··· Tags pointing to: faith ···

When you can no longer tell your own story without telling his, that’s when you have become a Christian.

— Fr. Charles Stanley, OFM Cap., source  <link>

He who wishes to learn must believe.

— Aristotle  <link>

When you come to know God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him. And, in fact, He shows much more of Himself to some people than to others—not because He has favourites, but because it is impossible for Him to show Himself to a man whose whole mind and character are in the wrong condition. Just as sunlight, though it has no favourites, cannot be reflected in a dusty mirror as clearly as in a clean one.

— C.S. Lewis (via)  <link>

Faith is not born from miracles, but miracles from faith.

— Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, Book 1, Chapter 5, “Elders”  <link>

My sense is that God likes artful coincidences since they bolster the faith of those already with faith without compelling or forcing it on those who don’t. (Then it wouldn’t be faith, after all, but knowledge.)

— TS (via)  <link>

Because If You Can Convince Me

Because if you can convince me, then suddenly your beliefs become more real. Right? The more people you can get to jump on your … train, the more your mission is made. So until you get me to swallow your world and believe what you believe, you’ll never have the kind of faith you want to have. You’ll always have a little bit of doubt. You’ll never know if you’re quite right. You’ll always kind of be wondering if it’s real.

— Henry, movie quote from Henry Poole Is Here  <link>

What people don’t realise is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe.

— Flannery O’Connor (via)  <link>

Valentine

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.

Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.

Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

— Carol Ann Duffy (via)  <link>

Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing.

— Blessed Teresa of Calcutta  <link>

When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.

— Author unknown, quoted by Randy Pausch in The Last Lecture  <link>

Faith Purifies Reason

…faith purifies reason. As a theological virtue, faith liberates reason from presumption, the typical temptation of the philosopher.

— Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, 76  <link>

When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.

— Edward Teller  <link>