Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure.
Francois FenelonRead
How rare it is to find a soul quiet enough to hear God speak.
Interpretation
Finding inner peace is essential to truly connect with a higher power.
This quote emphasizes the rarity of individuals who possess the tranquility needed to listen for divine guidance. In our fast-paced and often chaotic lives, achieving a state of calmness is difficult, yet it is in this stillness that one can truly hear and understand the messages of God or the universe.
In practice
In a sermon discussing the importance of meditation, this quote can illustrate the value of stillness.
Genuine good taste consists in saying much in few words, in choosing among our thoughts, in having order and arrangement in what we say, and in speaking with composure.
True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitude of our words; for our Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. The true prayer is that of the heart, and the heart prays only for what it desires. To pray, then is to desire -- but to desire what God would have us desire. He who asks what he does not from the bottom of his heart desire, is mistaken in thinking that he prays.
The greatest of all crosses is self. If we die in part every day, we shall have but little to do on the last. These little daily deaths will destroy the power of the final dying.
If we were faultless we should not be so much annoyed by the defects of those with whom we associate.
If the crowns of all the kingdoms of the empire were laid down at my feet in exchange for my books and my love of reading I would spurn them all.
You can often help others more by correcting your own faults than theirs. Remember, and you should, because of your own experience, that allowing God to correct your faults is not easy. Be patient with people, wait for God to work with them as He wills.
The idea that an individual can find God is terribly self-centered. It is like a wave thinking it can find the sea.
Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart, even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others, and talk to God.
People don't like to make mistakes.
One can quite understand vegetarianism. One can quite understand meat-eating. But it is difficult to understand why a person who is a flesh-eater should object to one kind of flesh, namely cow's flesh. This is an anomaly which call for explanation.
Someone may ask, 'How is justice greater than all the other virtues?' The other virtues gratify the one who possesses them; justice does not give pleasure to the one possessing it, but instead pleases others.
The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.