REALITY CHECK
What we see as we go through life always depends upon where we stand to look.Many a man who tries to talk as if he were standing on a mountain, showsby what he says that he is up to his eyes in the mud.

—Billy Sunday in a sermon, "Under the Sun," from
The Real Billy Sunday

DEEDS
I would go near thee—but I cannot press
Into thy presence—it helps not to presume.
Thy doors are deeds.

—George MacDonald in
3,000 Quotations from George MacDonald

WHEN YOU NEED PRAYER MOST
In times when you are sad and troubled, do not give up the good works ofprayer and penance which you have been in the habit of doing. For the devilwill try to persuade you to abandon them, and unsettle you. Rather, practicethem more than before, and you will see how quickly the Lord will come toyour aid.

—Theresa of Avila in
A Life of Prayer

A VALUABLE INTERFERENCE
Rather than let the world interrupt our time in prayer, how about interruptingthe world with prayer?

—Paul Williams in a sermon
(July 20, 1997)

TOO MANY WORDS
People don't want to hear any more words. In our mechanical age, all wordshave become alike. … To say "God is Love" is like saying, "Eat Wheaties."

—Thomas Merton in
The Spring of Contemplation

ONLY GOD'S INSTRUMENT
Your own efforts "did not bring it to pass," only God—but rejoice if Godfound a use for your efforts in His work.

Rejoice if you feel that what you did was "necessary," but remember, evenso, that you were simply the instrument by means of which He added one tinygrain to the Universe He has created for His own purposes.

—Dag Hammerskjold, a Christmas Eve reflection, quoted in
Dag Hammerskjold: The Man and His Faith

NOT A GAME Seeking God with one's whole heart is no joke, ...