"Let us not fool ourselves: Our whole task consists in translating ideas and resolutions into acts."

Ascent to the Truth . . . . . . . . Thomas Merton

     "The whole road is ordinarily traveled in darkness. We receive enlightenment only in proportion as we give ourselves more and more completely to God by humble submissions and love. We do not first see, then act; we act, then see. It is only by the free submission of our judgment in dark faith that we can advance to the light of understanding. And that is why the man who waits to see clearly before he will believe never starts on the journey."

On Quotations . . . . . . . . Louise Imogen Guiney

     "Quotations (such as have point and lack triteness) from the great old authors are an act of filial reverence on the part of the quoter, and a blessing to a public grown superficial and external."

     "What we do best or most perfectly is what we have most thoroughly learned by the longest practice."

     "The fourth essential step into the fullness of life is:

     To Believe. Having learned to transcend purely self-directed concern, fully alive people discover meaning in their lives…It is a matter of commitment to a person or a course in which one can believe and to which one can be dedicated. This faith commitment shapes the lives of fully alive individuals, making all of their efforts seem significant and worthwhile.

     Human nature abhors a vacuum. We must find a cause to believe in or spend the rest of our lives compensating ourselves for failure."

     "Before I speak today, I take a moment to consider my words. I choose to speak optimistic words that have a positive influence. I choose to impart joy through the words I speak."

My Highest Aspirations . . . . . . . . Louisa May Alcott

     "Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead."

     Someone wrote, "The longer I live the more deeply I am convinced that the difference between the weak and the powerful, the great and insignificant, is energy — invisible determination. This quality will do anything that has to be done in the world; and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities, will make one a successful person without it."

Candle-Snuffers . . . . . . . . Fr. Brian, TOR

     "A sad, but true, reality is that too many people go about life being candle-snuffers. They seem to think that if they snuff out another’s candle their own will appear brighter. However all they really do is make the world a little bit darker and a whole lot colder."

     "Put yourself in the other person’s place when you ask for something.…Approach people with their interests in mind.

     A positive and optimistic manner will get you more agreement and cooperation than a negative and pessimistic one. Know people’s likes and dislikes, and act accordingly. A tactful person makes good use of the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’"

     "If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know an individual, don’t bother analyzing one’s ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he or she is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch a person laugh. If he or she laughs well, one’s a good man or woman."

Rest Not! . . . . . . . . Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

     "Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time."

     Oscar Wilde wrote in De Profundis: "The gods had given me almost everything. But I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless and sensual ease.…Tired of being on the heights I deliberately went to the depths in search for new sensation. What the paradox was to me in the sphere of thought, perversity became to me in the sphere of passion. I grew careless of the lives of others. I took pleasure where it pleased me, and passed on. I forgot that every little action of the common day makes or unmakes character, and that what one has done in the secret chamber, one has some day to cry aloud from the housetop. I ceased to be lord over myself. I was no longer the captain of my soul, and did not know it. I allowed pleasure to dominate me. I ended in horrible disgrace. There is only one thing for me now, absolute humility."

Power in Kindness . . . . . . . . Andrew Chapman

     "Entrance into the Kingdom involves our personal conversion. It is the conversion of the — heart, mind and will. Such a commitment requires the daily personal conversion of each of us to renew our faith in Jesus and our willingness to be open to the needs around us."

     One day not long after marrying her high-school sweetheart, Linda took a few minutes to buy him a small card that read, "You are Such a Blessing to Me!"

     "He was so touched he decided to return the sentiment and tucked the card inside my coffee mug one morning," Linda related. "Since that time the card has been passed back and forth between us in books, on car dashboards, taped to the bathroom mirror and packed in lunch bags."

     Though the card is showing some wear, the tradition will continue. The card last appeared in the crib of the couple’s newborn daughter.