Voices Heard

Some quotes and things from various emails I've received in the last few weeks...

Jesus calls to himself those who are overburdened and offers them rest, but he does not blunt the cutting edge of his demands.
-Thaddee Matura (Franciscan scholar and theologian)

If we want to go deeper, however, desiring that as God's people we will grow together toward maturity, we must care enough to confront.
-Isabelo Magalit (Filipina theologian)

Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:4

The church...cannot be content to play the part of a nurse looking after the casualties of the system. It must play an active part both in challenging the present unjust structures and in pioneering alternatives.
-Donald Dorr (Catholic missionary priest)

Sometimes put yourself very simply before God, certain of his presence everywhere, and without any effort, whisper very softly to his sacred heart whatever your own heart prompts you to say

- St. Jeanne de Chantal (co-founder of the Order of the Visitation, 1572-1641)

The only dream worth having... is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead... To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest place. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or to complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.
-Arundhati Roy (From her book, The Algebra of Infinite Justice)