If I had only one sermon to preach it would be a sermon against pride.

Catholicism is not ritualism; it may in the future be fighting some sort of superstitious and idolatrous exaggeration of ritual. Catholicism is not asceticism; it has again and again in the past repressed fanatical and cruel exaggerations of asceticism. Catholicism is not mere mysticism; it is even now defending human reason against the mere mysticism of the Pragmatists.

The point is not that this world is too sad to love or too glad not to love; the point is that when you do love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more.

You may think a crime horrible because you could never commit it. I think it is horrible because I could commit it.

The truth is that there are no things for which men will make such herculean efforts as the things of which they know they are unworthy.

The most dangerous criminal now is the entirely lawless modern philosopher. Compared to him, burglars and bigamists are essentially moral men.

Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.