Inspirational thoughts

“Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sm 16:7). And Mary’s heart was fully disposed to the fulfilment of the divine will. This is why the Blessed Virgin is the model of Christian expectation and hope… In her heart there is no shade of selfishiness: she desires nothing for herself except God’s glory and human salvation. For her, the very privilege of being preserved from original sin is not a reason to boast, but one for total service to her Son’s redemptive mission.” St. John Paul II

“The important thing is to stop lying to yourself.  A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself as well as others.  When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love and, in order to divert himself, having no love in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest forms of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal, satisfying his vices.  And it all comes from lying – lying to others and to yourself.”  Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “Brothers Karamazov”

“God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.” St. Augustine

I’ve spent my life trying to be better than I was, and I am a brother to all who share the same aspiration.

“It’s much better to do good in a way that no one knows anything about it.” — Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

“Athletic competition develops some of the noblest qualities and talents in people. They must learn the secret of their own bodies, their strengths and weaknesses, their struggles and breaking points. They must develop the capacity to concentrate and the habit of self-discipline through long hours of exercise and fatigue as they learn to take account of their own strength. They must also learn how to preserve energy for the final moment when victory will depend upon a burst of speed or a last push of strength.” St. John Paul II

“We desire to be able to welcome Jesus at Christmas-time, not in a cold manger of our heart, but in a heart full of love and humility, a heart so pure, so immaculate, so warm with love for one another.” — St. Teresa of Calcutta

“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” St. Augustine

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.” – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

“Hear the other side.” St. Augustine