Quote collection
497 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you."
"People who have known the joy of God point each other to flashes of light here and there, and remind each other that they reveal the hidden but real Presence of God. They discover that there are people who heal each other's wounds, forgive each other's offenses, share their possessions, foster the spirit of community, celebrate the gifts they have received, and live in constant anticipation of the full manifestation of God's Glory."
"The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there."
"In a strange way the spiritual life isn't "useful" or "successful." But it is meant to be fruitful. And fruitfulness comes out of brokenness."
"If I were to let my life be taken over by what is urgent, I might very well never get around to what is essential."
"In our own woundedness, we can become sources of life for others."
"Life is just a little opportunity for you during a few years to say, "I love you, too.""
"Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place."
"Without Pentecost the Christ-event - the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - remains imprisoned in history as something to remember, think about and reflect on. The Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell within us, so that we can become living Christs here and now."
"This brief lifetime is my opportunity to receive love, deepen love, grow in love, and give love."
"The church is not an institution forcing us to follow rules but a community inviting us to still our hunger and thirst at its table."
"The spiritual life is a life beyond moods. It is a life in which we choose joy and do not allow ourselves to become victims of passing feelings of happiness or depression."
"Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it."
"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self."
"Community means that people come together around the table, not just to feed their bodies, but to feed their minds and their relationships."
"When suddenly you seem to lose all you thought you had gained, do not despair. You must expect setbacks and regressions. Don't say to yourself "All is lost. I have to start all over again." This is not true. What you have gained you have gained....When you return to the the road, you return to the place where you left it, not to where you started."
"You have to dare to live through the pain and struggle. Acknowledge your anguish but do not let it pull you out of yourself. Hold on to your chosen direction, your discipline, your prayer, your work, your guides, and trust that one day love will have conquered enough of you that even the most fearful part will allow love to cast out all fear."
"Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved."
"We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it."
"Our glory is hidden in our pain, if we allow God to bring the gift of himself in our experience of it."