"Our blessed  Redeemer, in overcoming the world, bequeathed us His command to overcome it also; but as he did not give the command without the example, so He did not give the example without the offer of a power to obey the command."


"God does not promise to those who want, that they shall "have," but to those who "ask;" nor to those who need, that they shall "find," but to those who "seek."


~Hannah More

The following has stirred my heart so strongly because it is exactly what my heart, my mind, my soul, need so desperately to absorb...


"Every moment we live through is like an ambassador who declares the will of God, and our hearts always utter their acceptance. Our souls steadily advance, never halting, but sweeping along with every wind. Every current, every technique, thrusts us onward in our voyage to the Infinite. Everything works to this end and, without exception, helps us toward holiness. We can find all that is necessary in the present moment. We need not worry about whether to pray or be silent, whether to withdraw into retreat or mix with people, to read or write, to meditate or make our minds a receptive blank, to shun or seek out books on spirituality. Nor do poverty or riches, sickness or health, life or death matter in the least. What does matter is what each moment produces by the will of God. We must strip ourselves naked, renounce all desire for created things, and retain nothing of ourselves or for ourselves, so that we can be wholly submissive to God's will and so delight Him. Our only satisfaction must be to live in the present moment as if there were nothing to expect beyond it.


"If what happens to a soul abandoned to God is all that is necessary for it, it is clear that it can lack nothing and that it should never complain, for this would show that it lacked faith and was living by the light of its reason and the evidence of its senses. Neither reason nor the senses are ever satisfied, for they never see the sufficiency of grace. To hallow the name of God is, according to the Scriptures, to recognize His holiness and to love and adore it in all the things which proceed like words from the mouth of God. For what God creates at each moment is a Divine thought which is expressed by a thing, and so all these things are so many names and words through which He makes known His wishes. God's will is single and individual, with an unknown and inexpressible name, but it is infinitely diverse in its effects, which are as many as the names it assumes. To hallow God's name is to know, to worship, and to love the ineffable being who bears it. It is also to know, to worship, and to love His adorable will every moment and all that it does, regarding all that happens as so many veils, shadows, and names beneath which this eternal and most holy will is always active. It is holy in all it does, holy in all it says, holy in every manifestation, and holy in all the names it bears.


"It is thus that Job blessed the name of God. This holy man blessed the utter desolation which fell upon him, for it displayed the will of God. His ruin he regarded as one of God's names, and in blessing it he was declaring that, no matter how terrible its manifestations, it was always holy under whatever name or form it appeared. And David never ceased to bless it. It is by this continual recognition of the will of God, as displayed and revealed in all things, that God reigns in us, that His will is done on earth as in heaven, and that He nourishes us continually. 


"The full and complete meaning of self-abandonment to His will is embraced in the matchless prayer given to us by Jesus Christ . By the command of God and the church, we recite it several times a day, but apart from this, if we love to suffer and obey His adorable will, we shall utter it constantly in the depths of our hearts. What we can utter through our mouths - which takes time - our hearts can speak instantly; and it is in this manner that simple people are called to bless God from the depths of their souls. Yet they complain bitterly that they cannot praise Him as much as they desire, for God gives to them so much that they feel they cannot cope with such riches. A secret working of the Divine wisdom is to pour treasure into the heart whilst impoverishing the senses, so that the one overflows whilst the other is drained and emptied.


"The events of every moment are stamped with the will of God. How holy is His name! How right it is to bless it and to treat it as something which sanctifies all it touches. Can we see anything which carries this name without showing it with infinite love? It is a Divine warmth from heaven and gives us a ceaseless increase of grace. It is the kingdom of heaven which penetrates the soul. It is the bread of angels which is eaten on earth as well as in heaven. There is nothing trivial about our passing moments, as they enclose the whole kingdom of holiness and the food on which angels feed.


"O Lord, may You rule my heart, nourish it, purify it, make it holy, and let it triumph over all its enemies. Most precious moment! How small it is to my bodily eyes, but how great to the eyes of faith! How can I think of it as nothing when it is thought of so highly by my heavenly Father? All that comes from Him is most excellent and bears the imprint of its origin."


~Jean-Pierre de Caussade

"Effort is not the opposite of grace, works is."


"The goal of the Christian life is not simply to get us into heaven, but to get heaven into us!"


~Richard Foster

"Why do you stand in your own strength, and so stand not? Cast yourself on him; fear not. He will not flinch and you will not fall. Cast yourself on him without fear, for he will receive and heal you."


~Augustine of Hippo

"When I give bread to the poor, they call me a saint; but when I ask  why people are poor, they call me a communist." 


~Dom Helder Camara

‎"We are all, at least secretly, in love eith God and each other."
~Harvey Egan


‎"The Lord ministers all good and all help..." 
~Clement of Alexandria


"A praising of God is what laughter is, because it lets a human being be human." 
~Karl Rahner




I'm studying the history of Christian spirituality and renewal, as well as the writings of the mystics this summer, so hopefully I will continue to add some quotes that stand out to me. =)