“The issue of prayer is not prayer; the issue of prayer is God. One cannot pray unless he has faith in his own ability to accost the infinite, merciful, eternal God.”

It is dangerous to take human freedom for granted, to regard it as a prerogative rather than as an obligation, as an ultimate fact rather than as an ultimate goal.

We cannot approach the spirit unless we repair the vessels. Reverence for words – an awareness of the wonder of words, of the mystery of words – is an essential prerequisite for prayer.

Sometimes we wish our own heart would speak of that which made it heavy with wonder.

Spiritual life begins to decay when we fail to sense the grandeur of what is eternal in time.

The riches of the soul are stored up in its memory. this is the test of character, not whether a man follows the daily fashion, but whether the past is alive in his present.

Sometimes there seems to be a greater separation between the church and God than between the church and state.

Human being is both being in the world and living in the world. Living involves responsible understanding of one’s role in relation to all other beings.

Our age is one in which usefulness is thought to be the chief merit of nature; in which the attainment of power

To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments.

The test of love is in how one relates not to saints and scholars but to rascals.

It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.

Remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Know that every deed counts, that every word is power…Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of art.

We use words as tools. We forget that words are a repository of the spirit. The tragedy of our times is that the vessels of the spirit are broken.

When religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.

God cannot be sensed as a second thought, as an explanation of the origin of the universe. He is either the first and the last, or just another concept.

He who is satisfied has never truly craved, and he who craves for the light of God neglects his ease for ardor.

I sent her a bottle of the most expensive wine on the menu. She sent me a note: “I will not touch a drop of this wine unless you can assure me that you have seven inches in your pants. ” So I wrote back: “Give me the wine. As gorgeous as you are, I’m not cutting off three inches for anyone.

If you haven’t noticed yet, working sucks. Unless you are a racecar driver or an astronaut or Beyonce, working is completely and utterly devoid of awesome.

Whenever there is injustice, there is tension. But in China it is very hard to release your anger unless you burn yourself or you jump from a bridge. In a society where there is no freedom of the press, it is difficult for victims to be noticed.

That window, which has stayed open for nearly five years, with amazing good will from the Afghans, is threatening to close unless the world wakes up and deals with the crisis.

Some Bresson, some Godard of the early times, the Cassavetes of those years I love. And the early Wim Wenders. But my own films I don’t watch, unless I need them.

I’m not interested in seeing a film just made by a woman – not unless she is looking for new images.

I get the impression from some people that unless they get direct access to characters’ thoughts and realizations.

No design works unless it embodies ideas that are held common by the people for whom the object is intended.