The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life.

The more you rejoice in your own forgiveness, the quicker you will be to forgive others.

You can't live the Christian life without a band of Christian friends, without a family of believers in which you find a place.

Only with time do we really learn who the other person is and come to love the person for him- or herself and not just for the feelings and experiences they give us.

If I have the smile of God, all other frowns are inconsequential.

It seems almost oxymoronic to believe that this new idealism has led to a new pessimism about marriage, but that is exactly what has happened. In generations past there was far less talk about "compatibility" and finding the ideal soul mate. Today we are looking for someone who accepts us as we are and fulfills our desires, and this creates an unrealistic set of expectations that frustrates both the searchers and the searched for.

The world is polarizing over religion. It is getting both more religious and less religious at the same time.