“Oh God, I say not hear my prayers! I say: Blot with forgiving pen my sins away!”

The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to the earth.

The true disciple should aim to live for the gospel, rather than to die for it.

However much you study, you cannot know without action. A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man. Empty of essence, what learning has he whether upon him is firewood or book?

Do to me, O Allah, what is worthy of Thee; And not what is worthy of me.

The hand of liberality is stronger than the arm of power.

There is a difference between him who claspeth his mistress in his arms, and him whose eyes are fixed on the door expecting her.

A little beauty is preferable to much wealth.

Whoever acquires knowledge but does not practice it is as one who ploughs but does not sow.

Religion is only in the service of the people; it is not in the rosary and the prayer-carpet.

He who learns, and makes no use of his learning, is a beast of burden with a load of books. Does the ass comprehend whether he carries on his back a library or a bundle of faggots?

It’s no virtue to gain the whole world. Just gain the heart of one person.

Whoever gives advice to a heedless man is himself in need of advice.

If a piece of worthless stone can bruise a cup of gold, its worth is not increased, nor that of the gold diminished.

Whoever interrupts the conversation of others to make a display of his fund of knowledge, makes notorious his own stock of ignorance.

Kings stand more in need of the company of the intelligent than the intelligent do of the society of kings.

When a man appreciates only eating and sleeping, what excellence has he over the reptiles?

A Catholic may sin and sin as badly as anyone else, but no genuine Catholic ever denies he is a sinner. A Catholic wants his sins forgiven – not excused or sublimated.

By far the strongest poison to the human spirit is the inability to forgive oneself or another person. Forgiveness is no longer an option but a necessity for healing.

Weigh the true advantages of forgiveness and resentment to the heart. Then choose.

Jesus reveals a God who does not demand but who gives; who does not oppress but who raises up; who does not wound but who heals; who does not condemn but forgives.

No marriage can survive without forgiveness. Marriage is a long term commitment between two sinners.

Forgive and call back the energy wasted on past events.

Forgiveness is no longer an option but a necessity for healing.

You can love them, forgive them, want good things for them, but still move on without them.