Quotes from Matthew Kelly

The reason most of us fail to achieve real and sustainable change in our lives is because we focus too much on the desired outcome and not enough on the progress we are making.

Thoughts create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create character.

When our children know more about teen pop idols than they do about Jesus Christ, isn't it time for us to reassess the place and priority our faith has in our lives?

Religion is not something that you or I can touch. Religion is the worship of God—therefore a matter of conscience. I alone must decide for myself and you for yourself, what we choose. For me, the religion I live and use to worship God is the Catholic religion. For me, this is my very life, my joy, and the greatest gift of God in his love for me. He could have given me no greater gift.

THIS YEAR CATHOLIC CHARITIES WILL PROVIDE 2.2 MILLION FREE MEALS TO THE HUNGRY AND THE NEEDY OF CHICAGO. WE DON'T ASK THEM IF THEY ARE CATHOLIC—WE JUST ASK THEM IF THEY ARE HUNGRY. REDISCOVER CATHOLICISM.

God always wants our future to be bigger than our past.

You don't have to go to Mass if you can tell me the one thing that you are going to do while I am at church with all your brothers that is more important than going to church and thanking God for another week of life

Individualism • The first of these practical philosophies is individualism. When most people today are faced with a decision, the question that seems to dominate their inner dialogue is, "What's in it for me?" This question is the creed of individualism, which is based on an all-consuming concern for self. In the present climate, the most dominant trend governing the decision-making process—and therefore the formation of our

What is a holy moment? A holy moment is a moment when you make yourself completely available to God. You set self-interest aside, you set aside what you want to do or feel like doing, and for that moment you do exactly what you sense God is calling you to do.

God loves ordinary things. The world is always trying to seduce us with the extraordinary. The culture fills our hearts and minds with spectacular dreams about hitting home runs, but life is about getting up every day and hitting a single.

Michelangelo, the great Renaissance artist and poet, knew the value, power, and need for dreams when he wrote, "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Our

There is no better way to honor life and God than to strive to become the-best-version-of-yourself.

This is the will of God: that you be saints." (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

Love is a choice, not a feeling. Feelings come and go, and if we choose to base our most important relationships on how we feel at any particular moment, we are in for a rough and rocky journey. Love is a verb, not a noun. Love is something we do, not something that happens to us.

Thomas More was widely regarded as a man of impeccable character and meticulous honesty. People trusted his judgment, and his refusal to sign sent a message to the people of England. He didn't speak out against the acts; he simply refused to sign or say anything at all. But one honest man's silence is louder than all the words of ten thousand dishonest men.

Paul was abundantly clear in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 that the very will of God is our holiness. God wants us to live holy lives, grow in character and virtue, and become the-best-version-of-ourselves.

Catherine of Sienna wrote, "If you are what you should be you will set the whole world on fire.

The first problem is we don't believe holiness is possible. The second problem is we don't believe we can change the world.

The most dominant quality among Dynamic Catholics is a daily routine of prayer. • A daily routine refers to a specific time and place set aside for prayer. Dynamic Catholics make this time a priority each day.

Some books find us at just the right time in our lives and those books change our lives forever. I hope this is that kind of book for you.

If you do not, you will not.

1. I will proactively seek out my mission in life in these four ways: by choosing the-best-version-of-myself in each moment, by doing what I can where I am right now to help others celebrate their best selves and to make the world a better place, by exploring how my talents and passions can be put to use to serve the needs of others, and by listening to the voice of God in my life.

A priest once asked Mother Teresa if she would pray that God would give him clarity in a choice he had to make. She told him, "God may never give you clarity. All you can do is trust.

the people you will most enjoy spending time with are not those who agree with you in everything you say and tell you that you should be a little easier on yourself…and have that second slice of cheesecake! If you are dedicated to your essential purpose, the people you will want to surround yourself with are people who inspire and challenge you to become the-best-version-of-yourself. The