Page: Quotes, Quote Topic, Spiritual (life)
This, therefore,
is the tree of life indeed,
the word of the Father,
the wisdom of God in the highest,
which in the hearts of the saints,
as in an unseen paradise,
is sown in fear,
watered by grace,
dies through grief,
takes root by faith,
buds by devotion,
shoots up through compunction,
grows by longing,
is strengthened by charity,
grows green by hope,
puts out its leaves and spreads
its branches through caution,
flowers through discipline,
bears fruit through virtue,
ripens through patience,
is harvested by death, and
feeds by contemplation.
–Hugh of St. Victor (c. 1096–1141)
Page: Quotes, Struggle (with Sin)
Let not your imperfections discourage you; your God does not despise you because you are imperfect and infirm. On the contrary, he loves you because you desire to cure your ills. He will come to your assistance and make you more perfect than you would have dared to hope, and adorned by his Hand, your beauty will be unequalled, like his own goodness.
–Louis de Blois (1506–1566)
Contemplation, Page: Quotes, Quote Topic
The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. the heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty and in faith.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church #2710
Contemplation, Page: Quotes, Quote Topic
Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we “gather up:” the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church #2711
Contemplation, Page: Quotes, Quote Topic
Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more. But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church #2712
Contemplation, Page: Quotes, Quote Topic
Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts. Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, “to his likeness.”
–Catechism of the Catholic Church #2713
