock and that God is present and active within his creation.”
"As soon as worldly people see that you wish to follow a devout life they aim a
thousand darts of mockery and even detraction at you. The most malicious of them
will slander your conversion as hypocrisy, bigotry, and trickery… Your friends
will raise a host of objections which they consider very prudent and charitable.
They will tell you that you will become depressed, and lose your reputation in
the world… They will say that you can save your soul without going to such
extremes, and a thousand similar trivialities…
All this is mere foolish, empty babbling. These people aren't interested in your
health or welfare. "If you were of the world, the world would love what is its
own but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you," says
Jesus… If we spend an hour in meditation or get up a little earlier than usual
in the morning to prepare for Holy Communion, everyone runs for a doctor to cure
us of hypochondria and jaundice. People can pass thirty nights in dancing and no
one complains about it, but if they watch through a single Christmas night they
cough and claim their stomach is upset the next morning. Does anyone fail to see
that the world is an unjust judge, gracious and well disposed to its own
children but harsh and rigorous towards the children of God?"
"The heart--symbol of friendship and love--has also its norms, its
ethics…Young people, raise your eyes more often towards Jesus Christ! Do not be
afraid! Jesus came not to condemn love but to free love from its ambiguities
and its counterfeits... The body is not just one object among other objects.
It is, in the first place, someone, in the sense that it is a manifestation of
the person, a way of being present to others, of communication, of extremely
varied expression. The body is a word, a language. What a marvel, and what a
risk at the same time! Young men and women, have very great respect for your
body and the bodies of others! Let your body be in the service of your inner
self! Let your gestures, your looks, always be the reflection of your soul!"
"Fear, according to so many of the biblical authors and so many of
the mystics and theologians of our tradition—is a function of living our
lives at the surface level, a result of forgetting our deepest identity. At the
root and ground of our being, at the center of who we are, there is what
Christianity calls the image and likeness of God. This means that at the
foundation of our existence, we are one with the divine power which
continually creates and sustains the universe; we are held and
cherished by the infinite love of God. When we rest in this center and
realize its power, we know that, in an ultimate sense, we are safe, or in
more classical language, ‘saved.’”
"Christ loves you deeply and wants you to grow and flourish. He
wants your best qualities to shine forth. As any good friend, he wants to
be involved in the details of your life. Listen each day to his friendly
advice. Allow him to give you wisdom and joy. Let him share this new
school year with you."
"Once we have turned back to God and embraced him again like the
prodigal son embraced his father (cf Luke 15:20), we must then return to the
world. Here we must face all the distractions and temptations that drew us away
from the path of peace before.
I know only one immutable truth when it comes to the struggle with
temptation: Don't dialogue with the tempter.
When he whispers in your ear, turn away from him. He will say things
like, 'everybody is doing it' or 'it won't matter just this once' or 'Nobody
will know.' Don't surrender the peace in your soul. The temptation will pass.
The best way to pass the time while you are waiting for temptation to pass is
to pray. Replace the dialogue of temptation with a dialogue of prayer. 'God, I
know what is good and true, but I am still attracted to what is
self-destructive. Give me strength. Be my strength.'
"The Church knows that sexual love within marriage isn't always
ecstatic; but on a Catholic view of things, ecstasy is what love should aim
for. Why? Because a thirst for the ecstatic is built into us--which is another
way of saying that the thirst for God is built into us. That's what people
sense in the Sistine Chapel. The beauty of the body, mirroring the beauty of
God, awakens in us that latent thirst for ecstasy which is our thirst for
communion with others and with God. Don't ever deny that thirst for the
ecstatic. Don't be afraid of it"
“If we wish to encourage today’s saints to emerge, we must simply return
one question to our inner dialogue. I call it The Big Question. As far as I
can see, it is the ultimate question, the only question.
‘God, what do you think I should do?’
To think that we can find happiness in our lives without asking this
question makes us the king or queen of fantasyland” (Matthew Kelly,
“Rediscovering Catholicism”).
“If we wish to encourage today’s saints to emerge, we must simply return
one question to our inner dialogue. I call it The Big Question. As far as I
can see, it is the ultimate question, the only question.
‘God, what do you think I should do?’
To think that we can find happiness in our lives without asking this
question makes us the king or queen of fantasyland."
“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in
him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with
remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God
and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint
John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know
and to believe in the love God has for us”.
We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can
express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result
of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person,
which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
"Tradition may be defined as the extension of the franchise. Tradition means
giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the
democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant
oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object
to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to them
being disqualified by the accident of death. Democracy tells us not to neglect
a good man's opinion, even if he is our groom; tradition asks us not to neglect
a good man's opinion, even if he is our father."
"Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when
you destroy mystery you create morbitity. The ordinary man has always been sane
because the ordinary man has always been a mystic. He has permitted the
twilight. He always has one foot in earth and the other in fairyland. He has
always left himself free to doubt his gods; but (unlike the agnostic today) free
also to believe in them... The whole secret of mysticism is this: that a man
can understand everything by the help of what he does not understand. The
morbid logician seeks to make everything lucid, and succeeds in making
everything mysterious. The mystic allows one thing to be mysterious, and
everything else becomes lucid."
"'Keeping your options open' is not the path to happiness, wholeness--or
holiness. We've all heard, time and time again, that yours is a generation 'not
ready to commit.' Is that because yours is a generation short on trust? If so,
it's not hard to understand why. You've seen the wreckage caused by the sexual
revolution and its dissolution of trust between men and women, both within
marriage and outside of it. You’ve seen public officials betray their oath of
office, and priests and bishops betray the vows they swore to Christ and the
Church at ordination. You’ve seen teachers and professors betray the truth
because of expediency, cowardice, or an addiction to political correctness. If
yours is a generation that finds it hard to trust and thus hard to ‘commit,’
that’s understandable…But not persuasive…
The Gospel tells us that Mary found the angel’s greeting ‘troubling.’
And why not? But Mary doesn’t negotiate. She doesn’t ask for a prematernal
contract, unlike today’s couples with their ‘prenuptial agreements.’ Mary
doesn’t have an exit strategy. Mary doesn’t ‘keep her options open.’ In fear
and trembling, but with confidence in God’s saving purposes, she gives the
answer: ‘fiat.’ Let it be. I am the Lord’s servant and the Lord will provide.”
“Ignatius was passionately fond of reading worldly books of fiction and tales
of knight-errantry. When he felt he was getting better, he asked for some of
theses books to pass the time. But no book of that sort could be found in the
house; instead they gave him a life of Christ and a collection of the lives of
saints written in Spanish.
By constantly reading these books he began to be attracted to what he found
narrated there. Sometimes in the midst of his reading he would reflect on what
he had read. Yet at others times he would dwell on may of the things which he
had been accustomed to dwell on previously. But at this point our Lord came to
his assistance, insuring that these thoughts were followed by others which arose
from his current reading.
While reading the life of Christ our Lord or the lives of the saints, he would
reflect and reason with himself: ‘What if I should do what Saint Francis or
Saint Dominic did?’ In his way he let his mind dwell on many thoughts; they
lasted a while until other things took their place. Then those vain and worldly
images would come into his mind and remain a long time. This sequence of
thoughts persisted with him for a long time.
But there was a difference. When Ignatius reflected on worldly thoughts, he
felt intense pleasure; but when he gave them up out of weariness, he felt dry
and depressed. Yet when he thought of living the rigorous sort of life he knew
the saints had lived, he not only experienced pleasure when he actually thought
about it, but even after he dismissed these thoughts, he still experienced great
joy. Yet he did not pay attention to this, nor did he appreciate it until one
day, in a moment of insight, he began to marvel at the difference. Then he
understood his experience; thoughts of one kind left him sad, the others full of
joy. And this was the first time he applied a process of reasoning to his
religious experience. Later on, when he began to formulate his spiritual
exercises, he used this experience as an illustration to explain the doctrine he
taught his disciples on the discernment of spirits.”
"Humility in Christ is inseparably linked to confidence in Christ. Thomas
Merton, a beloved Franciscan monk, once wrote that “A humble man is not
disturbed by praise. Since he is no longer concerned with himself, and since he
knows where the good that is in him comes from, he does not refuse praise,
because it belongs to the God he loves, and in receiving it he keeps nothing for
himself but gives it all, with great joy, to his God.” I love that. Permission
from a monk to receive praise with confidence, fully understanding its origin
and ultimate address. He goes on to say, “The humble man receives praise the way
a clean window takes the light of the sun. The truer and more intense the light
is, the less you see of the glass.” A friend of mine, who happens to be an
insanely talented drummer, said once that the way you can identify a great
drummer is by his ability to keep a very steady and strictly simple rhythm. In
many African tribes, he said, the most respected and revered members are the
elders who sit around the fire and keep a simple, confident and extremely sparse
beat. The younger, less experienced tribesmen are the ones showing off their
fancy chops. Confidence. This is what I desire my life in Christ to reflect. The
steady beat. The underlying current of consistent and grounded faith…a secure
knowledge of who I am in Him without the chronic apologies for the gifts He
entrusted me with. I want to be the elder tribesman…a still river whose depths
are known by few, but felt my many. That is, in fact, one thing I know for sure.
(shuffle, shuffle)"
"Easter makes sense when viewed from the standpoint of the Jewish worldview:
Heaven and earth are neither the same thing, nor a long way removed from one
another, but they overlap and interlock mysteriously in a number of ways. The
God who made both heaven and earth is at work from within the world as well as
from without, sharing the pain of the world--indeed taking its full weight upon
his own shoulders. When Jesus rose again, God's whole new creation emerged from
the tomb, introducing a world full of new potential and possibility. Indeed,
precisely because part of that new possibility is for human beings themselves to
be revived and renewed, the resurrection doesn't leave us passive, helpless
spectators. We find ourselves lifted up, set on our feet, given new breath in
our lungs, and commissioned to go and make new creation happen in the world."
“Easter makes sense when viewed from the standpoint of the Jewish worldview:
Heaven and earth are neither the same thing, nor a long way removed from one
another, but they overlap and interlock mysteriously in a number of ways. The
God who made both heaven and earth is at work from within the world as well as
from without, sharing the pain of the world--indeed taking its full weight upon
his own shoulders. When Jesus rose again, God's whole new creation emerged from
the tomb, introducing a world full of new potential and possibility. Indeed,
precisely because part of that new possibility is for human beings themselves to
be revived and renewed, the resurrection doesn't leave us passive, helpless
spectators. We find ourselves lifted up, set on our feet, given new breath in
our lungs, and commissioned to go and make new creation happen in the world.”
"For all its gaudiness, the world of debonair nihilism (the nihilism that enjoys
itself on the way to oblivion, convinced that all of this--the world, us,
relationships, sex, beauty, history--is really just a cosmic joke) in which
you've grown up sees the world in black and white and in two dimensions only.
In the world of debonair nihilism, there is only me, and there are only
transient pleasures to be grasped and indulged and then quickly forgotten, on
the way to the next ephemeral high produced by my willfulness. By contrast, the
Catholic imagination, this habit of being, teaches us to see the world in
Technicolor and to live it in three dimensions (or, truth to tell, in four,
because time counts, too, for Catholicism as well as for Einstein). That's the
habit I hope this correspondence and our tour of the Catholic world helps you
acquire: the habit of being, the habit of seeing things in depth, as they are
and for what they are. Everything that is, is for a reason. Everything that
happens, happens for a purpose. That's what it means to understand history as
His-story. Seeing things in their true dimensions in one very large part of
what it means to be a Catholic. For, learning to see things aright here is how
we become the kind of people who can see, and love, God forever."
"The Catholic imagination, this 'habit of being' we've been exploring is serious
business. An evangelical protestant of my acquainance once said to a Catholic
friend, 'If I really believed, like you say you do, that Christ himself is in
that tabernacle, I'd be crawling up that isle on my hands and knees.' That's
about half right, for the Catholic 'habit of being' teaches us both the fear of
the Lord (in the sense of being awestruck by the majesty and mercy of God) and
an intimacy, even familiarity with God, the Holy Trinity, through the personal
relationship with Christ that is the heart of Catholic faith. Inside that
distinctively Catholic 'both/and' of the intimate and the awesome lies the
conviction that all of this is for real. Stuff counts. I count. You count.
It all counts. Because all of it--you, me, our friends, our critics, the man I
jostled on the subway this morning and the bag lady sleeping on the heating
grate at the
Farragut North metro stop, the whole mad, sad, noble, degraded, endlessly
fascinating human story--is really His-story, Christ's story supercharged with
that fullness of truth and love that can only come from Truth and Love itself:
that can only come from God"
“The Finals’ Rap”
Finals Week is here!
It’s that special time of year!
The Library is full to the top floor
Of students studying and catching a snore.
It is a time for study groups, study guides and late nights
Cramming, coffee and prayer for insights
Students hunker down under the weight of work from teachers
Some relieve their stress engaging the Park Blocks Preachers
But this week of serious work is no time for quips
What you need is the wisdom that comes from Glenn’s 6 tips
Study hard so you can never say
That you didn’t give your all at the end of the day
Time in the gym is hard to find
But it can be the best thing to perk up your mind
Frequenting the vending machine will give just a quick fix
So, eat right and forget the Twix
As you plow through your notes, take frequent breaks
These will sustain your energy and keep you’s awakes
Lean on your friends during this week of stressors
They will take away the edge and tone down the pressures.
Last but not least, pray twice as hard when twice as busy
The Lord will give you perspective and his words won’t leave you dizzy
Remember the Lord in your studies this week and in every paper and test
Look for guidance from his Spirit, our heart’s most welcome guest.
As you grab for coffee, tea and soda when you feel slothful
Seek the Lord and his strength and you will remain hopeful
So, don’t panic when the answer escapes your view
When everyone finishes an hour before you
This is one week and no longer
Remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
So forget about the grade
This too shall fade.
It’s in the effort that Saints are made.
Whether you ace or fail your exams
The Lord can still use you in his plans.
It’s your learning coupled with grace
That’ll make the world a better place.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up.
There is a joy and a confidence that comes from experiencing and then knowing
that the Lord is concerned about our greatest good and is helping us to acheive it.
There's no limit to the good we can acheive in the world, when we aim
high and work together.
"Therefore, if the desire for the center, the passion for God, be awakened, the
more immediately pressing desires must be muted, and this is the purpose of
fasting in its various forms. We force ourselves to go hungry so that the
deepest hunger might be felt and fed...."
William Wylie Tomes, Jr., 63 years old, currently of Chicago Illinois -- now
known in that city's toughest neighborhood as "Brother Bill." Bill Tomes finds
his home in Chicago's Cabrini-Greene Houses and the Horner Homes, a complex
where according to Alex Kotlowicz, "There are no children here." A Catholic,
graduating from Loyola Academy and Notre Dame, Tomes majored in English and
minored in art. He left the church, became an atheist, dabbled in art,
traveled the world, sidled up to bars, went to Bulls games, struggled through a
couple of disastrous marriage engagements, flirted with a doctoral dissertation
comparing psychotherapeutic practices in 18 countries and never finished. And
then marching through a series of failed jobs, coming to hate his own art work,
and finally booking some more job interviews, he stopped at a Ukrainian Orthodox
church to do some thinking and praying. Here is how he describes his experience
to Tim Unsworth.
"As soon as I knelt down," he said, "everything in the church that was of color
turned black and everything that was white remained white. The whole vision was
fuzzy, except for the face of Christ near the altar. Christ was speaking from
the picture. He said, 'Love. You are forbidden to do anything other than that.'"
Tomes continues, "It was such a surprise I started to write it down. I asked
Christ if I should take a job I had been offered in a hospital, and the answer
came, 'I'll lead, you follow.'
William Wylie Tomes, Jr., 63 years old, currently of Chicago Illinois
is now known in that city's toughest neighborhood as "Brother Bill." Bill Tomes
finds his home in Chicago's Cabrini-Greene Houses and the Horner Homes, a
complex where according to Alex Kotlowicz, "There are no children here." A
Catholic, graduating from Loyola Academy and Notre Dame, Tomes majored in
English and minored in art. He left the church, became an atheist, dabbled in
art, traveled the world, sidled up to bars, went to Bulls games, struggled
through a couple of disastrous marriage engagements, flirted with a doctoral
dissertation comparing psychotherapeutic practices in 18 countries and never
finished. And then marching through a series of failed jobs, coming to hate his
own art work, and finally booking some more job interviews, he stopped at a
Ukrainian Catholic Church to do some thinking and praying. Here is how he
describes his experience to Tim Unsworth.
"As soon as I knelt down," he said, "everything in the church that was of
color turned black and everything that was white remained white. The whole
vision was fuzzy, except for the face of Christ near the altar. Christ was
speaking from the picture. He said, 'Love. You are forbidden to do anything
other than that.'"
Tomes continues, "It was such a surprise I started to write it down. I
asked Christ if I should take a job I had been offered in a hospital, and the
answer came, 'I'll lead, you follow.'
"Christianity thinks of human individuals not as mere members of a group or
items in a list, but as organs in a body--different from one another and each
contributing what no other could. When you find yourself wanting to turn others
into people exactly like yourself, remember that God probably never meant them
to be that. You and they are different organs, intended to do different things.
On the other hand, when you are tempted not to bother about someone else's
troubles because they are 'no business of yours,' remember that though he is
different from you he is part of the same organism as you."
"As Christians we live lives of meaning. We don't just go with the flow
and let ourselves be carried wherever the wind takes us. We are called
to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. Thus, we are invited to
participate in our Father's work in the world. We are called to take the
initiative and live proactive lives, to bring order, reconcilation and healing
to this world."
“…one of the many striking features about the resurrection narratives
is the fact that at no point do either Jesus or anyone else mention the future
hope, whether for heaven, or salvation, or indeed for resurrection itself. All
that is left to be worked out.
What is far more urgent and important than questions of one’s own
ultimate destiny, is to say, as all the evangelists do, four things. First,
Jesus really is alive again. Second, therefore he really is the Messiah, the
world’s true Lord. Third, therefore God’s new creation has begun. And, fourth –
and this is the sharp edge of it all – therefore you have an urgent and
important job to do, and a new identity to do it with. The whole thrust of this
long Easter morning story is to take us, through the person and the eyes of Mary
Magdalene, to the heart of the earliest Easter message: Jesus is raised,
therefore the world is a different place, and we are called, as witnesses to the
resurrection, to announce it, to make it happen, and to find ourselves remade in
the process”
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us
throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let
us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you
have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood"
"...in this books closing chapters I will examine how Christianity served as
a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear
and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world. In anticipation of
these discussions, let me merely suggest here that Christianity revitalized
life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social
relationships able to cope with many urgent urban problems. To cities
filled with the homeless and improvished, Christianity offered charity as
well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity
offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans
and widows, Christianity provided a new expanded sense of family. To cities
torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social
solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires and earthquakes,
Christianity offered effective nursing services.
It must be recognized , of course, that earthquakes, fires, plagues, riots
and invasions did not first appear at the start of the Christian era.
People had been enduring catastrophes for centuries without the aid of
Christian theology or Christian social structures. Hence I am by no means
suggesting that the misery of the ancient world caused the advent of
Christianity. What I am going to argue is that once Christainity did
appear, its superior capacity for meeting those chronic problems soon became
evident and played a major role in its ultimate triumph."
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen
is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
“In short, creation is not a once-and-for-all act of the essentially
transcendent God, but rather the ever present and ever new gift of being poured
out from the divine source. Thomas describes creation in an unusually poetic
way as 'quaedam relatio ad Creatorem cuum novitate essendi' (a kind of
relationship to the Creator with freshness of being). What he implies is that
the creature is a relationship to the energy of God which is continually
drawing it from nonbeing to being, making it new"
"If it is true that the question of the origin (whence do we come?) is
inseparable from that of life's goal (where do we go?), then the question of
creation also concerns that of its purpose or end. Likewise related is the
"design" of the plan. God not only is the Maker of all; he is also the
maintainer of his creation, directing it to its goal. That too will be a
subject of these lessons, for the question is quite an essential part of basic
Christian convictions.
God is not only a creator who at the beginning set the work in motion, like a
watchmaker who has fashioned a timepiece that will tick on forever. Rather, he
preserves and guides it towards its goal. The Christian faith further teaches
that the creation is not yet complete, that it is in "statu viae," in transit.
God as Creator of the world is also its guide. We call this "providence"
("Vorsehung"). We are convinced that all of this -- that there is a Creator and
a guide -- can also be perceived and recognized by us. Christian belief
decidedly and tenaciously clings to the human capacity to discern both these
divine aspects, though certainly neither "in toto" nor in every detail.
How do we know about it? A blind faith, one that would simply demand a leap into
the utter void of uncertainty, would be no human faith. If belief in the Creator
were totally without insight, without any understanding of what such entails,
then it would likewise be inhuman. Quite rightly, the Church has always
rejected "fideism" -- that very sort of blind faith"
"For most believers, creation describes an activity that God performed at
the 'beginning of time,' the bringing all things into existence from nothing.
On such a reading, the divine creativity has little or nothing to do with the
world as it is presently constituted: having given rise to the cosmos, the
Creator God could easily have slipped into a benign neglect of what he had
made, retreating into an indifferent transcendence. But such a deist
interpretation of creation is far from the minds of our best theologians and
spiritual writers. Thus Thomas Aquinas speaks of God's 'creatio continua'
(continual creation) of the world, that is to say, God's ongoing and ever
present bringing of the universe into being. And Karl Rahner says that creation
designates the here-and-now relationship between the infinite mystery of Being
itself and the beings that exist through that mystery."
“God is the solution to the world’s problems and he has provided the
path. It’s a new society in him. A new way of being human in him. Here’s a
way to look at it. In the 19th century, enormous problems resulted from the
industrial revolution. Individuals abandoned the countryside for overcrowded
cities. Adults labored in the new factories for meager wages. Children worked
12 hour days in inhuman conditions. Despite economic growth physical health
declined, as did nutrition and educational levels. By mid-century concerned
people called for radical change. They coined a slogan to capture their
vision: “A new society within the shell of the old.” That’s what the kingdom
of God is! A new society in the shell of the old. A new way of being human.
A people in whom God dwells. A people who live in freedom and love. A contrast
society.”
“Awake with a winged heart, and give thanks for another day of loving.”
“Joy untouched by thankfulness is always suspect.”
“Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks
naturally grows. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he
gets as much as he deserves.”
“Were there no God, we would be in this glorious world with grateful hearts:
and no one to thank.”
“‘Happy are the pure in heart: they shall see God.’ In some
translations....purity of heart is rendered as ‘singleness of heart.’ How
blessed we are if we can anchor the soul in the reality of God alone and not
allow it to be split and divided in its ultimate loyalty. The single hearted
is the one who, in Augustine’s phrase, loves God first and everything else for
the sake of God. Such a person’s heart or center is uncomplicated, unsullied,
pure.... There are in such a soul no distractions, no distortions, no
obstacles..... The ‘pure in heart’ radiate the simpleness and peacefulness of
God even in the least peaceful of circumstances.”
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this
age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys
and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ... The Church
firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through
His Spirit offer man the light and he strength to measure up to his supreme
destiny.”
“Serious university students and serious minded young adults today
recognize that there must be more to life than having fun and establishing a
career. They hunger for something more than our culture offers them.
Something greater than themselves. Greater than the world around them.
Something that will give meaning and direction to their lives. They hunger for
someone. And that someone is God.”
“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to
those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought
into closer connection with you.”
“As for what concerns our relations with our fellow men, the anguish in
our neighbor's soul must break all precept. All that we do is a means to an
end, but love is an end in itself, because God is love.”
“Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct
a vast and lofty building? Think first about the foundations of humility. The
higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.”
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found
difficult and left untried”
“Questions are an important part of the Spiritual journey. The
temptation is to despise uncertainty. But, uncertainty is a spiritual gift
designed to help you to grow. From time to time, great questions arise in our
hearts and minds. Don’t let your heart be troubled. Learn to enjoy
uncertainty. Learn to love the questions. The questions are life”
“It is true that today we are no longer looking for a king, but we are
concerned for the state of the world and we are asking: "Where do I find
standards to live by, what are the criteria that govern responsible cooperation
in building the present and the future of our world? On whom can I rely? To whom
shall I entrust myself? Where is the One who can offer me the response capable
of satisfying my heart's deepest desires?".
The fact that we ask questions like these means that we realize our
journey is not over until we meet the One who has the power to establish that
universal Kingdom of justice and peace to which all people aspire, but which
they are unable to build by themselves. Asking such questions also means
searching for Someone who can neither deceive nor be deceived, and who
therefore can offer a certainty so solid that we can live for it and, if need
be, even die for it”
"Let us love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and
humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of
sin. Men lose all he material things they leave behind them in this world, but
they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For
these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve.
We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be
simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead,
we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God's sake.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in
it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father's
children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our
Lord Jesus Christ"
"Now the Gospel writers agree that the Kingdom of God, the enfleshment
of the divine life in human form, the Incarnation, is not something to be
admired from the outside, but rather an energy in which to participate. If we
open our eyes and see the light, we too often stop at the point of admiration
and worship, lost in wonder at the strange work that God has accomplished
uniquely in Jesus of Nazareth… But the Gospels want us, not outside the energy
of Christ, but in it, not wondering at it, but swimming in it."
"We go through life hungering and thirsting for both the infinite and the finite. Our hearts desire not just the infinite, that which is beyond the persons and things we know, but also the finite, the persons and the things we do know. We want both... Our loneliness will be fully satisfied by our coming together in a radical union with God, others, and physical creation itself; in a union in which we will not be swallowed up, as a drop in the ocean, but in which we will each still have our own self-identity (indeed, a heightened individuality), despite the all-consuming unity."
“It is true that today we are no longer looking for a king, but we are
concerned for the state of the world and we are asking: "Where do I find
standards to live by, what are the criteria that govern responsible cooperation
in building the present and the future of our world? On whom can I rely? To whom
shall I entrust myself? Where is the One who can offer me the response capable
of satisfying my heart's deepest desires?"
"The fact that we ask questions like these means that we realize our
journey is not over until we meet the One who has the power to establish that
universal Kingdom of justice and peace to which all people aspire, but which
they are unable to build by themselves. Asking such questions also means
searching for Someone who can neither deceive nor be deceived, and who
therefore can offer a certainty so solid that we can live for it and, if need
be, even die for it.”
“We will never know how much just a simple smile can do.”
“I repeat today what I said at the beginning of my Pontificate: "If we
let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what
makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors
of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human
existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and
liberation." (Homily at the Mass of Inauguration, 24 April 2005).
Be completely convinced of this: Christ takes from you nothing that is
beautiful and great, but brings everything to perfection for the glory of God,
the happiness of men and women, and the salvation of the world”
“The book of Ecclesiastes points to a truth about life—that all things
are transitory. Thus, the best we can do is to accept reality as it is and
enjoy it while it lasts—to fully live each moment. This solution is not a call
to hedonism. Rather, what is being advocated here is honesty, a realistic
facing of reality, and an acceptance and enjoyment of each moment of life for
what it really is, a great (but passing) gift.”
"The heart has its reasons (cf Blaise Pascal); it has its own
rationality, which reaches beyond mere reason.... Any perception presupposes a
certain sym-pathy with what is perceived. Without a certain inner closeness, a
kind of love, we cannot perceive the other thing or person."
"We are able to give the assent of faith because the will--the
heart--has been touched by God, 'affected by him.' Through being touched in
this way, the will knows that even what is still not 'clear' to the reason is
true.... Assent is produced by the will, not by the understanding's own direct
insight. Believing is not an act of the understanding alone, not simply an act
of the will, not just an act of feeling, but an act in which all the spiritual
powers of man are at work together. Still more: man in his own self and of
himself, cannot bring about this believing at all; it has of its nature the
character of a dialogue. It is only because the depth of the soul--the
heart--has been touched by God's Word that the whole structure of spiritual
powers is set in motion and unites in the Yes of believing..."
“We all have restless hearts full of longing. The longing of our hearts
has behind it the force that brought about the big bang and the well that will
contain this longing is as infinite as the universe. This is an infinite ache
that actually will not be satisfied with one thing--a finite love, pleasure.
This is because the One we desire is not a thing or finite being but an
infinite mystery. But, the Church’s definition of “mystery” is not something
that cannot be known, but rather something that is infinitely knowable. Of its
very nature our ache will be disappointed with a final answer or a defined and
caught end. It wants not a finite solution but more and more. Once it catches
this love it wants to know that it is more than what was found--something
beyond, something so much greater--something to be admired and awed over. To
catch and totally comprehend this love is to end the pursuit, the dynamism, to
end hope, to solve the mystery.”
“Take off your shoes! The ground you stand on is holy. The ground of your being is holy.”
“We can never sneer at the stars, mock the dawn or scoff at the totality
of being. Sublime grandeur evokes unhesitating, unflinching awe… Awe is an
intuition for the dignity of all things, a realization that things not only are
what they are but also stand, however remotely, for something supreme. Awe is a
sense of the transcendence, for the reverence everywhere to the mystery beyond
all things. It enables us to perceive in the world intimations of the divine…
to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple; to feel in the rush of the
passing the stillness of the eternal. What we cannot comprehend by analysis,
we become aware of in awe.”
“For this reason (ie, when we choose one thing we exclude other things)
we find it hard to choose a vocation, an occupation, a set of friends, a life
companion, or even a new house or car. The difficulty arises because, in
choosing, we have to limit ourselves, and our lonely insatiable insides rebel
against this. Thus, we often end up dissipating our creative and affective
energies: hanging loose, spreading ourselves too thin, unable to make clear
choices and commitments, procrastinating indefinitely, being wishy-washy, and
generally being unable to make decisions that could give our lives more
direction and thus help us to love and work more effectively.”
“Many of us find it difficult to make choices. This is not because we
cannot find anything that suits our preference, but precisely for the opposite
reason, namely, we find it difficult to exclude the things that will not be
involved in our choice. Scholastic philosophers had the dictum ‘Every choice
is also a renunciation.’ This is very true since whenever we choose one thing,
we necessarily exclude certain other things.”
“Serious university students and young adults today recognize that there
must be more to life than just having fun and establishing a career. They have
a hunger for something more. Something deeper. Something that gives meaning
and direction to their lives. Something very personal. A someone. A someone
greater than themselves. Greater than this world around us. Greater than even
the cosmos itself. They have a hunger for God.”
“Faith is an anticipation that is made possible by the will through the
heart being touched by God. It grasps in advance what we cannot yet see and
cannot yet have. This anticipation sets us in motion.”
”Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out
everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do,
everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that
you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!... But don’t, dear friend, resent
God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he
loves that God corrects: a father’s delight is behind all this.”
“The Christian scriptures speak of church community as somehow meaning a common life, of ‘having everything in common.’ What is meant by that? What are the constitutive parts of concrete, ecclesial community… other than simply attending church…? It demands that there be some real sharing of life together, namely, that we pray together; that we celebrate our rites of passage together; that we celebrate some of our everyday joys, fears, and feasts together; that we are responsible to each other and open to each other as regards mutual correction and challenge; that we are responsible together for the ministry of the church; and that we have some sharing of finances…”
“We may still live in our private houses and have our private bank accounts, but, once we belong to a church, we no longer fully own our lives. We now have to answer to each other and may no longer claim our own lives as an exclusive piece of private property.”
“I cannot but trust in God’s merciful goodness. His grace has strengthened me until now and made me content to lose goods, land, and life as well, rather that to swear against my conscience. God’s grace has given the king a gracious frame of mind toward me, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but my liberty. In doing this His Majesty (The Lord) has done me such great good with respect to spiritual profit that I trust that among all the great benefits he has heaped so abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot, therefore, mistrust the grace of God…
"I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help. And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning… Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed be the best.”
The Student’s Prayer
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not flunk:
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying.
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break:
He restoreth my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits
For my GPA’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown:
For thou are with me.
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
Thou givest me answers in moments of blankness:
Thou anointest my head with understanding.
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize.
Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me
All the days of my examinations.
And I shall not dwell in this university forever.
(But Glenn will)
Amen!
“Nothing is more practical than finding God.
That is to say:
Than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with, what seizes your
Imagination will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the
Morning,
What you will do with your evenings,
How you spend your weekends,
What you read,
Who you know,
What breaks your heart,
And
What amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in Love and it will decide everything”
“We humans need food, rest, warmth, and social contact… For starving Sudanese and homeless Iraqis money would buy more happiness. But having more than enough provides little additional boost to well being… Once we are comfortable, more money therefore provides diminishing returns… Income also doesn’t noticeably influence satisfaction with marriage, family, friendship or ourselves—all of which do predict a sense of well being… Plainly, people can be motivated by material gain and by external praise. The point is that we feel more passion for and derive more pleasure from doing what we freely choose and most enjoy.”
“Nowhere are limits of an external source of purpose so clear as with money. While money serves as a primary source of motivation and an ongoing preoccupation for many of us, researchers have found almost no correlation between income levels and happiness. Between 1957 and 1990, per person income in the United States doubled, taking into account inflation. Not only did people’s reported levels of happiness fail to increase at all during the same period, but rates of depression grew nearly tenfold. The incidence of divorce, suicide, alcoholism and drug abuse also rose dramatically.”
"If growth and development take place from the bottom up—from physical to emotional to mental to spiritual—change is powered from the top down. The most compelling source of purpose is spiritual, the energy derived from connecting to deeply held values and a purpose beyond one’s self-interest. Purpose creates a destination. It drives full engagement by prompting our desire to invest focused energy in a particular activity or goal. We become fully engaged only when we care deeply, when we feel that what we are doing really matters. Purpose is what lights us up, floats our boat, feeds our souls.”