Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?
Fulton J. SheenRead
Judge the Catholic Church not by those who barely live by its spirit, but by the example of those who live closest to it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes evaluating institutions based on their true representatives rather than the actions of those who fail to embody their principles.
Fulton J. Sheen's quote suggests that the true essence of the Catholic Church, or any institution, should be judged not by the actions of individuals who do not authentically engage with its teachings, but rather by the lives of those who exemplify its core values and spirit. This perspective encourages a deeper understanding of what an organization stands for, highlighting the importance of genuine representation in assessing its worth.
Themes
ChurchExampleJudgmentSpiritValues
In practice
Example use cases
We can discuss the true impact of the Catholic Church at a panel, referencing Sheen's quote to highlight examples of admirable figures.
More from Fulton J. Sheen
All quotes βA woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults.
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Many married women who have deliberately spurned the "hour" of childbearing are unhappy and frustrated. They never discovered the joys of marriage because they refused to surrender to the obligation of their state. In saving themselves, they lost themselves!
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No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is opaque like a curtain; nothing can be seen through it. A mountain is just a mountain, a sunset just a sunset; but to poets, artists, and saints, the world is transparent like a window pane - it tells of something beyond....a mountain tells of the Power of God, the sunset of His Beauty, and the snowflake of His Purity.
Fulton J. SheenRead
The big print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.
Fulton J. SheenRead
Hearing nuns' confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn.
Fulton J. SheenRead
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