Breath of Life

“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.”

“Let yourself be loved. . . . That is, without fearing that any obstacle will be a hindrance to it.”

“I learn to delight in myself, that I am I and no one else. I despise nothing in myself except the desire to stand on self. I thank God for what he has done in the unique situation which is my life. Even my sins and failures, the black shadows, are seen in the context of love, perhaps fulfilling the same role as pieces of black lead in a stained-glass window, making the colour even more glorious.”

“Are you convinced that Jesus loves you in your absolute uniqueness? We are not a faceless crowd. The Lord is not content that you are content with touching his robe, he wants to be face to face with you. He wants your embrace, your kiss of love. No one can give him the particular love and the special joy that you can give.”

“Do not fear the void. Live in faith and hope, even though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God is supporting the soul.”

“What we cannot accept is that we are the beloved. . . . That I am the beloved. God longs for me, He presses on my heart with a tender, humble, hunger for me. He wants to possess me. . . . To be so loved and so wanted is so terrifying and so awful that we can see why we shrink from believing it.”

“When we can see our poverty and fallibility shot through with God’s love, and can integrate them into our prayer, then we are finally reconciled with ourselves and become more authentic people.”

“In the end you leave with empty hands, that I know; and it is well. At that moment you look at the crucified one and go. What comes is the everlasting mystery of God.”

“God is today. He is not yesterday. He is not tomorrow.”

“I was able to offer my feelings of failure to our Lord, vaguely understanding that this would please him more than if everything had gone swimmingly and I had emerged with flying colours.”