Quotes

By globalization we totally lose contact with the poor that we know personally. We work in the abstract toward the liberation of a social category that we never meet. We know the political leaders of this class, who are no longer poor themselves. And this globalization, this de-personalization of the poor, surely means that a person who is poor simply because he is sick or is mourning the loss of a loved one or has been humiliated by a failure in life arouses no interest. — Jacques Ellul

The best that most of us can do is to take hold of the near edge of some great problem and act at cost to ourselves. — Colin Morris

I am not saying that suffering exists in order for God to reveal himself. I am only saying that where suffering exists and is consciously accepted, there divine love shines forth brightly. . . . I have often suspected that the most profound product of this world is tears. I don’t mean that to be morbid. Rather, I mean that tears express that vulnerability in which we can endure having our heart broken and go right on loving. — Cynthia Bourgeault

The modern reader searching for new techniques of spiritual “self-discovery” will largely be disappointed in the desert tradition of the apophatic way. Classical writers in this habitus could not be more indifferent to the modern search for “experiences of the sacred” that enhance self-realization. They would never, in the private, psychologizing way so familiar to contemporary spirituality, be anxious to add an encounter-with-God-through-contemplative-prayer to their collection of previous meditative accomplishments. As if one could then say, “Been there, done that!” to yet another personal success achieved through Zen attentiveness, transcendental meditation, or even centering prayer. — Belden Lane

Shall I point out that as a statistical matter, a gun in the home is far more likely to hurt someone you love than to scare off a burglar? Shall I demand we hold our leaders accountable for failing to pass some kind of sensible laws to rein this madness in? . . . It is a measure of a uniquely American insanity that truths so obvious and inarguable are regarded as controversial and seditious by many people in this country. — Leonard Pitts

We have lived by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. And this has been based on the even flimsier assumption that we could know with any certainty what was good even for us. We have fulfilled the danger of this by making our personal pride and greed the standard of our behavior toward the world—to the incalculable disadvantage of the world and every living thing in it. — Wendell Berry

This is the big lie the world tells us: that the universe is connected by trade agreements, electronic banking, computer networks, shipping lanes, and the seeking of profit—nothing else. Whereas this is the truth of God: all creation is one holy web of relationships, and gifts meant for all; that creation vibrates with the pain of all its parts, because its true destiny is joy. — Julie Polter

Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground. — Rumi

No road is long with good company. — Turkish proverb

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometime courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." — MaryAnne Radmacher