The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.
Basil HumeRead
It is not because we are drawn to prayer that we first begin to pray; more often, we have to begin prayer, and then the taste and the desire for it come.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Engaging in prayer often leads to a deeper desire for it, rather than the other way around.
This quote by Basil Hume suggests that the act of starting to pray is what cultivates a genuine interest and yearning for prayer. Rather than waiting for the inclination to pray to emerge, one should initiate the practice itself, which can then inspire a profound connection and understanding of spirituality.
Themes
PrayerSpiritualityFaithDesirePractice
In practice
Example use cases
During a church service, when discussing the importance of developing a prayer routine.
More from Basil Hume
All quotes →On the whole, monks do not become famous - and that is a good thing - but monasteries do - and that is an excellent thing. In other words, it is the community that matters.
Basil HumeRead
Similar quotes
Prayer should not be merely an act, but an attitude of life.
Billy GrahamRead
The prayer of listening makes things simple but it also makes us vulnerable, and that is frightening. Listening makes us open to Christ, the Word of God, spoken in all things: in the material world, the Scriptures, the Church, and sacraments and, sometimes most threateningly, in our fellow human beings. To listen at prayer is to take the chance of hearing the voice of Christ in the poor, the weak, those whom we love and those whom we do not love.
Benedict GroeschelRead
Prayer does not mean that I am to bring God down to my thoughts and my purposes, and bend his government according to my foolish, silly, and sometimes sinful notions. Prayer means that I am to be raised up into feeling, into union and design with him; that I am to enter into his counsel and carry out his purpose fully.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
True worship doesn't put on a show or make a fuss; true worship isn't forced, isn't half-hearted, doesn't keep looking at its watch, doesn't worry what the person in the next pew is doing. True worship is open to God, adoring God, waiting for God, trusting God even in the dark.
N. T. WrightRead
If by losing the spirit of prayer, you mean losing the heavenly sensations of deep devotion, I am afraid that does not matter a scrap.
Evelyn UnderhillRead
Praise is the 'breath' which gives us life, because it is intimacy with God, an intimacy that grows through daily praise.
Pope FrancisRead