a spiritual life without prayer is like the gospel without Christ.

In this crazy world, there's an enormous distinction between good times and bad, between sorrow and joy. But in the eyes of God, they're never separated. Where there is pain, there is healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom.

The crisis of our prayer life is that our minds may be filled with ideas of God while our hearts remain far from him.

I've had a tremendous problem with depression in my life. I'd rather not talk about it, because it's over. But depression is real.

People have filled an enormously important role in my life - more than books! For me, it's not the formal advising or the therapy that meant so much. It was more the fact that someone committed himself or herself to me. They were really interested in my life; they wanted to know what I was doing; they followed me; they dared to confront and challenge me.

Community life is not easy for somebody like me, who is used to living by himself and doing what he wants. It's a demanding life, and you quickly get in touch with your own handicaps and weaknesses.

Somewhere we know that without silence, words lose their meaning.