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... At The Beginning Of The Human Race The Woman Was Made Of A Rib Taken From The Side Of The Man While He Slept; For It Seemed Fit That Even Then Christ And His Church Should Be Foreshadowed In This Event. For That Sleep Of The Man Was The Death Of Christ, Whose Side, As He Hung Lifeless Upon The Cross, Was Pierced With A Spear, And There Flowed From It Blood And Water, And These We Know To Be The Sacraments By Which The Church Is Built Up.

-Saint Augustine

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... At The Beginning

Saint Augustine

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... At The Beginning Of The Human Race The Woman Was Made Of A Rib Taken From The Side Of The Man While He Slept; For It Seemed Fit That Even Then Christ And His Church Should Be Foreshadowed In This Event. For That Sleep Of The Man Was The Death Of Christ, Whose Side, As He Hung Lifeless Upon The Cross, Was Pierced With A Spear, And There Flowed From It Blood And Water, And These We Know To Be The Sacraments By Which The Church Is Built Up.

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The Desire For Fame Tempts Even Noble Minds.

By Faithfulness We Are Collected And Wound Up Into Unity Within Ourselves, Whereas We Had Been Scattered Abroad In Multiplicity.

Symbols Are Powerful Because They Are The Visible Signs Of Invisible Realities.

He Who Devoutly Hears Holy Mass Will Receive A Great Vigor To Enable Him To Resist Mortal Sin, And There Shall Be Pardoned To Him All Venial Sins Which He May Have Committed Up To That Hour.

Your Best Servant Is The Person Who Does Not Attend So Much To Hearing What He Himself Wants As To Willing What He Has Heard From You.

In Order To Discover The Character Of People We Have Only To Observe What They Love.

It Is Not Often That We Use Language Correctly; Usually We Use It Incorrectly, Though We Understand Each Others Meaning.

Love And Do What You Want. If You Stop Talking, You Will Stop Talking With Love; If You Shout, You Will Shout With Love; If You Correct, You Will Correct With Love.

Often The Contempt Of Vainglory Becomes A Source Of Even More Vainglory, For It Is Not Being Scorned When The Contempt Is Something One Is Proud Of.

It Will Not Be Held Against You That You Are Ignorant Against Your Will, But That You Neglect To Seek Out What It Is That Makes You Ignorant; Not That You Cannot Bring Together Your Wounded Limbs, But That You Reject Him That Would Heal Them.

It’s Not In The Book Or In The Writer That Readers Discern The Truth Of What They Read; They See It In Themselves, If The Light Of Truth Has Penetrated Their Minds.

You Can Live, Provided You Live; That Is, You Can Live For Ever, Provided You Live A Good Life.

What Do I Love When I Love My God?

God Is Not What You Imagine Or What You Think You Understand. If You Understand You Have Failed.

Late Have I Loved Thee, O Lord; And Behold, Thou Wast Within And I Without, And There I Sought Thee. Thou Was With Me When I Was Not With Thee. Thou Didst Call, And Cry, And Burst My Deafness. Thou Didst Gleam, And Glow, And Dispell My Blindness. Thou Didst Touch Me, And I Burned For Thy Peace. For Thyself Thou Hast Made Us, And Restless Our Hearts Until In Thee They Find Their Ease. Late Have I Loved Thee, Thou Beauty Ever Old And Ever New. Thou Hast Burst My Bonds Asunder; Unto Thee Will I Offer Up An Offering Of Praise.

Tolle, Lege: Take Up And Read.

If You Are Suffering From A Bad Man's Injustice, Forgive Him Lest There Be Two Bad Men.

Understanding Is The Wages Of Faith.

... At The Beginning Of The Human Race The Woman Was Made Of A Rib Taken From The Side Of The Man While He Slept; For It Seemed Fit That Even Then Christ And His Church Should Be Foreshadowed In This Event. For That Sleep Of The Man Was The Death Of Christ, Whose Side, As He Hung Lifeless Upon The Cross, Was Pierced With A Spear, And There Flowed From It Blood And Water, And These We Know To Be The Sacraments By Which The Church Is Built Up.

Though He Avoided Outright Endorsement Of The View, Fifth-century Church Father Saint Augustine Was Clearly Familiar With The Theory Of The Spherical Earth: "they [those Who Believe That "there Are Men On The Other Side Of The Earth"] Fail To Observe That Even If The World Is Held To Be Global Or Rounded In Shape, Or If Some Process Of Reasoning Should Prove This To Be The Case, It Would Still Not Necessarily Follow That The Land On The Opposite Side Is Not Covered By Masses Of Water."

Not All, Nor Even A Majority, Are Saved. . . They Are Indeed Many, If Regarded By Themselves, But They Are Few In Comparison With The Far Larger Number Of Those Who Shall Be Punished With The Devil.

We Come To God By Love And Not By Navigation.

For What Is Time? ... Who Can Even In Thought Comprehend It, So As To Utter A Word About It? ... If No One Asks Me, I Know: If I Wish To Explain It To One That Asketh, I Know Not.

You Aspire To Great Things? Begin With The Little Ones.

Now, Justification In This Life Is Given To Us According To These Three Things: First By The Laver Of Regeneration By Which All Sins Are Forgiven; Then, By A Struggle With The Faults From Whose Guilt We Have Been Absolved; The Third, When Our Prayer Is Heard, In Which We Say: 'forgive Us Our Debts,' Because However Bravely We Fight Against Our Faults, We Are Men; But The Grace Of God So Aids As We Fight In This Corruptible Body That There Is Reason For His Hearing Us As We Ask Forgiveness.

You Have Found That You Were More Secure Before You Accumulated So Much. See What Greed Has Imposed On You: You Have Filled Your House And Now You Fear Burglars. You Have Hoarded Money And Lost Sleep. See What Greed Has Commanded You: "do This!" And You Did It.

Suppress Prostitution, And Capricious Lusts Will Overthrow Society.

What Art Thou Then, My God? What, But The Lord God? For Who Is Lord But The Lord? Or Who Is God Save Our God? Most Highest, Most Good, Most Potent, Most Omnipotent; Most Merciful, Yet Most Just; Most Hidden, Yet Most Present; Most Beautiful, Yet Most Strong; Stable, Yet Incomprehensible; Unchangeable, Yet All-changing; Never New, Never Old; All-renewing, And Bringing Age Upon The Proud, And They Know It Not; Ever Working, Ever At Rest; Still Gathering, Yet Nothing Lacking; Supporting, Filling, And Overspreading; Creating, Nourishing, And Maturing; Seeking, Yet Having All Things.

Whoever, Then, Thinks That He Understands The Holy Scriptures, Or Any Part Of Them, But Puts Such An Interpretation Upon Them As Does Not Tend To Build Up This Twofold Love Of God And Our Neighbor, Does Not Yet Understand Them As He Ought.

Often A Non-christian Knows Something About The Earth, The Heavens, And The Other Parts Of The World, About The Motions And Orbits Of The Stars And Even Their Sizes And Distances... And This Knowledge He Holds With Certainty From Reason And Experience. It Is Thus Offensive And Disgraceful For An Unbeliever To Hear A Christian Talk Nonsense About Such Things, Claiming That What He Is Saying Is Based In Scripture. We Should Do All That We Can To Avoid Such An Embarrassing Situation, Which People See As Ignorance In The Christian And Laugh To Scorn.

No One Can Begin A New Life, Unless He Repent Of The Old.

Woman Was Merely Man's Helpmate, A Function Which Pertains To Her Alone. She Is Not The Image Of God But As Far As Man Is Concerned, He Is By Himself The Image Of God.

Let Those Who Think I Have Said Too Little And Those Who Think I Have Said Too Much, Forgive Me; And Let Those Who Think I Have Said Just Enough Thank God With Me.

So If You Can Manage It, You Shouldn't Touch Your Partner, Except For The Sake Of Having Children.

For If A Thing Is Not Diminished By Being Shared With Others, It Is Not Rightly Owned If It Is Only Owned And Not Shared.

It Is Easy To Want Things From The Lord And Yet Not Want The Lord Himself, As Though The Gift Could Ever Be Preferable To The Giver.

We Take For Granted The Slow Miracle Whereby Water In The Irrigation Of A Vineyard Becomes Wine. It Is Only When Christ Turns Water Into Wine, In A Quick Motion, As It Were, That We Stand Amazed.

Augustinethe Wounds Of A Friend Are Better Than The Kisses Of An Enemy. To Love With Sternness Is Better Than To Deceive With Gentleness.... In Luke [14:23] It Is Written: "compel People To Come In!" By Threats Of The Wrath Of God, The Father Draws Souls To His Son.

Believe That Others Are Better Than You In The Debths Of Their Soul, Although Outwardly You May Appear Better Than They.

Order Your Soul; Reduce Your Wants; Live In Charity; Associate In Christian Community; Obey The Laws; Trust In Providence.

For So It Is, O Lord My God, I Measure It! But What It Is I Measure, I Do Not Know.

He Who Denies The Existence Of God, Has Some Reason For Wishing That God Did Not Exist.

God Is More Truly Imagined Than Expressed, And He Exists More Truly Than He Is Imagined.

The Wicked Have Told Me Of Things That Delight Them, But Not Such Things As Your Law Has To Tell.

Since You Cannot Do Good To All, You Are To Pay Special Attention To Those Who, By The Accidents Of Time, Or Place, Or Circumstances, Are Brought Into Closer Connection With You.

I Once Laboured Hard For The Free Will Of Man, Until The Grace Of God At Length Overcame Me.

Love Has Reasons That Reason Knows Not.

Between Urine And Filth We Are Born.

There Is No Health In Those Who Are Displeased By An Element In Your Creation, Just As There Was None In Me When I Was Displeased By Many Things You Had Made. Because My Soul Didn't Dare To Say That My God Displeased Me, It Refused To Attribute To You Whatever Was Displeasing.

Christ Is Not Valued At All, Unless He Is Valued Above All.

Christian Inspirational

There Can Only Be Two Basic Loves... The Love Of God Unto The Forgetfulness Of Self, Or The Love Of Self Unto The Forgetfulness And Denial Of God.

As To The Fable That There Are Antipodes, That Is To Say, Men On The Opposite Side Of The Earth Where The Sun Rises When It Sets To Us, Men Who Walk With Their Feet Opposite Ours, That Is On No Ground Credible. Even If Some Unknown Landmass Is There, And Not Just Ocean, There Was Only One Pair Of Original Ancestors, And It Is Inconceivable That Such Distant Regions Should Have Been Peopled By Adam's Descendants.

Oh, Beauty, Ever Ancient And Ever New.

Salvation Is God's Way Of Making Us Real People.

Thou Hast Created Us For Thyself, And Our Heart Is Not Quiet Until It Rests In Thee.

Nothing Conquers Except Truth And The Victory Of Truth Is Love.

You Wish To Be Great, Begin From The Least. You Are Thinking To Construct Some Mighty Fabric In Height; First Think Of The Foundation Of Humility. And How Great Soever A Mass Of Building One May Wish And Design To Place Above It, The Greater The Building Is To Be, The Deeper Does He Dig His Foundation.

You Say To Me 'show Me Your God.' I Answer You, 'everything You See In Your Heart That Might Sadden God, Remove.'

What Is Held By The Whole Church, And That Not As Instituted By Councils, But As A Matter Of Invariable Custom, Is Rightly Held To Have Been Handed Down By Authority.

Why Is It That Man Desires To Be Made Sad, Beholding Doleful And Tragical Things, Which Yet Himself Would By No Means Suffer?

The Peace Of The Celestial City Is The Perfectly Ordered And Harmonious Enjoyment Of God, And Of One Another In God. (city Of God, Book 19)

When We Read A Book, Our Most Essential Trait - Imagination - Is Given The Opportunity To Soar.

Because A Thing Is Eloquently Expressed It Should Not Be Taken To Be As Necessarily True; Nor Because It Is Uttered With Stammering Lips Should It Be Supposed False.

Give Me Chastity And Continence, But Not Yet.

Without God, Man Cannot, And Without Man, God Will Not.

Unjust Laws Aren't Laws At All.

Love, And Do What You Will. If You Keep Silence, Do It Out Of Love. If You Cry Out, Do It Out Of Love. If You Refrain From Punishing, Do It Out Of Love.

Do Not Be Afraid To Throw Yourself On The Lord! He Will Not Draw Back And Let You Fall! Put Your Worries Aside And Throw Yourself On Him; He Will Welcome You And Heal You.

Believe In Order To Understand And Understand In Order To Believe

True Happiness Is To Rejoice In The Truth, For To Rejoice In The Truth Is To Rejoice In You, O God, Who Are The Truth... Those Who Think That There Is Another Kind Of Happiness Look For Joy Elsewhere, But Theirs Is Not True Joy.

The Good Man, Though A Slave, Is Free; The Wicked, Though He Reigns, Is A Slave, And Not The Slave Of A Single Man, But- What Is Worse - The Slave Of As Many Masters As He Has Vices.

Wonderful Is The Depth Of Thy Words, Whose Surface Is Before Us, Gently Leading On The Little Ones: And Yet A Wonderful Deepness, O My God, A Wonderful Deepness. It Is Awe To Look Into It; Even An Awfulness Of Honour, And A Trembling Of Love.

While The Best Men Are Guided By Love, Most Mean Are Still Goaded By Fear.

Your Persistent Longing Is Your Persistent Voice. But When Love Grows Cold, The Heart Grows Silent. Burning Love Is The Outcry Of The Heart! If You Are Filled With Longing All The Time, You Will Keep Crying Out, And If Your Love Perseveres, Your Cry Will Be Heard Without Fail.

Far Be It From Us To Doubt That All Number Is Known To Him 'whose Understanding Is Infinite' (ps. 147:5). The Infinity Of Number, Though There Be No Numbering Of Infinite Numbers, Is Yet Not Incomprehensible By Him Whose Understanding Is Infinite. And Thus, If Everything Which Is Comprehended Is Defined Or Made Finite By The Comprehension Of Him Who Knows It, Then All Infinity Is In Some Ineffable Way Made Finite To God, For It Is Comprehensible By His Knowledge.

He That Is Jealous Is Not In Love.

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.

He Cannot Have God For His Father Who Will Not Have The Church For His Mother.

Nothing, Therefore, Happens Unless The Omnipotent Wills It To Happen. He Either Permits It To Happen, Or He Brings It About Himself.

I Beseech Thee, My God, I Would Fain Know, If So Thou Willest, For What Purpose My Baptism Was Then Deferred? Was It For My Good That The Rein Was Laid Loose, As It Were, Upon Me, For Me To Sin? Or Was It Not Laid Loose? If Not, Why Does It Still Echo In Our Ears On All Sides, "let Him Alone, Let Him Do As He Will, For He Is Not Yet Baptised?" But As To Bodily Health, No One Says, "let Him Be Worse Wounded, For He Is Not Yet Healed." How Much Better Then, Had I Been At Once Healed; And Then, By My Friends' Diligence And My Own, My Soul's Recovered Health Had Been Kept Safe In Thy Keeping Who Gavest It.

What Am I Then, My God? What Is My Nature? A Life Varied, Multifaceted And Truly Immense.

One Loving Heart Sets Another On Fire.

Beware Of Bad Catholics.

Where Was My Heart To Flee For Refuge From My Heart? Whither Was I To Fly, Where I Would Not Follow? In What Place Should I Not Be Prey To Myself?

Believe That You May Understand.

Doubt Is But Another Element Of Faith.

O Lord, Help Me To Be Pure, But Not Yet.

A Brotherly Person Rejoices On My Account When He Approves Me, But When He Disapproves, He Is Loving Me. To Such People I Will Reveal Myself. They Will Take Heart From My Good Traits, And Sigh With Sadness At My Bad Ones. My Good Points Are Instilled By You And Are Your Gifts. My Bad Points Are My Faults And Your Judgements On Them. Let Them Take Heart From The One And Regret The Other. Let Both Praise And Tears Ascend In Your Sight From Brotherly Hearts, Your Censers. ...but You Lord...make Perfect My Imperfections.

Near Our Vineyard There Was A Pear Tree Laden With Fruit That Was Not Attractive In Either Flavor Or Form. One Night, When I [at The Age Of Sixteen] Had Played Until Dark On The Sandlot With Some Other Juvenile Delinquents, We Went To Shake That Tree And Carry Off Its Fruit. From It We Carried Off Huge Loads, Not To Feast On, But To Throw To The Pigs, Although We Did Eat A Few Ourselves. We Did It Just Because It Was Forbidden.

Ninety Percent Of The Time Things Turn Out Worse Than You Thought They Would. The Other Ten Percent Of The Time You Had No Right To Expect That Much.

God Suffers Not The Pain Of Repentance, Nor Is He Deceived In Any Matter, So That He Would Wish To Correct That Wherein He Has Erred. But As When A Man Repents Of Anything, He Wishes To Change What He Has Done; Thus Where You Hear That God Repents, Look For An Actual Change. God Does It Differently From You, Although He Calls It By The Name Of Repentance; For Thou Dost It, Because You Had Erred; While He Does It, Because He Avenges, Or Frees.

We Speak, But It Is God Who Teaches.

Love Can Be Angry... With A Kind Of Anger In Which There Is No Gall, Like The Dove's And Not The Ravens.

Why Persist In Walking Difficult And Toilsome Paths? There Is No Repose Where You Are Seeking It. Search As You Like, It Is Not Where You Are Looking. You Are Seeking A Happy Life In The Realm Of Death, And It Will Not Be Found There. How Could Life Be Happy Where There Is No Life At All?

They, Then, Who Are Destined To Die, Need Not Be Careful To Inquire What Death They Are To Die, But Into What Place Death Will Usher Them.

Every Day My Conscience Makes Confession Relying On The Hope Of Your Mercy As More To Be Trusted Than Its Own Innocence.

I Will Not Live An Instant That I Do Not Live In Love. Whoever Loves Does All Things Without Suffering, Or, Suffering, Loves His Suffering.

Solvitur Ambulando . . . It Is Solved By Walking.

A Christian Is: A Mind Through Which Christ Thinks, A Heart Through Which Christ Loves, A Voice Through Which Christ Speaks, And A Hand Through Which Christ Helps.

There Is Nothing More Serious Than The Sacrilege Of Schism Because There Is No Just Cause For Severing The Unity Of The Church.

Lust Indulged Became Habit, And Habit Unresisted Became Necessity.

Purity And Love

Although Among Heretics And Schismatics There Is The Same Baptism, Nevertheless, The Remission Of Sins Is Not Operative Among Them Because Of The Very Rottenness Of Discord And Wickedness Of Dissension ... Baptism Was In Them, But It Did Not Profit Them Outside The Church ... Outside The Church, Baptism Works Death Because Of Discord.

Love Is The Beauty Of The Soul.

I Do Not Comprehend All That I Am. Is The Mind, Therefore, Too Limited To Possess Itself?

The Playthings Of Our Elders Are Called Business.

Man Has Been Naturally So Created That It Is Advantageous For Him To Be Submissive, But Disastrous For Him To Follow His Own Will, And Not The Will Of His Creator.

Every Infinity... Is Made Finite To God.

If We Did Not Have Rational Souls, We Would Not Be Able To Believe.

And How Shall I Call Upon My God, My God And Lord, Since, When I Call For Him, I Shall Be Calling Him To Myself? And What Room Is There Within Me, Whither My God Can Come Into Me? Whither Can God Come Into Me, God Who Made Heaven And Earth? Is There, Indeed, O Lord My God, Aught In Me That Can Contain Thee?

Though There Are Very Many Nations All Over The Earth, ...there Are No More Than Two Kinds Of Human Society, Which We May Justly Call Two Cities, ...one Consisting Of Those Who Live According To Man, The Other Of Those Who Live According To God ....to The City Of Man Belong The Enemies Of God, ...so Inflamed With Hatred Against The City Of God.

The World's Verdict Is Conclusive.

Where Your Pleasure Is, There Is Your Treasure: Where Your Treasure, There Your Heart; Where Your Heart, There Your Happiness

He Who Labours, Prays.

Every City Is A Living Body.

Take Care Of Your Body As If You Were Going To Live Forever; And Take Care Of Your Soul As If You Were Going To Die Tomorrow.

God Is Best Known In Not Knowing Him.

Where Scripture Speaks Of The World's Creation, It Is Not Plainly Said Whether Or When The Angels Were Created; But If Mention Is Made, It Is Implicit Under The Name Of "heaven," When It Is Said, "in The Beginning God Created The Heavens And The Earth."

Try As They May To Savor The Taste Of Eternity, Their Thoughts Still Twist And Turn Upon The Ebb And Flow Of Things In Past And Future Time. But If Only Their Minds Could Be Seized And Held Steady, They Would Be Still For A While And, For That Short Moment, They Would Glimse The Splendor Of Eternity, Which Is Forever Still.

He Loves Thee Too Little, Who Loves Anything Together With Thee, Which He Loves Not For Thy Sake.

Custom Is Second Nature.

The Most Venerable, Clearly Understood, Enlightened, And Reliable Constant In The World Is Not Only That We Want To Be Happy, But That We Want Only To Be So. Our Very Nature Requires It Of Us.

Hear, O God. Alas, For Man's Sin! So Saith Man, And Thou Pitiest Him; For Thou Madest Him, But Sin Is In Him Thou Madest Not. Who Remindeth Me Of The Sins Of My Infancy? For In Thy Sight None Is Pure From Sin, Not Even The Infant Whose Life Is But A Day Upon The Earth.

Nothing Whatever Pertaining To Godliness And Real Holiness Can Be Accomplished Without Grace .

He Who Thinks He Lives Without Sin Puts Aside Not Sin, But Pardon.

If A Shameless Woman Expects To Be Defiled And Then Dies Of Her Fierce Love Because You Do Not Consent, Will Chastity Also Be Homicide?

Hell Was Made For The Inquisitive.

Grant What Thou Commandest, And Command What Thou Wilt.

Of This I Am Certain, That No One Has Ever Died Who Was Not Destined To Die Some Time. Now The End Of Life Puts The Longest Life On A Par With The Shortest... And Of What Consequence Is It What Kind Of Death Puts An End To Life, Since He Who Has Died Once Is Not Forced To Go Through The Same Ordeal A Second Time? They, Then, Who Are Destined To Die, Need Not Be Careful To Inquire What Death They Are To Die, But Into What Place Death Will Usher Them.

Temporal Punishments Are Suffered By Some In This Life Only, By Some After Death, By Some Both Here And Hereafter, But All Of Them Before That Last And Strictest Judgment. But Not All Who Suffer Temporal Punishments After Death Will Come To Eternal Punishments, Which Are To Follow After That Judgment.

Slavery Is Not Penal In Character And Planned By That Law Which Commands The Preservation Of The Natural Order And Forbids Disturbance.

An Apt And True Reply Was Given To Alexander The Great By A Pirate Who Had Been Seized. For When That King Had Asked The Man What He Meant By Keeping Hostile Possession Of The Sea, He Answered With Bold Pride. "what Thou Meanest By Seizing The Whole Earth; But Because I Do It With A Petty Ship, I Am Called A Robber, Whilst Thou Who Dost It With A Great Fleet Art Styled Emperor."

In All Your Movements, Let Nothing Be Evident That Would Offend The Eyes Of Another.

Ex Malo Bounum (good Out Of Evil).

Narrow Is The Mansion Of My Soul; Enlarge Thou It, That Thou Mayest Enter In. It Is Ruinous; Repair Thou It. It Has That Within Which Must Offend Thine Eyes; I Confess And Know It. But Who Shall Cleanse It? Or To Whom Should I Cry, Save Thee? Lord, Cleanse Me From My Secret Faults, And Spare Thy Servant From The Power Of The Enemy. I Believe, And Therefore Do I Speak.

The Mind Commands The Body, And It Obeys Forthwith; The Mind Commands Itself, And Is Resisted. The Mind Commands The Hand To Be Moved, And Such Readiness Is There That The Command Is Scarce To Be Distinguished From The Obedience. Yet The Mind Is Mind, And The Hand Is Body. The Mind Commands The Mind To Will, And Yet, Though It Be Itself, It Obeyeth Not. Whence This Monstrous Thing? And Why Is It?

This Entire Most Beautiful Order Of Good Things Is Going To Pass Away After Its Measure Has Been Exhausted; For Both Morning And Evening Were Made In Them.

Do You Desire Security? Here You Have It. The Lord Says To You, "i Will Never Abandon You, I Will Always Be With You." If A Good Man Made You Such A Promise, You Would Trust Him. God Makes It, And Do You Doubt? Do You Seek A Support More Sure Than The Word Of God, Which Is Infallible? Surely, He Has Made The Promise, He Has Written It, He Has Pledged His Word For It, It Is Most Certain.

Lord, Thou Madest Us For Thyself, And We Can Find No Rest Till We Find Rest In Thee.

Things Are Solved By Walking Around.

Never Judge A Philosophy By Its Abuse.

O Sacrament Of Love! O Sign Of Unity! O Bond Of Charity! He Who Would Have Life Finds Here Indeed A Life To Live In And A Life To Live By.

The Mind Commands The Body And Is Instantly Obeyed. The Mind Commands Itself And Meets Resistance. The Mind Commands The Hand To Move, And It So Easy That One Hardly Distinguishes The Order From Its Execution. Yet Mind Is Mind And Hand Is Body. The Mind Orders The Mind To Will. The Recipient Of The Order Is Itself, Yet It Does Not Perform It.

What Then Is Time? If No One Asks Me, I Know What It Is. If I Wish To Explain It To Him Who Asks, I Do Not Know.

For Where I Found Truth, There Found I My God, The Truth Itself; Which Since I Learnt, I Have Not Forgotten.

I Make Bold To Say That It Is Profitable For The Proud To Fall, In Order That They May Be Humbled In That For Which They Have Exalted Themselves.

Our Whole Business In This Life Is To Restore To Health The Eye Of The Heart Whereby God May Be Seen.

Do You Wish To Be Great? Then Begin By Being Little. 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. Modest Humility Is Beauty's Crown.

What Is Perfection In Love? Love Your Enemies In Such A Way That You Would Desire To Make Them Your Brothers ... For So Did He Love, Who Hanging On The Cross, Said "father, Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do." (luke 23:34)

To Touch God A Little With Our Mind Is A Great Blessing, To Grasp Him Is Impossible.

As To Those Other Things Which We Hold On The Authority, Not Of Scripture, But Of Tradition, And Which Are Observed Throughout The Whole World, It May Be Understood That They Are Held As Approved And Instituted Either By The Apostles Themselves, Or By Plenary Councils, Whose Authority In The Church Is Most Useful, E.g. The Annual Commemoration, By Special Solemnities, Of The Lord's Passion, Resurrection, And Ascension, And Of The Descent Of The Holy Spirit From Heaven, And Whatever Else Is In Like Manner Observed By The Whole Church Wherever It Has Been Established.

Peace In Society Depends Upon Peace In The Family.

He Indeed Possesses The Character Imposed On Him, But He Wanders As A Renegade.

The Honors Of This World, What Are They But Puff, And Emptiness, And Peril Of Falling?

Falling In Love

Punishment, That Is The Justice For The Unjust.

Love And Say It With Your Life.

Love God, Then Do What You Will.

There Are Wolves Within, And There Are Sheep Without.

If We Tread Our Vices Under Our Feet, We Make Of Them A Ladder By Which To Rise To Higher Things.

Not To Give To Those In Need What Is To You Superfluous Is Akin To Fraud.

If You Excuse Yourself In Confession, You Shut Up Sin Within Your Soul, And Shut Out Pardon.

The Heart Of Man Is Restless Until He Finds Rest In Thee.

Although God Is All Powerful, He Is Unable To Give More; Though Supremely Wise, He Knows Not How To Give More; Though Vastly Rich, He Has Not More To Give.

I Have Said Before, And I Shall Say Again, That I Write This Book For Love Of Your Love.

Oh, God, To Know You Is Life. To Serve You Is Freedom. To Praise You Is The Soul's Joy And Delight. Guard Me With The Power Of Your Grace Here And In All Places. Now And At All Times, Forever. Amen.

The Angels Surround And Help The Priest When He Is Celebrating Mass.

Great Are Those Two Gifts, Wisdom And Continence: Wisdom, Forsooth, Whereby We Are Formed In The Knowledge Of God; Continence Whereby We Are Not Conformed To This World.

Knowledge Of God

A Wanton Eye Is A Messenger Of An Unchaste Heart.

I Found Thee Not, O Lord, Without, Because I Erred In Seeking Thee Without That Wert Within.

Why Is It That We Remember With Difficulty And Without Difficulty Forget? Learn With Difficulty And Without Difficulty Remain Ignorant?

Though In The Order Of Nature Angels Rank Above Men, Yet, By Scale Of Justice, Good Men Are Of Greater Value Than Bad Angels.

You Called And Shouted And Burst My Deafness. You Flashed, Shone, And Scattered My Blindness. You Breathed Odors, And I Drew In Breath And Panted For You. I Tasted, And I Hunger And Thirst. You Touched Me, And I Burned For Your Peace.

Hunger And Thirst

It Seems To Me That An Unjust Law Is No Law At All.

Moral Responsibility

Temperance Is A Disposition That Restrains Our Desires For Things Which It Is Base To Desire.

Faith Is To Believe What You Do Not See; The Reward Of This Faith Is To See What You Believe.

What You Are Must Always Displease You, If You Would Attain To That Which You Are Not.

I Would Not Believe In The Gospel, If The Authority Of The Catholic Church Did Not Bid Me To Do So.

Keep On Adding, Keep On Walking, Keep On Progressing: Do Not Delay On The Road, Do Not Go Back, Do Not Deviate.

All Plenty Which Is Not My God Is Poverty To Me.

Overconsumption

I Do Not Doubt That All Those Who Have Received Baptism Anywhere And From Whomever Do Have Baptism, As Long As It Was Consecrated With The Words Of The Gospel And They Received It Without Pretence On Their Part And With Some Degree Of Faith. However, It Would Not Avail Them For Their Spiritual Salvation If They Were Lacking In That Charity By Which They Might Be Implanted In The Catholic Church.

A Person Can Do Other Things Against His Will, But Belief Is Possible Only In One Who Is Willing.

Samson Crushed Himself And His Enemies To Death Beneath The Ruins Of A Building. He Can Only Be Excused On The Grounds That The Spirit Of The Lord, Who Wrought Miracles Through Him, Had Bidden Him To Do So. But, Apart From Such Men Excepted By The Command Of A Just Law In General Or Of God, The Very Source Of Justice, In A Special Case, Any One Who Kills A Human Being, Himself Or Another, Is Guilty Of Murder.

If You Lose Your Soul, There Is A Danger Of Its Being Destroyed. Therefore, You May Not Love It, Since You Do Not Want It To Be Destroyed. But In Not Wanting It To Be Destroyed, You Love It.

Can Any Praise Be Worthy Of The Lord's Majesty?

No One Knows What He Himself Is Made Of, Except His Own Spirit Within Him, Yet There Is Still Some Part Of Him Which Remains Hidden Even From His Own Spirit; But You, Lord, Know Everything About A Human Being Because You Have Made Him...let Me, Then, Confess What I Know About Myself, And Confess Too What I Do Not Know, Because What I Know Of Myself I Know Only Because You Shed Light On Me, And What I Do Not Know I Shall Remain Ignorant About Until My Darkness Becomes Like Bright Noon Before Your Face.

Your Wisdom Should Be Without Pride.

We Must Be On Our Guard Against Giving Interpretations Which Are Hazardous Or Opposed To Science, And So Exposing The Word Of God To The Ridicule Of Unbelievers.

Nothing So Clearly Distinguishes A Spiritual Man As His Treatment Of An Erring Brother.

Teach Correctly... Find Delight In Contemplation.

Free Curiosity Has Greater Power To Stimulate Learning Than Rigorous Coercion. Nevertheless, The Free Ranging Flux Of Curiosity Is Channeled By Discipline Under Your Law.

The Law Is Not In Fault, But Our Evil And Wicked Nature; Even As A Heap Of Lime Is Still And Quiet Until Water Is Poured On It, But Then It Begins To Smoke And Burn, Not From The Fault Of The Water, But From The Nature Of The Lime, Which Will Not Endure It.

God Bids You Not To Commit Lechery, That Is, Not To Have Sex With Any Woman Except Your Wife. You Ask Of Her That She Should Not Have Sex With Anyone Except You -- Yet You Are Not Willing To Observe The Same Restraint In Return.

Give Me Yourself, O My God, Give Yourself Back To Me. Lo, I Love You, But If My Love Is Too Mean, Let Me Love More Passionately. I Cannot Gauge My Love, Nor Know How Far It Fails, How Much More Love I Need For My Life To Set Its Course Straight Into Your Arms, Never Swerving Until Hidden In The Covert Of Your Face.

God Has No Need Of Your Money, But The Poor Have. You Give It To The Poor, And God Receives It.

When I Come To Be United To Thee With All My Being, Then There Will Be No More Pain And Toil For Me, And My Life Shall Be A Real Life, Being Wholly Filled By Thee.

In Our Own Times, You See, An Emperor Came To The City Of Rome, Where There's The Temple Of An Emperor, Where There's A Fisherman's Tomb. And So That Pious And Christian Emperor, Wishing To Beg For Health, For Salvation From The Lord, Did Not Proceed To The Temple Of A Proud Emperor, But To The Tomb Of A Fisherman, Where He Could Imitate That Fisherman In Humility, So That He, Being Thus Approached, Might Then Obtain Something From The Lord, Which A Haughty Emperor Would Be Quite Unable To Earn.

God's Faithful Servant Has No Desire For People To Say Or To Give To Him, Or What He Likes To Hear Or See, For His First And Greatest Aim Is To Hear What Is Most Pleasing To God.

Faithful Servants

The Human Race Is Inquisitive About Other People's Lives, But Negligent To Correct Their Own.

Furthermore, What Profit Was It To Me That I, Rascally Slave Of Selfish Ambitions That I Was, Read And Understood By Myself As Many Books As I Could Get Concerning The So-called Liberal Arts?...i Had Turned My Back To The Light And My Face To The Things It Illuminated, And So No Light Played Upon My Own Face, Or On The Eyes That Perceived Them.

It Is A Sin To Judge Any Man By His Post

I Thought That Continence Was A Matter Of Our Own Strength, And I Knew That I Had Not The Strength: For In My Utter Foolishness I Did Not Know The Word Of Your Scripture That None Can Be Continent Unless You Give It.

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