Quotes from James Martin

do not analyze or argue it, describe or define it—I am one with it.

far-off, abstract, intangible God

True prayer wants others to flourish. If any still have a hard time praying for church leaders, they might use a prayer that I find helpful when I am struggling with another person. My prayer is to see that person as God sees him or her.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, In light inaccessible hid from our eyes, Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

Ignatius realized that if you act in accord with God's desires for you, you will naturally feel a sense of peace.

Discernment, says Lonsdale, is about the "spiritual interpretation and evaluation of feelings, and particularly with the direction in which we are moved by them.

Looking at our personal relationships can help us get our prayer life in order.

being present." Once you are present to what you are saying, you express it differently, and as a result it sounds different

For me, prayer is intentional one-on-one time with God. It occurs in the context of personal relationship with God but, more specifically, it is what happens when you are intentionally trying to speak with, listen to, or be with God.

The most grateful pilgrim is the one who has finished the longest journey.

mine what we know about human relationships for ways to understand our relationship with God.

Occasionally during prayer, when I catch myself daydreaming, I say to myself, "You're speaking with God! Pay attention!

examen." Essentially a review of the day, it helps you see where God is active in your daily life.

Then, when you sit in the chair, you're reminded, often in a surprising way, that God is gazing upon you and is with you in your prayer.

God says that Moses will see his back as he passed by him. "Thus," Father Kolvenbach wrote, "looking back over the length and breadth of his life the abbot could see for himself the passage of God." The examen helps you see God in retrospect.

Jesus often says, "Follow me," but never "Worship me."5 It's a needed reminder to those who would focus only on his divinity.)

lies, illusions, and self-serving excuses that cloud our minds make us less able to give and receive love.

Knowing God is more important than knowing about God.

Guilt says, "I did a bad thing." Shame says, "I am a bad person.

But this is about more than just work, a job, or even a career. Vocation may have little to do with one's actual work. For the deepest vocation is to become who you are, to become your "true self," the person whom God created and calls you to be.

who knew John XXIII was so funny? Of course, not all the stories were laugh-out-loud funny. And I had already heard his famous answer to the journalist who asked innocently, "How many people work in the Vatican?" "About half of them," said His Holiness.

Joy is not simply a fleeting feeling or an evanescent emotion; it is a deep-seated result of of one's connection of God.

God can change)

image. It seemed as if they were walking near