Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.

If But for the Mercy of my Lord, that my paradise becomes a woman's hell.

We are too weak to discover the truth by reason alone

Blessed is he who devotes his life to great and noble ends, and who forms his well-considered plans with deliberate wisdom.

Let necessity, and not your will, slay the enemy who fights against you.

You say to me 'Show me your God.' I answer you, 'Everything you see in your heart that might sadden God, remove.'

I do not doubt that all those who have received Baptism anywhere and from whomever do have Baptism, as long as it was consecrated with the words of the Gospel and they received it without pretence on their part and with some degree of faith. However, it would not avail them for their spiritual salvation if they were lacking in that charity by which they might be implanted in the Catholic Church.