“Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched. “By delaying [his gift], God strengthens our desire; through desire he enlarges our soul and by expanding it he increases its capacity [for receiving him]”. Augustine refers to Saint Paul, who speaks of himself as straining forward to the things that are to come (cf. Phil 3:13). He then uses a very beautiful image to describe this process of enlargement and preparation of the human heart. “Suppose that God wishes to fill you with honey [a symbol of God’s tenderness and goodness]; but if you are full of vinegar, where will you put the honey?” The vessel, that is your heart, must first be enlarged and then cleansed, freed from the vinegar and its taste. This requires hard work and is painful, but in this way alone do we become suited to that for which we are destined.”
— Pope [Emeritus] Benedict XVI, http://www.papaltrip.org/pt/spesalvi/prayer_school.html
11:31 pm • 1 December 2015
by-grace-of-god:
“The only way God can strengthen his presence
in our will is to weaken his presence in our feelings. Otherwise we would
become spiritual cripples, unable to walk without emotional crutches. This is
why he gives us dryness, sufferings, and failures.”
- Peter Kreeft, Prayer for Beginners
2:16 pm • 19 November 2015 • 47 notes
“It is love alone that gives worth to all things.”
— St. Teresa of Ávila (via quietlotus)
(Source: quietlotus, via quietlotus)
2:09 pm • 13 November 2015 • 140 notes
farankrentcil:
I love you more than Instagram Likes!
#SoMuch
photo of elle fanning from teen vogue
5:17 pm • 29 October 2015 • 73 notes
“Sacrificing who you are for the sake of what others think just isn’t worth it.”
— Brene Brown (via quotemadness)
(Source: quotemadness.com, via quotemadness)
10:54 am • 29 October 2015 • 1,494 notes
“We can’t selectively numb emotion. Numb the dark and you numb the light.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly (via pureblyss)
10:51 am • 29 October 2015 • 10,416 notes
Creativity IS magic; there is something supernatural about it, and to deny that is to deny the potential to manifest something greater than yourself.
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Creativity is allowing yourself to receive and collaborate with the spirit of inspiration, which always comes from outside of yourself. You know, when you suddenly come up with something really great and you’re like, “I have no idea where that came from. It just came to me.”
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Simultaneously reading these books by two separate creators (Elizabeth Gilbert and Sara Bareilles) it is remarkable to hear the same themes, similar experiences and emotions, etc. Acts of creativity are acts of courage: facing the fear that *always* comes with something new and good and potentially great, and allowing it to take a back seat so that something greater can ride in front.
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#BeBrave ✨✨✨
1:46 pm • 19 October 2015 • 2 notes
#1amthoughts
words can look so weird when they’re written out. but i wrote this out and stuck it on my wall as a reminder to myself of what i need to do. just one word, one theme, right now. as a wise friend told me recently, “as you strengthen one virtue, you strengthen all others.”
we all have strengths and weaknesses, but in our “look at me all fabulous with my shit together” culture, it’s hard to keep it real with ourselves, never mind others. self-awareness is so important, though, because unless you can recognize your weaknesses, how can you get stronger?
#goingtobedlikethis #notflawless
{ what if you could give “one word” to the current season of your life? }
11:03 am • 15 October 2015
