Over the years I have collected words that I LOVE.
I place these quotes in a little booklet that I give to friends who are struggling with health issues or need a little lift.
Now I share these words with you in hopes that the LOVE of God spoken through scripture or through the wisdom of many who have lived among us may warm your HEART.
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” Psalm 139:14-16
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27
"I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond. One has a glimpse of a country where they do not talk of those things . . . Every one there is filled full with what we should call goodness as a mirror is filled with light.”
C.S. Lewis, p. 149, Mere Christianity.
"Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
"The Psalms seem to me to be like a mirror, in which one can see himself and the stirrings of his own heart; he can recite them against the background of his own emotions."
Athanasius
Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.”
"For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:29-31
"There are in truth three states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the perfection. In the beginning they experience the charms of sweetness; in the middle the contests of temptation; and in the end the fullness of perfection.” Gregory the Great
"The limitless loving devotion to God, and the gift God makes of Himself to you, are the highest elevation of which the heart is capable; it is the highest degree of prayer.”
St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891–1942) was born as Edith Stein in Prussia, the youngest of eleven children from a devout Jewish family. She was a bright and gifted child, and as she matured she became an atheist. She went on to receive a doctorate in philosophy, studying under the famous philosophers Heidegger and Husserl. Despite her atheism, she was affected by several friends who displayed a great passion for the Christian faith. One day, while staying at a friend's home, she saw the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. She read it from cover to cover, and after finishing it she exclaimed, "This is the Truth." Edith was baptized in Cologne, Germany in 1922. From there she taught for a time at a Dominican school and studied Thomas Aquinas and other Catholic philosophers.
When the rise of anti-semitism forced her to resign from a teaching post, she wrote to Pope Pius XI asking him to publicly denounce the Nazis. Discerning a call to the religious life, she became a Carmelite nun in Cologne 1934, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross after her special devotion to the Cross of Christ.
When the Nazi threat grew in Germany, her Order transferred her to a convent in the Netherlands for safety. There Edith grew in her desire to offer her life for the salvation of souls. The Nazis eventually came for her, and she, along with her sister Rose, who was also a convert, were sent to the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz. They were both killed in the gas chamber. Edith Stein is the patroness of martyrs and Europe.
"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”" Isaiah 30:15a
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
C. S. Lewis, p. 205 Mere Christianity
“Taken separately, the experiences of life can work harm and not good. Taken together, experiences make a pattern of blessings and strength the likes of which the world does not know.” V. Raymond Brown [theologian and author of a highly revered commentary on the Gospel of John]
"Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan."
John Chrysostom
Samuel 7:29 NASV “Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord God, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."
John Wesley
"Wait a little while, my soul, await the promise of God, and you will have the fullness of all that is good in heaven. If you yearn inordinately for the good things of this life, you will lose those which are heavenly and eternal. Use temporal things properly, but always desire what is eternal. Temporal things can never fully satisfy you, for you were not created to enjoy them alone . . . for your blessedness and happiness lie only in God, who has made all things from nothing.” Thomas a' Kempis, p. 133-34 Imitation of Christ
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.” Psalm 37:5-7
"The freshness of a living hope in God fills the soul with such energy and resolution, with such aspirations after the things of eternal life, that all this world seems to it—as indeed it is—in comparison with that which it hopes for, dry, withered, dead, and worthless. The soul now denudes itself of the garments and trappings of the world, by setting the heart upon nothing that is in it, and hoping for nothing that is, or may be, in it, living only in the hope of everlasting life. And, therefore, when the heart is thus lifted up above the world, the world cannot touch it or lay hold of it, nor even see it. The soul then, thus disguised and clad in the vesture of hope, is secure from its second foe, the world, for the Apostle Paul calls hope the helmet of salvation. Now a helmet is armor which protects and covers the whole head, and has no opening except in one place, where the eyes may look through. Hope is such a helmet, for it covers all the senses of the head of the soul in such a way that they cannot be lost in worldly things, and leaves no part of them exposed to the arrows of the world.”
St. John of the Cross, p.175 Dark Night of the Soul
"We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.” Thomas Aquinas
"What did you do today?
Is anybody happier because you passed this way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke today?
The day is almost over, and tis toiling time is through: Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?
Can you say tonight in parting with the day that’s slipping fast, that you helped a single person of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?
Does the one whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?
Did you waste the day or use it?
Was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that you can say: You have earned one more tomorrow by what you did today?" Author unknown.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
"We can't have full knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.” Thomas Aquinas
"A sculptor who wishes to carve a figure out of a block uses his chisel, first cutting away great chunks of marble, then smaller pieces, until he finally reaches a point where only a brush of the hand is needed to reveal the figure. In the same way, the soul has to undergo tremendous mortifications at first, and then more refined detachments, until finally its Divine image is revealed. Because mortification is recognized as a practice of death, there is fittingly inscribed on the tomb of Duns Scotus; Bis Mortus, Semel Sepultus (twice died, but buried only once). When we die to something, something comes alive within us. If we die to self, charity comes alive; if we die to pride, service comes alive; if we die to lust, reverence for personality comes alive; if we die to anger, love comes alive.”
Fulton J. Sheen, Peace of the Soul, p.219
Prayer for the sick adapted from Book of Common Prayer p.458 “O God of heavenly powers, by the might of your command you drive away from our bodies all sickness and all infirmity: Be present in your goodness with your servants that their weakness may be banished and their strength restored; and that, their health being renewed, they may bless your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Amen.
Dr. Seuss' editor, bet him that he couldn't write a book using 50 words or less. Not one to back down from a challenge, Geisel came up with Green Eggs and Ham—which uses exactly 50 words. The 50 words, by the way, are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.
Three quotes from Charles Jaddon Spurgeon:
“Good thoughts are blessed guests, and should be heartily welcomed, well fed, and much sought after. Like rose leaves, they give out a sweet smell if laid up in the jar of memory.”
“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”
“The constant tenor and spirit of our lives should be adoring gratitude, love, reverence, and thanksgiving to the Most High.”
"God does not fit in an occupied heart.”
St. John of the Cross
"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.” Sir Thomas Moore
"People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, ‘If you keep a lot of rules I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.’ I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at this moment is progressing to the one state or the other.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“Prudence is the knowledge of what to seek and what to avoid.” St. Augustine
"In this life no one can fulfill his longing, nor can any creature satisfy man’s desire. Only God satisfies; he infinitely exceeds all other pleasures. That is why man can rest in nothing but God.” Thomas Aquinas
Lydia Purpuraria, also called Lydia of Thyatira (1st. c), was a pious and wealthy woman involved in the textile trade in Philippi, Macedonia. She and her husband manufactured and traded in the lucrative business of purple dyes and fabrics, a luxury for the elite. Lydia was a worshiper of the true God, and when the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys brought him to Philippi in about 50 A.D., God opened Lydia's heart to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Lydia and her family became Paul's very first European converts to Christianity, as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. After her family was baptized, Lydia invited Paul and his companion,Timothy, to stay in her home. Lydia served the Lord through her gift of hospitality, and her home became a meeting place for the early Christians. After Paul and Silas were released from prison, it was to Lydia's home that they first went to meet and encourage the believers gathered there.
"To convert somebody, go and take them by the hand and guide them." Thomas Aquinas
There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives — the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them. St. Teresa of Kolkata
"If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But, fortunately, it works the other way around. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.”
Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis, p. 78
"Reading the holy Scriptures confers two benefits. It trains the mind to understand them; it turns man’s attention from the follies of the world and leads him to the love of God. Two kinds of study are called for here. We must first learn how the Scriptures are to be understood, and then see how to expound them with profit and in a manner worthy of them . . . No one can understand holy Scripture without constant reading . . . The more you devote yourself to the study of the sacred utterances, the richer will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled, the richer the harvest.” Isidore of Saville, Witness of the Saints
"I am sent not only to love God but to make Him loved. It is not enough for me to love God, if my neighbor does not love Him.” St. Vincent de Paul
"Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” Hebrews 4:12-13
"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100
"What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: "For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.” Romans 8:35-37
"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy; in a word, it is something noble and supernatural expanding my soul and uniting it to God.” St. Therese of Lisieux
"A man must go through a long and great conflict in himself before he can learn fully to overcome himself, and to draw his whole affection towards God. When a man stands upon himself he is easily drawn aside after human comforts. But a true lover of Christ, and a diligent pursuer of virtue, does not hunt after comforts, nor seek such sensible sweetnesses, but is rather willing to bear strong trials and hard labors for Christ."
Thomas a' Kempis, p. 64, Imitation of Christ
"Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’”
Isaiah 35:3-4
"A friend is more to be longed for than the light; I speak of a genuine one. And wonder not: for it were better for us that the sun should be extinguished, than that we should be deprived of friends; better to live in darkness, than to be without friends.” St. John Chrysostom
