There is something majestic in the bad taste of Italy.
The human heart by nature seeks after God. There is a spiritual vacuum in every man until it is filled by Christ.
Whoever wishes to meet Jesus must meet him in places where brothers and sisters of Jesus are hungry, thirsty, naked, unwanted, sick or in prison. Whoever keeps himself distant from these places remains distant from Jesus.
It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners. It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their [the communists' ] terms. It was a deal; we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching. They were happy beating us, so everyone was happy.
A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith.
I have seen Christians in Communist prisons with fifty pounds of chains on their feet, tortured with red-hot iron pokers, in whose throats spoonfuls of salt had been forced, being kept afterward without water, starving, whipped, suffering from cold--and praying with fervor for the Communists. This is humanly inexplicable! It is the love of Christ, which was poured out in our hearts.
A Communist officer told a Christian he was beating, 'I am almighty, as you suppose your God can be. I can kill you. ' The Christian answered, 'The power is all on my side. I can love you while you torture me to death. '
If you approach a difficult problem without struggle, your ego will at first try to take charge from years of habit. Do the minimum and stand back. Solutions incubate at a deep level, not at the speed demanded by your mind. Take a break and come back the next day. Allow the answers to arise from your center, even if it takes a while. However much you have to retrain yourself in this practice of Least Effort, the ability to come from your center is worth the highest price anyone could pay.
Music is a labyrinth with no beginning and no end, full of new paths to discover, where mystery remains eternal
She dares me to pour myself out like a living waterfall. She dares me to enter the soul that is more than my own; she extinguishes fear in mere seconds. She lets light come through.
Men fail much oftener from want of perseverance than from want of talent.