God knows Himself and every created thing perfectly. Not a blade of grass or the tiniest insect escapes His eye.
Man can and does rationalize his sins. He finds reasons for all his weakness, invents excuses that first calm and then deaden his conscience. He blames God, society, education, and environment for his wrong doing.
Death at times seems like a dark tunnel to be traveled, and the future seems bleak.
Jesus asks me to go to him when I am overburdened. He did not promise to take away those burdens, for I must carry mine as he carried his.
We are so accustomed to love on a human level that we find loving God for Himself either impossible or beyond our capabilities. We tend to love those who appeal to us, render us a service, or are good to us. In the degree they perform these various services, we love them.
I must not permit the evil capabilities of human nature to sour my faith in the tremendous good that is possible despite the frailty of that nature.
We live in an age of technology and science that demands proof, and yet we desire mystery. But when God gives us mystery, we seek to destroy it by gross indifference or childish reasoning.
I am a mirror to my neighbor, and in that mirror, he must see a reflection of Jesus. If that mirror is cloudy or distorted, Jesus' reflection will be so vague it will hardly be seen.
Neighbors are competitors instead of partners, suspicious instead of trustful, indifferent instead of helpful, cold instead of loving, greedy instead of generous. We no longer consider ourselves living in neighborhoods, but only as living next to 'hoods.'
The Christian experiences and lives a paradox. He possesses joy in sorrow, fulfillment in exile, light in darkness, peace in turmoil, consolation in dryness, contentment in pain and hope in desolation.
The woman is a gentle, loving bond who encourages, consoles, builds, reconciles, and makes all things new and vibrant. The woman is strength in time of suffering, courageous in failure, intuitive in time of danger. A woman is ingenuous when all fails, resourceful in times of want, and a true helpmate for man.
My life is such a contradiction. My soul yearns for holiness and then runs from the mortification necessary to attain it.
God is a spirit and converses with us in a quiet atmosphere because our minds are not capable of listening to his voice when they are filled with noise and confusion.
Saints are ordinary people who do what they do for the love of Jesus, say what they must say without fear, love their neighbor even when they are cursed by him, and live without regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow.
It is good to have an intellectual awareness of our dependence upon God - to understand how great He is and how very small we are in His sight.
Is detachment the answer to freedom? No, because detachment is negative - it is to be without. The answer must be positive - I must replace what I have with something better.
Every individual we meet is different than we are. Members of the same family differ one from the other. Friend differs from friend, husband from wife, sister from brother, nation from nation. All these differences make 'feeling' love difficult and isolated to specific individuals according to our tastes and their personalities.
St. Paul did not want the sufferings encountered by being a Christian to discourage or dishearten anyone. He realized that when the Christian saw the blessings and grace that poured upon him after his trials, he would gain courage to suffer in his turn.
God has always worked wonders through his prophets to increase the faith of His chosen people or to correct their disobedience.
For thirty years, Jesus never allowed his divinity to manifest itself. He was infinitely superior to everyone but never showed it.