To give, and not demand that others receive . . . that is the crossover point to maturity. . .

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.

All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain.

If you do not transform your wounds you will transmit them.

I think it's almost necessary for most people to have the freedom to pull back, and then re-enter at an adult level, where they are neither playing the victim nor creating victims, but just participating in calm, adult behavior. Because an awful lot of churches just aren't there at adult Christianity, this seems to be the norm anymore.

every time God forgives us, God is saying that God's own rules do not matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with us.

God created us for love, for union, for forgiveness and compassion and, yet, that has not been our storyline. That has not been our history.