Sin happens whenever we refuse to keep growing.

Prayer is sitting in the silence until it silences us, choosing gratitude until we are grateful, and praising God until we ourselves are an act of praise.

When you look at the dominance of Notre Dame, the love of Mary in almost every European country, psychologically, had to come from this recognition of the feminine mediating divine love. And for many people in history, it was clearly the preferred way because women raised most people, not men, so their first experience of unconditional love, of touch, of caring, of nurturing very often came from a woman - that got easily transferred to Mary.

We are usually on bended knee before laws or angrily reacting against them, both immature responses.

In the last years, I've been reading the Eastern fathers, the older mystical writings, a rich, deep, and truly traditional Christianity which most Western Christians know almost nothing about. It is very mystical and prayer centered Christianity, with a strong social conscience.

I decided years ago that if I'm going to keep teaching contemplation, then the last years of my life should be contemplative.

The big truth for men is that often we have to leave home in the first half of life before we can return home at a later stage and find our soul there.