The level of womanhood

To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.”

-- Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The road must be trod

"The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet it is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: Small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere."

--J.R.R. Tolkien

The hero's heart

"Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart.”

--Proverb

To trust in Him

"In God, we live every commonplace as well as the most exalted moment of our being. To trust in Him when no need is pressing, when things seem going right of themselves, may be harder than when things seem going wrong."

--George MacDonald

Beauty of the soul

"Inasmuch as love grows in you, so beauty grows.  For love is the beauty of the soul."

--Saint Augustine

The path of petals

As I neared the communion rail
I saw it-
a path of white rose petals
leading past the hem
of her white satin gown,
past the bridegroom
to the altar,
to Him.
And I saw the path of thorns and dust
leading to Calvary,
the one the Bridegroom trod
in His blood-soaked robe
for His bride,
for us.
Two paths to Heaven-
the second one is loveliest.

(originally posted 1/11/09)

Loss

“We never understand how little we need in this world until we know the loss of it.”

--Sir James M. Barrie