The incomparable great power we have as believers is tied up in hope. Lose the hope and lose the power.

But the Great Romance is the root of our stories, stories that confront us with the eternal ideals. Love. Beauty. Hope. The greatest gifts. The very heart of Elyon. Do you understand?" "Um . . . actually it sounds a bit abstract." "Ha! The opposite, Thomas! Do you know why we love beautiful flowers? Because we love beauty!

Judgement immobilizes, only hopeful love leaves an opening for God's alternative future.

The counterweight to the dominion of evil can consist in the first place only in the divine-human love of Jesus Christ that is always greater than any possible power of evil.

Love is the way back into Eden. It is the way back to life.

God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love.

God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me a right faith, a sure hope, a perfect charity, sense and knowledge, so that I may carry out your holy command.

People are more important to Him than human traditions.

When you remember me, it means you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.

Remember, you are held safe. You are loved. You are protected. You are in communion with God and with those whom God has sent you. What is of God will last. It belongs to the eternal life. Choose it, and it will be yours.

Every relationship carries within its center a holy vacancy, a space that is for the first Love, God alone.

In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.