No human being escapes the necessity of conceiving some good outside himself towards which his thought turns in a movement of desire, supplication, and hope.

In the Church, considered as a social organism, the mysteries inevitably degenerate into beliefs.

When an apprentice gets hurt, or complains of being tired, the workmen and peasants have this fine expression: "It is the trade entering his body." Each time that we have some pain to go through, we can say to ourselves quite truly that it is the universe, the order and beauty of the world, and the obedience of God that are entering our body.

Love consents to all and commands only those who consent. Love is abdication. God is abdication.

A right which goes unrecognized by anybody is not worth very much.

A man whose mind feels that it is captive would prefer to blind himself to the fact. But if he hates falsehood, he will not do so; and in that case he will have to suffer a lot. He will beat his head against the wall until he faints. He will come to again

The world needs saints who have genius, just as a plague-stricken town needs doctors.