Status Updates From Human Person

"...it is clear what Jesus meant by love of God: not a feeling, an emotional rapture, nor yet mystical bliss, but only obedience and service." (loc 4407)

"Daily annoyances, rather than weighing us down, now become secret passageways to the Scriptures and to the natural contours of mercy." (loc 4393)

"If the struggle for purity of heart dwindles to self-analysis and continued self-reproach, falls will be more frequent. Purity of heart is not found primarily in what we turn away from, but in Whom we turn toward: 'The pure heart sees God because it turns its gaze away from everything else.'" (loc 4378)

"The act of mercy we perform toward our neighbor in the name of Christ, however humble and hidden, is precisely the key which opens our hearts to the divine Trinity." (loc 4311)

"By modest disposition the Christian startles the world into new ways of thinking and living. His simplicity intensifies his reserve, and he learns in a deep way that 'holiness is defined, not by any mysterious aura or hidden powers, but by the conformity of the mind and the actions of a man to the objective truth of which God is the source.'" (loc 4241)

"The tension between craving and contentment is very real for those who long to follow Jesus. The resolution of this tension in trust makes the Christian more mysterious and elusive to the world." (loc 4231)

"The person who looks at the world through tears can perhaps 'see things that dry-eyed' people do not."

"Grief reveals a layer of meaning in the last place we would expect to find it: on the other side of death and loss. Our daily life is filled with distractions, pursuits, and anxieties. 'The solitude of suffering which accompanies the uniqueness' of each death interrupts those daily pursuits, and allows the person to acquire 'a grateful eye.'" (loc 4171)

"Authentic grief means recognizing love as the other side of grief. It is necessary to experience our authentic grief for as long as we need to. If we bypass grief, we miss the full extent of the love we feel for the one who has died. Love underlies death and stands at the end of the road of grief." (loc 4165)

"Faith is never simply a private system of beliefs." (loc 4143)

"Speculation in the true sense is gazing upon the world, patterns, and relationships in a way that brings the deep meaning of such practical matters to light." (loc 4088)

"The gift of knowledge moves us away from utilitarian knowledge to knowledge as a right judgment about what is believed." (loc 4075)

"When the wicked appear 'what the Lord does is simply laugh ... for all their threats and pretensions, there is really nothing to them. To react to them with anger and outrage is to ascribe to them more substance than is their due.'" (loc 4056)

"Instead of a self-centered justice and overt concern for one's own rights, a just person begins to see justice as other-centered." (loc 4031)