It is in the everyday and the commonplace that we learn patience, acceptance, and contentment.

It is Stoicism that demands a closed universe, not the Bible.

Silence is one of the deepest Disciplines of the Spirit, simply because it puts the stopper on all self-justificat ion

God's heart is the most sensitive and tender of all. No act goes unnoticed, no matter how insignificant or small.

The person who does not seek the kingdom first does not seek it at all, regardless of how worthy the idolatry that he or she has substituted for it.

The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture.

Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honour and recognition. It will devise subtle, religiously acceptable means to call attention to the service rendered. If we stoutly refuse to give in to this lust of the flesh, we crucify it. Every time we crucify the flesh, we crucify our pride and arrogance.