Quotes About Presence

Where is the church when it hurts? If the church is doing its job—binding wounds, comforting the grieving, offering food to the hungry—I don't think people will wonder so much where God is when it hurts. They'll know where God is: in the presence of God's people on earth.

When I am tempted to complain about God's lack of presence, I remind myself that God has much more reason to complain about my lack of presence.

God is already present, in the most unexpected places. We just need to make God visible.

Who helped you most? Most often they (suffering people) answer by describing a quiet, unassuming person. Someone who was there whenever needed, who listened more than talked, who didn't keep glancing down at a watch, who hugged and touched, and cried. In short, someone who was available, and came on the sufferer's terms and not their own.

My feelings of God's presence — or God's absence — are not the presence or the absence.

simple availability is the most powerful force we can contribute to help calm the fears of others. Instinctively, I shrink back from people who are in pain.

God is present in the Spirit, who groans wordlessly on our behalf and who speaks in a soft voice to all consciences attuned to him.

We cannot make Him visible to us, but we can make ourselves visible to Him," said Abraham Joshua Heschel

But what if I create a universe that is free, free even of me? What if I veil My Divinity so that the creatures are free to pursue their individual lives without being overwhelmed by My overpowering Presence? Will the creatures love Me? Can I be loved by creatures whom I have not programmed to adore me forever? Can love arise out of freedom? My angels love me unceasingly, but they can see Me at all times. What if I create beings in My own image as a Creator, beings who are free? But

Whenever I fixate on techniques, or sink into guilt over my inadequate prayers, or turn away in disappointment when a prayer goes unanswered, I remind myself that prayer means keeping company with God who is already present.

Nothing else — no learned "how-to" program, no expensive gift — is worth more to the sufferer than the comfortable assurance of your physical presence.

and said, almost without thinking, "Well, of course, Philip, God was already present in the prison. I just had to make him visible." I have often thought of that line from Joanna, which would make a fine mission statement for all of us seeking to know and follow God. God is already present, in the most unexpected places. We just need to make God visible.

I remind myself that prayer means keeping company with God who is already present.

La presencia visible de Dios no mejoró en nada su fe ni la hizo duradera.

Sometimes God seemed as close as his wife or children. Sometimes he had no sense of God's presence, no faith to lean on. God is wild, you know, he wrote. We're not in charge.

the same answer from suffering people: it matters little what we say — our concern and availability matter far more.

the same answer from suffering people: it matters little what we say — our concern and availability matter far more. If we can offer a listening ear, that may be the most appreciated gift of all.

Every woman has to have something which singles her out, which catches the eyes, which makes her the center of attention. I am going to be french.

The castle will seem very quiet and strange without you here. The stone stairs and the chapel will miss your footstep, the gateway will will miss your laughter, and the wall will miss your shadow.

How should I forget them? They are around me like wasps around a honeypot.

Eyes downcast, she went past me without a glance. Dismissively her gown brushed my knees as if I should have drawn further back, out of her way, as if everyone should always step back to let Anne through. Then she was gone and as I looked up I met the Queen's eye. She looked blankly at me as I might look at a rivalry of birds fluttering in a dovecote. It was not as if it mattered. They would all be eaten in time.

As a queen my person must be inviolate, my body is always holy, my presence is sacred. Shall I lose that powerful magic for the benefit of moaning on about my injuries? Shall I trade majesty itself for the pleasure of a word of sympathy

Every woman has to have something which singles her out, which catches the eye, which makes her the center of attention.

It's not his friendship I miss,' Elizabeth said bluntly. 'It's him. The very person of him. His presence. I want his shadow on my wall, I want the smell of him. I can't eat without him, I can't do the business of the realm. I can't read a book without wanting his opinion, I can't hear a tune without wanting to sing it to him.