“A nation ringed by walls will only imprison itself.”

“The quest of the Inner Ring will break your hearts unless you break it. But if you break it, a surprising result will follow. If in your working hours you make the work your end, you will presently find yourself all unawares inside the only circle in your profession that really matters. You will be one of the sound craftsmen, and other sound craftsmen will know it. This group of craftsmen will by no means coincide with the Inner Ring or the Important People or the People in the Know. It will not shape that professional policy or work up that professional influence which fights for the profession as a whole against the public: nor will it lead to those periodic scandals and crises which the Inner Ring produces. But it will do those things which that profession exists to do and will in the long run be responsible for all the respect which that profession in fact enjoys and which the speeches and advertisements cannot maintain. And if in your spare time you consort simply with the people you like, you will again find that you have come unawares to a real inside: that you are indeed snug and safe at the center of something which, seen from without, would look exactly like an Inner Ring. But the difference is that its secrecy is accidental, and its exclusiveness a by-product, and no one was led thither by the lure of the esoteric: for it is only four or five people who like one another meeting to do things that they like. This is friendship. Aristotle placed it among the virtues. It causes perhaps half of all the happiness in the world, and no Inner Ring can ever have it.”

“That “the Spirit Himself intercedes” indicates that it is actually God pleading, praying, and mourning through us.”

“The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”

“No, that trauma you faced was not easy. And God wept that it hurt you so; But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into his likeness you’d grow.”

“Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature. ”

“A battle is won by him who is firmly resolved to win it.”

“The Norwegians have a saying that I think captures their attitude: "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

“As it was before, so it was now; I need only be aware of God to live; I need only forget Him, or disbelieve Him, and I died. What is this animation and dying? I do not live when I lose belief in the existence of God. I should long ago have killed myself had I not had a dim hope of finding Him. I live, really live, only when I feel Him and seek Him. “What more do you seek?” exclaimed a voice within me. “This is He. He is that without which one cannot live. To know God and to live is one and the same thing. God is life.” “Live seeking God, and then you will not live without God.” And more than ever before, all within me and around me lit up, and the light did not again abandon me.”

“To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect and their oneness, and should insist upon choosing as their representatives only such persons as are good and true.”

“La Palabra de Dios nos ordena vivir «hablando la verdad con amor»3, porque no podemos formar una comunidad sin franqueza. Salomón dijo: «Una respuesta sincera es el signo de una verdadera amistad».4 A veces esto implica preocuparnos lo suficiente por quien peca o está siendo tentado como para enfrentarlo afablemente. Pablo dijo: «Hermanos, si ven que alguien ha caído en algún pecado, ustedes que son espirituales deben ayudarlo a corregirse. Pero háganlo amablemente; y que cada cual tenga mucho cuidado, no suceda que él también sea puesto a prueba».

“The absence of pain means death, so when something no longer bothers you, you've died to that thing.”

“The More we value things, the less we value ourselves”

“Keep your mind fixed on what you want in life, not on what you don’t want.”

“When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused and his character is strengthened. That allows a leader to lead himself successfully.”