Tag Archives: St. Benedict

Wonder & Whimsy: prayers, arrested development & greatness

A weekly curation of quotations I come across in my reading life (or on random condiment jars) — from the inspirational to the miscellaneous. Perhaps one inspires you or catches your fancy too…

A prayer of St. Benedict…

“Give us grace that our way of life may be pleasing to you, that we may have the patience to wait for you and the perseverance to look for you.”

A prayer of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)…

“O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve you. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me, and I shall meet it with peace.”

Arrested development…

“Extended life expectancy has made extended adolescence possible.” – Tyler Blanski, An Immovable Feast

Perfecting our nature…

“Grace does not destroy nature, but rather perfects it.” – Thomas Aquinas, (Summa Theologica, I. I. 82)

Made for greatness…

“The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” – Pope Benedict XVI

Wonder & Whimsy: God’s Heart, Happiness & Being Chosen

A weekly curation of quotations I come across in my reading life (or on random condiment jars) — from the inspirational to the miscellaneous. Perhaps one inspires you or catches your fancy too…

At home in God’s Heart…

“This is and has been the Father’s work from the beginning — to bring us into the home of His heart.” – George MacDonald

The happiness you seek…

“It is Jesus you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life.” – St. John Paul II

Before you start your work…

“Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to Christ our Kind to bring it to perfection.” – From the Rule of St. Benedict (His memorial is today! Read this quote in context in the Office of Readings for the Liturgy of the Hours.)

What being “chosen” means…

“To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice.” – Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved.

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