Fire of the Spirit
Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures,
spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures,
glow of charity, lights of clarity,
taste of sweetness to sinners—
be with us and hear us.
Composer of all things,
light of all the risen,
key of salvation,
release from the dark prison,
hope of all unions, scope of chastities,
joy in the glory, strong honor—
be with us and hear us.

—Hildegard of Bingen in
Breakfast with the Saints

No waste
You must learn, you must let God teach you, that the only way to get rid of your past is to make a future out of it. God will waste nothing.

—Phillips Brooks, quoted in
Heirlooms

Saved from ourselves
Christ died to save us, not from suffering, but from ourselves; not from injustice, far less from justice, but from being unjust. He died that we might live—but live as he lives, by dying as he died who died to himself that he might live unto God. If we do not die to ourselves, we cannot live to God, and he that does not live to God, is dead.

—George MacDonald in
Unspoken Sermons (Series 3)

Beyond "luck"
You don't just luck into things as much as you'd like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities.

—Barbara Bush, quoted in
Fresh-cut Flowers for a Friend

Giving God the glory
Divine speech is articulation of God's presence. … The Magnificat is a biblical theology in miniature, because it begins and it ends in an exaltation not of Mary but of the Word.

—Samuel Terrien in
The Magnificat: Musicians as Biblical Interpreters

The dynamics of life
God whispers to us in our pleasures … but shouts in our pains.

—C. S. Lewis in
The Problem of Pain

When God says no A young ...