Food for thought

It is God’s spirit
That broods upon the chaos we have wrought,
Disturbing its static wrongs,
And stirring into life the formless beginnings
Of the new and better world.
 

We are told by the Psalmist first to leave evil and then to do good. I will add that if you find it difficult to follow this advice, you may first do good, and the evil will automatically depart from you.
(Rabbi Yitzchak Meir of Ger)

All religious language is by necessity metaphor and simile, which leaves both the mind and the heart free to hear all that God might be telling us through a text.
(Richard Rohr)
 
The limits of my language mean the limits of my world
(Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination.
(Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Nothing can match the treasure of comon memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.
(Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

We give thanks for the harvest of the heart's work;
Seeds of faith planted with faith;
Love nurtured by love;
Courage strengthened by courage.
We give thanks for the fruits of the struggling soul,
The bitter and the sweet;
For that which has grown in adversity

If they come for the innocent without crossing over your body cursed be your religion.
(Anonymous)

Fundamentalism, like bitter coffee, cannot be saved no matter how much sugar you add.
(Giacomo Torrente)

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.
(Mahatma Gandhi)
 

Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile.
(Mother Theresa)

Pastoral conversation is not merely a skilful use of conversational techniques to manipulate people into the Kingdom of God, but a deep human encounter in which a man is willing to put his own faith and doubt, his own hope and despair, his own light and darkness, at the disposal of others who want to find a way through their confusion and touch the solid core of life.
(Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer)