MOTHER ANGELICA

Obedience is a strong virtue, capable of making me master of my emotions by giving me more strength to conquer my pride as I submit to those above me out of respect for their God-given authority and those below me out of love.

Is detachment the answer to freedom? No, because detachment is negative - it is to be without. The answer must be positive - I must replace what I have with something better.

Every moment of life is like a sacrament in which we can receive God. It is a channel through which God speaks to us, forms us, and directs us.

I am a mirror to my neighbor, and in that mirror, he must see a reflection of Jesus. If that mirror is cloudy or distorted, Jesus' reflection will be so vague it will hardly be seen.

When our weaknesses affect health and friendship, we are very much aware of their existence.

My failures may be my greatest successes. It is in failure that I have often drawn closer to God, learn to depend more on Him than myself, gained self-knowledge, and seen things in their right perspective.

Today's man of the world proclaims that sin, and his enterprising in sin, are a part of modern living, but it is not modern. It goes back to Adam and Eve - to desire and the temptation to know - to experience evil.

Every Christian who strives for holiness of life experiences dryness of soul. It is to most people a heart-rending experience. It is a paradox, for the soul becomes confused when it realizes the harder it strives the further away Jesus seems to be.

Two of man's basic needs are to love and to share. Both of these needs are satisfied in greater or lesser degree by friendship.

Men are not born saints with special gifts and privileges. They fight against the world, the flesh and the devil, and as they conquer, the spirit of Jesus begins to shine through with more clarity.

When I try to be patient on my own, my patience is forced and short-lived. It is obvious to everyone that I am desperately trying to be patient.

The woman is a gentle, loving bond who encourages, consoles, builds, reconciles, and makes all things new and vibrant. The woman is strength in time of suffering, courageous in failure, intuitive in time of danger. A woman is ingenuous when all fails, resourceful in times of want, and a true helpmate for man.

Every time I say 'no' to a small temptation, I strengthen my will to say 'no' to a greater one.

No Christian needs to feel lonely or useless.

Neighbors are competitors instead of partners, suspicious instead of trustful, indifferent instead of helpful, cold instead of loving, greedy instead of generous. We no longer consider ourselves living in neighborhoods, but only as living next to 'hoods.'

It is good to have an intellectual awareness of our dependence upon God - to understand how great He is and how very small we are in His sight.

To see a friend who has suffered the loss of all things begin again with trust and love, gives us strength to continue on.

Like Jesus, every human being has enough memories in his past to occupy his time and thoughts continually. It is not the remembrance of these incidents but the reliving of them that creates havoc in our souls.

God has given each one of us a gift greater than a thousand I.B.M. machines. It is called a memory, and everything that passes through our five senses is stored in this faculty.

St. Paul did not want the sufferings encountered by being a Christian to discourage or dishearten anyone. He realized that when the Christian saw the blessings and grace that poured upon him after his trials, he would gain courage to suffer in his turn.

We often forget that everything we see, animate or inanimate, is a visual manifestation of the work of our invisible God. We have become so accustomed to trees, mountains, sky, air, water, flowers, animals, vegetables and people that we no longer see them for what they are - God's work.

I must listen as God speaks to my soul through good thoughts, inspirations, and intuitions.

Love is an emotional feeling on a human level and a faith experience on a supernatural level.

My life is such a contradiction. My soul yearns for holiness and then runs from the mortification necessary to attain it.

Men climb mountains, scale heights, venture into the unexplored to prove to other men it can be done.