Edward Sri > Quotes

“It is only by learning to give up our freedom to do whatever we, in our fallen human nature, want, and by entrusting our lives entirely to a God who knows what is truly best for us and desires our happiness that we discover the deeper freedom to live life to the fullest—a freedom that is possessed only when we live totally in the Lord’s plan.”
― Edward Sri, Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross

“Similarly, unless individuals are trained in generosity in their so-called private lives, they are going to do selfish things that will hurt other people. Unless individuals are formed in courage and taught to endure suffering for the sake of what is good, they will do cowardly things that hurt other people. Unless individuals are trained in chastity, sobriety, and other forms of self-control, they will do out-of-control things that use and hurt other people. Social harmony is built on the inner harmony of individuals. A great society is built not just on good laws but fundamentally on men and women of great moral character.”
― Edward Sri, Who Am I to Judge?: Responding to Relativism with Logic and Love

“Only when we are convinced, like Mary was, of how little we can really do on our own and how utterly dependent we are on God can the Lord begin to act in magnificent ways in us and through us.”
― Edward Sri, Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross

“True love involves virtue, friendship and the pursuit of a common good. Both people are focused on a common goal outside of themselves. In Christian marriage, for example, a husband and wife unite themselves to the common aim of helping each other grow in holiness, deepening their own union and raising children. Most of all, true love involves the selfless pursuit of what is best for the other person, even if it means sacrificing one’s own preferences and desires—love in the sense of ti voglio bene.”
― Edward Sri, Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility

“Mary will be required to exhibit total trust in God, which means “to abandon oneself” to the living God and the mystery of his will. Indeed, Mary’s faith will be tested over and over again. And each time she will pass the test, “accepting fully and with a ready heart everything that is decreed in the divine plan.”†”
― Edward Sri, Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross

“When we profess our faith at Mass in the Creed, we publicly stand before the whole congregation and Almighty God and plant the flag with Jesus. We solemnly declare that we will strive not to live like the rest of the world, but to give our wholehearted allegiance to the Lord: “I believe in one God...”
― Edward Sri, A Biblical Walk Through The Mass: Understanding What We Say And Do In The Liturgy

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt 6:4-5).”
― Edward Sri, A Biblical Walk Through The Mass: Understanding What We Say And Do In The Liturgy

“In the Bible, being made in tbe image of someone else implies a father-and-son relationship. In fact, the next time this word is used in Genesis, it describes tbe relationship between Adam and his own son, Seth: Adam "became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth" (Gn 5:3).”
― Edward Sri

“In Semitic usage, a name expresses the reality of the persons and things to which it refers. As a result, the title “full of grace” shows the deepest dimension of the young woman of Nazareth’s personality: fashioned by grace and the object of divine favor to the point that she can be defined by this special predilection.§”
― Edward Sri, Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross

“From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we can identify three key ways to grow in virtue: (1) educating ourselves in the virtues, (2) putting in much effort, and (3) relying on God’s grace (see 1810-11).”
― Edward Sri, The Art of Living: The Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love

“continuity between the two main parts of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.”
― Edward Sri, A Biblical Walk Through The Mass: Understanding What We Say And Do In The Liturgy

“liturgical memorial brings the past and present together, making the long-ago event mystically present for the current generation.”
― Edward Sri, A Biblical Walk Through The Mass: Understanding What We Say And Do In The Liturgy

“As some have noted, in the traditional form of the rosary, the transition from the fifth Joyful Mystery to the first Sorrowful Mystery seemed rather abrupt.”
― Edward Sri, Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth

“Being created in the image and likeness of this Trinidadian God suggests that we’re made to live like him — to live in relationship and to live a life of self-giving love. Written in the fabric of our being is this law of self-giving. This is what we’re made for. Only when we give ourselves in love to God and others will we find our happiness.”
― Edward Sri, Who Am I to Judge?: Responding to Relativism with Logic and Love

“Love consists of a commitment which limits one’s freedom—it is a giving of the self, and to give oneself means just that: to limit one’s freedom on behalf of another. Limitation of one’s freedom might seem to be something negative and unpleasant, but love makes it a positive, joyful and creative thing. Freedom exists for the sake of love.”
― Edward Sri, The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life

“we are all called to be like Mary and follow Jesus to the cross. If we desire to magnify God in our souls, we, too, must be willing to draw near to Christ’s cross and be pierced by the sword. Jesus is looking for souls who are willing to follow him in his passion.”
― Edward Sri, Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross

“If you had to articulate the heart of the Gospel message, what aspects of the faith would you focus on?”
― Edward Sri, Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel: Rediscovering the Heart of a Disciple

“A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Ps 51:17).”
― Edward Sri, A Biblical Walk Through The Mass: Understanding What We Say And Do In The Liturgy

“As the New Adam, Jesus confronts the curses laid on Adam that have plagued the human family ever since the Fall. Like Adam, Jesus, on the night before He died, enters a garden-the Garden of Gethsemane-where He is tested (Mt 26:36-46). There, He takes on Adam's sweat as He experiences sweat-like drops of blood falling from His face. On Good Friday, Jesus symbolically takes on the curse of Adam's thorns as He is handed over to the Roman soldiers, who place a crown of thorns on His head (Mt 27:29). Finally, Jesus even takes on the curse of Adam's death as He goes to a tree-the wood of the cross-and dies on Calvary. And, like Adam, Jesus is placed in the cursed ground, where He is buried in a tomb. It is precisely from the darkness of that tomb in the cursed ground that Jesus, the Light of the World, rises victoriously from the dead on Easter Sunday to shine the light of salvation at the dawn of the new creation.”
― Edward Sri, The Real Story: Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible

“To get ready for the reality of marriage and family life, one of the best things you can do is go out of your way to find opportunities to work together to serve others as a couple. Volunteer together at your parish. Help serve the poor together. Offer to babysit for families. In other words, do not just spend alone time together. Spend some time together serving others because that’s what real marriage and family life is all about. Intentionally seek opportunities not just to gaze into each other’s eyes, but also to stand shoulder to shoulder looking outward toward serving some good outside of yourselves—whether it be with your work, church, friends, or family.”
― Edward Sri, Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility

“True love involves virtue, friendship, and the pursuit of a common good. Both people are focused on a common goal outside of themselves.”
― Edward Sri, Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility

“Under the appearances of bread and wine, Christ’s Body and Blood are made truly present to us today in the Mass. In this Holy Communion, the divine light of Christ shines most intimately in the caverns of our souls, drawing us into deeper unity with Our Lord.”
― Edward Sri, Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth

“We are enslaved by a hundred fears, insecurities, and weaknesses. Yet we think we are free and in control of our lives.”
― Edward Sri, Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross

“For Genesis 1, therefore, to proclaim that Israel's God is the one true God who created the sun, moon, stars, sea creatures, and all the animals would have been a countercultural and subversive message. Genesis would be highlighting how the very gods that the pagans worship are actually not deities at all, but merely creatures of Israel's God, the one and only true God!”
― Edward Sri, The Real Story: Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible

“The initial grace of justification—forgiveness of sins and becoming God’s sons and daughters—is freely bestowed on us by the Father. There is nothing we can do to earn it. But “staying in” covenant with God comes with great responsibility. We must be faithful to the covenant family life. We must never presume on our salvation, thinking we could never turn away from this gift. Cooperating with God’s grace, we must endeavor to grow and mature as God’s children, living ever more in imitation of Christ.”
― Edward Sri, Love Unveiled: The Catholic Faith Explained

“Some early Christians saw Christ’s humble beginnings as a foreshadowing of how he continues to meet us in the Eucharist. For example, St. Cyril of Alexandria said that when we sin, we fail to live out our dignity as humans made in the image of God, and we instead become like animals, living a life of self-gratification. Yet while animals feed from an ordinary manger, we as sinners approach Christ in a feeding trough that is much more substantial. Jesus feeds us not with hay but with his own Body and Blood in the Eucharist.6”
― Edward Sri, Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth