Saintliness Quotes

“Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all of the inhibitions and preconceptions of their era. They have been able to sing, to laugh, and to pray out loud; they have danced and shared what Saint Paul called 'the madness of saintliness'. They have been joyful - because those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender.”
― Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

“The Rose does not preen herself to catch my eye. She blooms because she blooms. A saint is a saint until he knows he is one.”
― Anthony de Mello, One Minute Wisdom

“Saintliness is also a temptation.”
― Jean Anouilh, Becket

“A saint is not a person who does not sin; but a sinner who never stops doing good”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom

“Don't reach for the halo too soon. You have plenty of time to enjoy yourself, even a little maliciously sometimes, before you settle down to being a saint.”
― Ellis Peters, Monk's Hood

“Calamity with us, is made an excuse for doing wrong. With them, it is erected into a reason for their doing right. This is really the justice of rich to poor, and I protest against it because it is so.”
― Charles Dickens

“We are moved by self-interest, even when we seek to do good to others.”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom

“The empire of the sky occupies territory emptied of vitality. Heavenly imperialism aims at biological neutrality.
How does music suck our blood? Man cannot live without support in space. But music annihilates space completely. The only art capable of bringing comfort, yet it opens up more wounds than all the others!
Music is the sound track of askesis. Could one make love after Bach? Not even after Handel, whose unearthliness does not have a heavenly perfume. Music is a tomb of delights, beatitude which buries us.
Saintliness also draws blood. We lose it in direct proportion to our longing for heaven. The roads to heaven have been worn smooth by all the erring instincts. Indeed, heaven was born of these errors.”
― Emil M. Cioran, Tears and Saints

“Saintliness doesn't mean flawlessness, saintliness means being aware of the flaws and mending them as you grow through life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Heart Force One: Need No Gun to Defend Society

“Saintliness interests me for the delirium of self-aggrandizement hidden beneath its meekness, it's Will to Power masked by goodness. Saints have used their deficiencies to their best advantage. Yet their megalomania is undefinable, strange, and moving.”
― Emil M. Cioran, Tears and Saints