In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1 Quotes

“Our Lord tells us in the parable on which we have been meditating, the seed sown in our hearts has sufficient strength to germinate, to grow and to bear fruit. First, however, we have to enable it to reach our heart. We have to make room for it within us, to accept it and not put it to one side, for the opportunities God gives us do not wait. They come and they go. The word of life does not tarry; if we do not catch hold of it, the devil will bear it away. The devil is not lazy; rather does he always have his eyes open, and be ever ready to spring, and to snatch away the gift that you do not use.[323”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“we need in order to be faithful. The greater the difficulties, the more the grace. If we keep up a well-planned ascetical struggle – with a very specific particular examination of conscience, love grows and becomes stronger as time passes, and our self-surrender, far from turning into mere routine, becomes more conscious, more mature. It is not a matter of growing in quantity, like a stack of hay; but in quality, as when heat becomes more intense, or as when science, without coming to new conclusions, becomes more penetrating, deeper, more unified, more certain. In the same way, charity inclines us to love God above all things, and our neighbour as ourselves, in a way which is more perfect, pure and intimate, so that we may give glory to God in time and in eternity.[192”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“a well-planned ascetical struggle – with a very specific particular examination of conscience, love grows and becomes stronger as time passes, and our self-surrender, far from turning into mere routine, becomes more conscious, more mature. It is not a matter of growing in quantity, like a stack of hay; but in quality, as when heat becomes more intense, or as when science, without coming to new conclusions, becomes more penetrating, deeper, more unified, more certain. In the same way, charity inclines us to love God above all things, and our neighbour as ourselves, in a way which is more perfect, pure and intimate, so that we may give glory to God in time and in eternity.[192”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“used to enjoy climbing up the cathedral towers to get a close view of the ornamentation at the top, a veritable lacework of stone that must have been the result of very patient and laborious craftsmanship. As I chatted with the young men who accompanied me I used to point out that none of the beauty of this work could be seen from below. To give them a material lesson in what I had been previously explaining to them, I would say: ‘This is God’s work, this is working for God! – to finish your personal work perfectly, with all the beauty and exquisite refinement of this tracery stonework.’ Seeing it, my companions would understand that all the work we had seen was part of a prayer, a loving dialogue with God. The men who spent their energies up there were quite aware that no one at street level could appreciate their efforts. Their work was for God alone. Now do you see how our professional work can bring us close to Our Lord? Do your job as those medieval stonemasons did theirs, and your work too will be ‘operatio Dei’, a human work with a divine substance and finish.[601]”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“by our prayer, by the hours of work we offered up for other people, the hopeful conversations we had with our friends, the hours of sickness endured in a spirit of sacrifice, the result of that encounter we never heard any more about, and the fruits of everything that seemed to us to have come to nothing. We will see the people to whom were applied those decades of the Holy Rosary we prayed on the way from College or from the office ... Nothing failed to bear fruit: some bore a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. The only mistake the sower could make would be not to sow his seed for fear of its falling on soil where it might not bear fruit. He would be mistaken if he ceased to speak about Christ lest he might be lacking in the ability to sow the seed well, or because somebody might misinterpret his”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“The task of a Christian is to drown evil in an abundance of good. It is not a question of negative campaigns, or of being ‘anti’ anything. On the contrary, we should live positively, full of optimism, with youthfulness, joy and peace. We should be understanding with everybody, with the followers of Christ and with those who abandon him, or with those who have never known him at all. Understanding does not mean holding back, or remaining indifferent, but being active.[178”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“enough of the usual explanations. The lies of the false prophets no longer satisfy him. Even though they may not admit it at the time, such people are longing to slake their thirst for the truth with the teachings of Our Lord.”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“The greatness of the human person derives from the spiritual reality of his soul, his divine filiation, his eternal destiny, all of which he has received from God.”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“A Christian should examine himself to see how he reacts to the annoyances that being with other people always produces.”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“Our world needs men and women who are all of a piece, who are exemplary in their work, men and women without complexes, who are sober, serene, profoundly human, firm, understanding but intransigent in matters concerning Christ’s doctrine, courteous, just, loyal, cheerful, optimistic, generous, hard-working, simple, courageous ...”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“God looks for mothers who have the strength to bear Christian witness through their motherhood and their joy, mothers who know how to make friends with their children.”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time

“We are God’s arms in the world, because He has willed to need men.”
― Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God – Volume 3 Part 1: Weeks 1 - 6 in Ordinary Time