Love is the beauty of the soul.

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.

Punishment is justice for the unjust.

O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.

O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.

Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.

He that is jealous is not in love.

The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences.

Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.

Our bodies are shaped to bear children, and our lives are a working out of the processes of creation. All our ambitions and intelligence are beside that great elemental point.

Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity.

We make ourselves a ladder out of our vices if we trample the vices themselves underfoot.

The purpose of all wars…is peace.

And behold you were within me,and I out of myself, and there I searched for you.

People travel to marvel at the mountains, seas, rivers and stars; and they pass right by themselves without astonishment.

God will not suffer man to have a knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience of his prosperity, he would be careless; and if understanding of his adversity, he would be despairing and senseless

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.

For, were it not good that evil things should also exist, the omnipotent God would almost certainly not allow evil to be, since beyond doubt it is just as easy for Him not to allow what He does not will, as for Him to do what He will.

We make a ladder of our vices, if we trample those same vices underfoot.

We are certainly in a common class with the beasts; every action of animal life is concerned with seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding pain.

Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.

Passion is the evil in adultery. If a man has no opportunity of living with another man’s wife, but if it is obvious for some reason that he would like to do so, and would do so if he could, he is no less guilty than if he was caught in the act.

The danger already exists that mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine man in the bonds of Hell

Women should not be enlightened or educated in any way. They should, in fact, be segregated as they are the cause of hideous and involuntary erections in holy men.

Understanding is the reward of faith.

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider.

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

Order your soul; reduce your wants; live in charity; associate in Christian community; obey the laws; trust in Providence.

I would not believe in the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so

Love, and do what you like

Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty billows of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, and pass themselves by.

The world’s verdict is conclusive.

Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.

Hear the other side.

It seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all.

I found thee not, O Lord, without, because I erred in seeking thee without that wert within.

To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.

By faithfulness we are collected and wound up into unity within ourselves, whereas we had been scattered abroad in multiplicity.

There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart.

I want my friend to miss me as long as I miss him.

In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?

God is not what you imagine or what you think you understand. If you understand you have failed.

Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked.

Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt.

Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.

The desire is thy prayers; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will also be without ceasing. The continuance of your longing is the continuance of your prayer.

Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.

The same thing which is now called Christian religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call ‘Christian’ the true religion which existed before.