Daniel Coutz

“Resurrection in and of itself was not unheard of; after all, gods who died and rose again were ubiquitous in the ancient Near East. 22 The unique feature of the Christian proclamation is the shocking claim that God is fully acting, not only in Jesus’ resurrected life, but especially in Jesus’ death on the cross. To say the same thing in another way, the death of Jesus in and of itself would not be anything remarkable. What is remarkable is that the Creator of the universe is shown forth in this gruesome death.”
― Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ

“While it is totally impossible for Whites to know the pressure of being Black in a world in which Whites define normality—and based on that definition, Blacks are abnormal in all things and in all ways—it is critical that Whites see Black suffering and pain as reality before Whites can enter into their pain.”
― Cheri L. Mills, Lent of Liberation: Confronting the Legacy of American Slavery

“Vatican II, however, moved beyond behavior modification to motivation and inspiration, and for that reason conscience, a subject that like holiness was never mentioned in previous councils, emerged as an important theme at Vatican II.”
― John W. O'Malley, When Bishops Meet: An Essay Comparing Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II

“I don't want it to have happened. I want it to not have happened, but if you are grateful for your life, which I think is a positive thing to do, not everybody is--and I am not always--but it's the most positive thing to do, then you have to be grateful for all of it.

You can't pick and choose what you're grateful for.

So, what do you get from loss? You get awareness of other people's loss, which allows you to connect with that other person, which allows you to love more deeply and to understand what it's like to be a human being, if it's true that all humans suffer.”
― Stephen Colbert