You wish me to tell you why and how God should be loved. My answer is that God himself is the reason he is to be loved.
Saint BernardRead
God removes the sin of the one who makes humble confession, and thereby the devil loses the sovereignty he had gained over the human heart.
Interpretation
Humility and confession can free a person from sin and the negative influence of evil.
This quote emphasizes the power of humility and the act of confession in the process of spiritual redemption. By acknowledging one's sins and approaching God with sincerity, an individual not only receives forgiveness but also liberates themselves from the control and influence of malevolent forces, thereby reclaiming their moral integrity and autonomy.
In practice
In a sermon about the importance of humility in faith, one might quote this to encourage believers to confess their sins.
You wish me to tell you why and how God should be loved. My answer is that God himself is the reason he is to be loved.
Who is there that can adequately gauge the greatness of the humility, gentleness, self-surrender, revealed by the Lord of majesty in assuming human nature, in accepting the punishment of death, the shame of the cross?
Christian, learn from Christ how you ought to love Christ. Learn a love that is tender, wise, strong; love with tenderness, not passion, wisdom, not foolishness, and strength, lest you become weary and turn away from the love of the Lord.
There is a daily discussion with our servants about the price of food and the number of loaves: a conference with our presbyters to consider the sins of our people is a very rare occurrence.
Even the holy men who lived before the coming of Christ understood that God had in mind plans of peace for the human race.
The mind must first reflect upon itself in order that it may frame a rule of Justice, and not be inclined to do to another what it would not have done to itself, nor refuse to another what it desires for itself. These two assuredly comprise the whole sphere of Justice.
Being religious without knowing the cross is like owning a Mercedes with no motor. Pretty package, but where is your power?
Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.
What peace can they have who are not at peace with God?
Of course, any simplification runs the risk of mutilating reality; but it helps us establish perspectives.
i am perfect because i am inseparable from the infinite, the force of life that creates the stars and the entire universe of light. i am God's creation. i don't need to be what i am not.
From joy people are born; for joy they live; in joy they melt at death. Death is an ecstasy, for it removes the burden of the body and frees the soul of all pain springing from body identification. It is the cessation of pain and sorrow.
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