That is our vocation: to convert . . . the enemy into a guest and to create the free and fearless space where brotherhood and sisterhood can be formed and fully experienced.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996)
As this bread, scattered on the mountains, was assembled to be one, may your church be likewise gathered from the extremities of the earth into your kingdom.
—Didache, first century
It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness. He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you.
—Pope St. John Paul II
The church of Christ acknowledges that in God’s plan of salvation the beginning of her faith and her election is to be found in the patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets.
—Nostra Aetate, 1965
Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.
—MFK Fisher, American food writer
Our Lord in a desert place changed a few loaves into many, and . . . before the time came to give men and women his own body and blood to feed on . . . . he gave them things . . . for nothing to make them understand that his supreme gift would be given yet more freely.
—Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306-373)
Taking the loaves, the Lord broke them and entrusted to the disciples the honor of distributing them: He wanted not only to honor them, but also to convince them of the truth of the miracle, so that they might not forget it afterwards, since their hands would be its witnesses.
—John Chrysostom (347-407)
Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.
—Erich Fromm (1900-1980)
Pope Francis is not only changing the face of the Catholic Church, he's challenging us to be the face of God in the world by seeing the face of God in the person we least expect to see it, including the person in the mirror.
—Regina Brett, American author
The works performed by God in the history of salvation show forth and bear out the doctrine and realities signified by the words; the words, for their part, proclaim the works, and bring to light the mystery they contain.
—Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
Providence is the care God takes of all existing things.
—John Damascene
A wise person is out of the reach of fortune.
—Sir Thomas Browne
Those therefore who wish to . . . inherit the everlasting kingdom of God must not be weeds but wheat. They must avoid saying or doing anything useless, and practice the opposite virtues, thus bringing forth the fruits of repentance.
—Gregory Palamas
Holy Spirit, spirit of truth, you are the reward of the saints, the comforter of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor . . . food for the hungry, comfort to those who are wandering; to sum up you are the one in whom all treasures are contained.
—Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
The gospel of Jesus is . . . the Kingdom himself.
—Origen
Speak the truth in a million voices. It is silence that kills.
—Saint Catherine of Siena
Store up in your minds the Lord’s words which you receive through your ears, for the word of the Lord is the nourishment of the mind. . . . Be careful, then, that the word you have received through your ears remains in your heart.
—Gregory the Great (c. 540-604)
Among all human pursuits, the pursuit of wisdom is more perfect, more noble, more useful, and more full of joy.
—Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-74)
I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.
—Helen Keller (1880-1968)
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The work of the Spirit is the bringing to be of the vision of God . . . . The birth of the church is the beginning of the End. . . . The kingdom of God as the miracle of . . . newness when "the blind see" makes its impact on history in the creation of a visionary community.
—Gabriel Fackre, A Christian Story
All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
—Rule of Benedict
Love him totally who gave himself totally for your love.
—Clare of Assisi
Self-sacrifice is the real miracle out of which all the reported miracles grow.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
When we are overcome by sadness, fear, or suffering; when the pains of loss overwhelm us; when evil seems to have taken power; let us look to the cross and be filled with peace, knowing that Christ has walked this road and walks it now with us and with all our brothers and sisters.
—Saint Teresa of Ávila
Sins cannot be undone, only forgiven.
—Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
—Henry James (1843-1916)
As this broken bread, scattered on the mountains, was gathered to be one, may your church be assembled in the same way from the ends of the earth into your kingdom.
—The Didache
The sacrament of the Eucharist is itself a striking and wonderful figure of the unity of the church, if we consider how in the bread to be consecrated many grains go to form one whole . . . so that through [Christ] we may receive the spirit of charity in which we are bidden to live now no longer our own life but the life of Christ, and to love the Redeemer himself in all the members of his social body.
—Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi
Thousands are, as one, receivers, one, as thousands of believers, eats of him.
—Lauda Sion sequence