The entire life of Jesus isn't the story of somebody climbing up a ladder; it's a picture of someone coming down-a series of demotions. The problem with spending our lives climbing up the ladder is that we will go right past Jesus, for He's coming down.

What matters is not the accomplishments you achieve; what matters is the person you become.

The ministry of bearing with one another is learning to hear God speak through difficult people.

If we do not become changed from the inside-out - if we don't morph - we will be tempted to find external methods to satisfy our need to feel that we're different from those outside the faith. If we cannot be transformed, we will settle for being informed or conformed.

Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.

True joy, as it turns out, comes only to those who have devoted their lives to something greater than personal happiness. This is most visible in extraordinary lives, in saints and martyrs. But it is no less true for ordinary people like us.

When we live in the love of God, we begin to pay attention to people the way God pays attention to us.