“Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved.”

Trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.

It is in solitude that we discover that being is more important than having and that we are worth more than the results of our efforts. In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended but a gift to be shared.

Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.

Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.

Prayer is not what is done by us, but rather what is done by the Holy Spirit in us.

I often wonder if my knowledge about God has not become my greatest stumbling block to my knowledge of God.

Spiritual maturity is not knowing what to do with your whole life, but just knowing what to do next.

Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.

If I were to let my life be taken over by what is urgent, I might very well never get around to what is essential.

Your heart is greater than your wounds.

What makes us human is not our mind but our heart, not our ability to think but our ability to love.

Keep a space where God can let something totally new take place.

Your life is not going to be easy, and it should not be easy. It ought to be hard. It ought to be radical; it ought to be restless; it ought to lead you to places you’d rather not go.

You don’t think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking.

The only feelings that do not heal are the ones you hide.

Compassion can never coexist with judgement because judgement creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other.

We had little or no emotion. We lacked the capacity to feel fear, to experience love, to enjoy the sensations of happiness and delight.The finest warriors are not only those who do not fear, but those who are without anger.

Racism exists, but it is far less rampant than ignorance, and ignorance can be cured through experience.

With some of the bad things that come with love, there’s also a lot of good.

In my experience, the more successful an idea is, the easier it is to fund it. In philanthropy, it’s almost harder.

How we experience memory sometimes, it’s not linear. We’re not telling the stories to ourselves. We know the story; we’re just seeing it in flashes overlaid.

We should all learn from our experiences, but I don’t think hatred is the best way to deal with ignorance.

It takes years to develop into the kind of human being you want to be.

The Lord waits for us to offer him our failings so that he can help us experience his mercy.