“名也者，相轧也；知也者，争之器。二者凶器，非所以尽行也。(Fame is the reason for mutual attack, knowledge is a means for infighting. Both are lethal weapons, not to be pursued fully.)”
—庄子 (Zhuang Zhi)
November 2008
2 posts
“What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.”
—Robert Francis Kennedy
October 2008
1 post
“It is a mark of extreme meekness, even in the presence of one’s offender, to be peacefully and lovingly disposed towards him in one’s heart; then it is certainly a mark of hot temper when a person continues to quarrel and rage against his offender, both by words and gestures, even when by himself.”
— Saint John Climacus
March 2008
6 posts
“Fear is the first temptation which the enemy (Satan) presents to those who have resolved to serve God, for as soon as they are shown what perfection requires of them they think, “Alas, I shall never be able to do it.”
—Saint Francis de Sales
“Jesus of Nazareth, at the end of his earthly pilgrimage, had to become completely one with the Cross, joining himself to it, merging with it, in a single sign of salvation for the world.”
—Pope John Paul II (Good Friday, 2003)
“We always have two secretaries: the devil, who writes down our bad actions, to accuse us of them; and our good angel, who writes down our good ones, to justify us at the Day of Judgment.”
—Saint John Vianney
“The Name of Jesus, written in the heart of the just, gives them an astonishing boldness to counter the blows of every woe.”
—Saint Augustine
“The image of the disciples on the way to Emmaus can serve as a fitting guide for all of us. Amid our questions and difficulties, and even our bitter disappointments, the divine Wayfarer continues to walk at our side, opening to us the Scriptures and leading us to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of God.”
—Pope John Paul II
“A person is at the “beginning” of a prayer when he succeeds in removing distractions which at the beginning beset him. He is at the “middle” of the prayer when the mind concentrates only on what he is meditating and contemplating. He reaches the “end” when, with the Lord, the prayer enraptures him.”
—Saint John Climacus
