John's Favourite Quotations
Brother
Br Charles Howard quotes in a book titled 'The Vocation of the Brother' a phrase found in the writings of St John Chrysostom: 'The sacrament of being a Brother'.
Change
"The times, they are a-changin'." Bob Dylan in 1964
Criticism
The Greek Historian, Plutarch, records how Tigranes had somone beheaded for warning of the approach of his enemy, Lucullus, "so no man dared bring him further information". Editorial, Tablet, page 2, 4 February 2012
Disposition
'Better to light a candle than to curse the dark'. Confucius
Divine Love
'Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.' St Augustine
'The mission [of Facebook] is to make the workd more open and connected' Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook.
Faith
'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' (Rom 10:13).
Future
'Future that has not yet been revealed' (1 Jn 3:2)
Generosity
'Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.' Elizabeth Bibesco
God
God is 'The Heart and Beyond of Everything.' Teilhard de Chardin
'God is closer to us than water is to a fish.' Catherine of Siena
Joy
'To experience joy, one must be free of anxieties about letting go and expressing feeling. Or to put it differently, one has to be carefree and innocent as a child.' Alexander Lowen
Leadership
'If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader'. John Quincy Adams
Life
'Life is a journey not a destination.' Ralph Waldo Emerson
'Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right and forget the ones that don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.' Anonymous
'Don't live someone else's life.' Steve Jobs
Love
'To love another person is to see the face of God.' Les Miserables
Music
'If music be the food of love play on' William Shakespeare (12th Night)
Planning
'The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance
But everyone who is hasty comes only to want' Prov 21:5 (NRSV)
'Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run;
Hurry and scurry puts you further behind' Prov 21:5 (The Message)
Prayer
'more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of' Tennyson
'intimate sharing between friends' Teresa (Doctor of the Church).
Silence
'When peaceful silence lay over all,
and night had run half the way of her swift course,
down from the royal throne leapt your all-powerful Word' (Wis. 18:14)
Singing
'Recent psychological research into singing has revealed that it enhances well-being, particularly among those with physical and mental health problems, family difficulties and suffering bereavement. It encourages a sense of persponal worth and develops concentration' (The Tablet, 'Sweet Singing in the Choir', 17/24 December, 2011, p.2).
Spirituality
'We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.' Teilhard de Chardin
Trust
'Trust in the Lord, that He will act'. Psalm 37:5
Writing
'What you lack on style, you make for in charity.' Brendan Geary