Somehow Jesus's reputation has survived all the embarrassing things that Christians have done in his name.

Mother Theresa always said, "Calcuttas are everywhere if only we have eyes to see. Find your Calcutta."

Liturgy and worship were never meant to be confined to the cathedrals and sanctuaries. Liturgy at its best can be performed like a circus or theater - making the Gospel visible as a witness to the world around us.

And since we are people of expectation, we are so convinced that another world is coming that we start living as if it were already here.

One by one, these disciples would infect the nations with grace. It wasn't a call to take the sword or the throne and force the world to bow. Rather, they were to live the contagious love of God, to woo the nations into a new future.

When we ask God to move a mountain, God may give us a shovel.

I think they [ monastic folks ] were going to the desert to build a new society and in a sense to build a new world, a new culture together where it was easier to be good and holy.