But still more difficult than getting rid of these exterior noises is the achievement of inner silence, a silence of the heart. It seems that a person who is caught up in all that noise has lost touch with the inner self. The questions that are asked from within remain unanswered…. With Open Hands Henri J.M. Nouwen, spiritual writer, teacher

Love the moment and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.

Sister Corita Kent, artist and activist

Another fundamental part of my spiritual practice is a daily walk. But it isn’t just a walk; it’s a contemplative experience I call the practice of nature. Others call it walking meditation or walking contemplation….. however we name it, what it offers is the same: a communion with nature and the Divine….conveying so much wisdom. I became open to this wisdom by a kind of active receptivity practiced by walking.

A Monk in the World, Brother Wayne Teasdale, monk, mystic, author 

The ability of people to grow beyond their limitations, to become more than who they are, is really not that limited. – Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, author, from an interview on Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, www.pbs.org/religion

God doesn’t require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, humanitarian, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

Listen to your life.  See it for the fathomless mystery it is.  In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way into the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all our moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.

Frederick Buechner, Presbyterian minister and author, The Sacred Journey

Do not think that the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth.  Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views.  Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge.  Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen master, teacher and author, Peace Is Every Step

• Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.
• Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in the immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
• Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.

Reinhold Niehbur, Protestant theologian and author, The Irony of American History

Questions of identity, purpose, calling, community and ministry continue to surface with new urgency at different seasons of our lives.

Henri Nouwen, Dutch Catholic priest and author, Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith

Contemplative prayer is the world in which God can do anything…. It is to be open to the Infinite and hence to infinite possibilities.

Thomas Keating Open Mind Open Heart