Emily > Emily's Quotes

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
― C.S. Lewis

“Ignatius is careful to insist that the Jesus Prayer is suitable for “all the people of God without exception. . . whether monks or lay people.”4 He does not claim, however, “It is the only way,” for he believes that there are many different paths of prayer which lead to salvation, and in this connection he quotes Christ’s words, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14:2).5 Yet he would, I think, have said, “It is the best way.” Certainly he says (to paraphrase the whole argument of the present book), “It is an ancient way, commended in the Bible and the Fathers. It has helped many; it has helped me; it may also help you.”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“Prayer means the shedding of thoughts.”33 “The mind during prayer,” writes Ignatius, “must be carefully kept formless, rejecting all imagination . . . Images, if the mind admits them, become a curtain and a wall which separate the soul from God.”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“It is on the contrary a gift from God, the free gift of His grace, conferred by Him on those whom He chooses, at the time He chooses.”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“(John 14:13). Truly, truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in My name, He will give it you. Till now you have asked nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23).”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“they cut that heart into two halves, wishing to know whether what they had been told was true. Inside, on the two halves of the heart that had been cut open, they found an inscription in gold letters: Jesus Christ.”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. For whoever humbles himself like a child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:3–4).”
― Ignatius Brianchaninov, On the Prayer of Jesus: The Classic Guide to the Practice of Unceasing Prayer Found in The Way of a Pilgrim

“He shocked or excited them with irreverent comments on authority; so he caricatured rival religious teachers ‘straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel’. He produced outrageous inversions of normality – ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead,’ Jesus said to a man who wanted to postpone becoming his disciple in order to see to his father’s funeral.40 This saying is clearly authentic, since Gospel writers felt bound to preserve it even though it outrages every pious norm of the ancient world and a universal human instinct; moreover, Christianity has stonily ignored the command throughout its subsequent history. Jesus puzzled people with references which apparently needed spelling out in private even to his closest followers.41 He had power: around him, as with many charismatic leaders over the centuries, there gathered stories of exceptional healings, miracles of providing food and drink, even raising apparent corpses from the dead.”
― Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

“The Great Divorce where the main character witnesses the spectacle of a heavenly parade with shining angels, saints, and animals flowing and dancing around a luminous woman who was so beautiful she was almost “unbearable” to behold. At first the observer thinks she must be Eve or Mary, the mother of Jesus. But he is told that, no, it is Sarah Smith, who lived as a suburban London housewife. In heaven, though, she is counted as one of the “great ones.” How did she get this status? Because in her ordinary life, she became mother to every young man, woman, boy, girl, dog, or cat she encountered, loving them all in a way that made them more loveable and more eager to love others.”
― C.S. Lewis, How to Be a Christian: Reflections and Essays

“The rescue of drowning men is, then, a duty worth dying for, but not worth living for.”
― C.S. Lewis, How to Be a Christian: Reflections and Essays

“When we eat mindfully, we consume exactly what we need in order to keep our bodies, our minds, and the Earth healthy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Eat

“Sometimes, it can be helpful to have a silent meal to help us practice mindful eating. That way, we can focus our attention on our breath, the food, and the company around us in order to become fully present in the here and now.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Eat