#ian

The Church does not dispense the sacrament of baptism in order to acquire for herself an increase in membership but in order to consecrate a human being to God and to communicate to that person the divine gift of birth from God. ↗

— Hans Urs von Balthasar

#birth #catholicism #christianity #faith #god

God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless. ↗

— Chester Nimitz

#courage #duty #hope #moral-courage #war

Feeling offended is invigorating. Feeling offended is a reassuring sensation. It's easier than asking ourselves if the redeeming love of God is evident in the way we communicate with people. ↗

— David Dark

#post-modern-christianity #communication

Loving Jesus is not a technique. Do not think about how you can communicate a passion for Jesus to others. Be passionate about him. Meditate on Jesus until he captures your heart afresh. ↗

— Tim Chester

#communication

Then the soul, freed from vice, purged by studies of true philosophy, versed in spiritual life, and practised in matters of the intellect, devoted to the contemplation of her own substance, as if awakened from deepest sleep, opens those eyes which all possess but few use, and sees in herself a ray of that light which is the true image of the angelic beauty communicated to her, and of which she then communicates a faint shadow to the body. ↗

— Baldassare Castiglione

#courtier #light #philosophy #religion #vice

Simply to render oneself able to understand what other Christian thinkers have themselves come to understand and to more or less felicitously communicate requires that one's mind not be a blank slate but already properly formed, disciplined, and exercised. ↗

— Gregory B. Sadler

#christian-thought #discipline #intellect #intellectual-life #theology

Wealth is a relational barrier. It keeps us from having open relationships. ↗

— Randy Alcorn

#communication #honesty #openness #relationships #stewardship

Freedom is not doing what we want, but what we should. ↗

— Victor Manuel Rivera

#freedom #leadership #freedom

You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence ↗

— Abraham Lincoln

#courage

From a distance,' he says, 'my car looks just like every other car on the freeway, and Sarah Byrnes looks just like the rest of us. And if she's going to get help, she'll get it from herself or she'll get it from us. Let me tell you why I brought this up. Because the other day when I saw how hard it was for Mobe to go to the hospital to see her, I was embarrassed that I didn't know her better, that I ever laughed at one joke about her. I was embarrassed that I let some kid go to school with me for twelve years and turned my back on pain that must be unbearable. I was embarrassed that I haven't found a way to include her somehow the way Mobe has.' Jesus. I feel tears welling up, and I see them running down Ellerby's cheeks. Lemry better get a handle on this class before it turns into some kind of therapy group. So,' Lemry says quietly, 'your subject will be the juxtaposition of man and God in the universe?' Ellerby shakes his head. 'My subject will be shame. ↗

— Chris Crutcher

#fiction #moral-courage #profound #courage