Every Christian who strives for holiness of life experiences dryness of soul. It is to most people a heart-rending experience. It is a paradox, for the soul becomes confused when it realizes the harder it strives the further away Jesus seems to be.

When our neighbor's personality possesses harsh qualities, we show our love by not voluntarily provoking those qualities in any way. Past experience shows us what upsets a person, so in their presence we are careful not to do or say those things that cause anger. We are self-effacing.

God has given each one of us a gift greater than a thousand I.B.M. machines. It is called a memory, and everything that passes through our five senses is stored in this faculty.

A family spirit is not always synonymous with family life. Bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh makes for brothers, sisters and relatives, who may be as distant as strangers in a foreign land.

There are many who are not guilty of doing anything wrong but very guilty of sins of omission - the things they neglect to do - the good things - the kind, thoughtful words, compassionate thoughts and hopeful attitudes they might have had towards their neighbor.

At Baptism, I received grace - that quality that makes me share in the very nature of God.

From the time of Adam and Eve, man has tried to escape suffering in any form.

Every individual we meet is different than we are. Members of the same family differ one from the other. Friend differs from friend, husband from wife, sister from brother, nation from nation. All these differences make 'feeling' love difficult and isolated to specific individuals according to our tastes and their personalities.

It is good to have an intellectual awareness of our dependence upon God - to understand how great He is and how very small we are in His sight.

Religious life is an encounter with the living God. Sometimes that encounter is preceded by a kind of soul-searching agony that tries desperately not to hear, runs in the opposite direction, and frantically tries to reason itself out of answering the invitation.

My life is such a contradiction. My soul yearns for holiness and then runs from the mortification necessary to attain it.

When anyone arouses my anger, I will immediately pray for them and regain my peace of soul.

We resemble computers intellectually and animals emotionally.

Humility is preserved when I give credit where credit is due - to God.

Love fills and empties simultaneously. It makes us reach out to God, ready to be pruned, recklessly desiring whatever the cost. It soothes the aching heart and then makes it thirst for more.

No matter what Jesus did, someone found fault with it.

Jesus asks me to go to him when I am overburdened. He did not promise to take away those burdens, for I must carry mine as he carried his.

Many of us use God's love like the manna in the desert. We take what we need for particular situations and then go our own way - thinking we can handle other situations ourselves.

God has always worked wonders through his prophets to increase the faith of His chosen people or to correct their disobedience.

To a pagan, there is no purpose to suffering. As a result, he lives a life of loneliness and frustration.

To see a friend who has suffered the loss of all things begin again with trust and love, gives us strength to continue on.

Is detachment the answer to freedom? No, because detachment is negative - it is to be without. The answer must be positive - I must replace what I have with something better.

Healing and miracles have been a mystery to men of all times. To some, the phenomenon is frightening, while others find it exhilarating.

God's grace is at its best in weakness, so we need never fear our weakness. In fact, these weaknesses will determine in what way we shall glorify God for all eternity.