Breath of Life

“When you set yourself down to pray, what do you want? If you want God to take possession of you then you are praying. That is all prayer is. There are no secrets, no short cuts.”

“In order that Love be fully satisfied, it is necessary that It lower Itself, and that it lower Itself to nothingness and transform this nothingness into fire.”

“The Father spoke one Word, which was his Son, and this Word he speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul.”

“It is at the very heart of human nature to desire what it is unable to achieve. We were made for infinity, for relationship with God; without it we will always be incomplete.”

“Faith alone can overcome the world and the threat the world imposes. It does not follow that we lose the feeling of anxiety and fear – we would be poorer for that – but these now play a role that is creative not destructive. Fear can cripple, paralyse, prompt us to shirk and evade life. Faith enables us to live with reality, braving its challenge.”

“I don’t think anyone can feel God. Those who believe in him most are most aware of his non-feelability, as it were. God is such a total mystery.

“On the sure rock of God’s love we must build our lives. Every effort must be made to convince ourselves of this love: God’s unfailing, unshakable love for me, no matter what it feels like, no matter how unlike love it seems. What can matter in this life save to surrender to this love?”

“Courage, for the One you love, the only One who can heal your wound, dwells within you and invites you to intimacy.”

“The deepest part of our selves is far away, in our true country, beyond the land of thunder, frost, and ‘falling buildings,’ at the still center of the turning world.”

“Believe that He loves you, that He wants to help you in the struggles you have to undergo. Believe in His love, His exceeding love.”