A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Regret drives us to repentance, and repentance leads us to God.

Let there be the deep confession of our inability to bring God the worship that is pleasing to Him; the childlike teachableness that waits on Him to instruct us; the simple faith that yields itself to the breathing of the Spirit.

God instituted sacrifice not for His own sake but for our sake. The sacrificial law is a means to God's glorious end: it disciplines His people, focusing their attention on worship, gratitude, sorrow for sin, the need for purity, and the necessity of renouncing everything in order to cling to God.

When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God is poor in spirit

For unless we realize our own helpless misery, we shall never know how much we need the remedy which Christ brings, nor come to him with the fervent love we owe him.

We are accordingly urged by our own evil things to consider the good things of God; and, indeed, we cannot aspire to Him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves. For what man is not disposed to rest in himself?

Broken things are precious. We eat broken bread because we share in the depth of our Lord and His broken life. Broken flowers give perfume. Broken incense is used in adoration. A broken ship saved Paul and many other passengers on their way to Rome. Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.

It is possible to love more than we know. A simple person in good faith may have a greater love of God than a theologian and, as a result, a keener understanding of the ways of God with the heart than psychologists have.

One reason for a long life is penance. Time is given us not just to accumulate that which we cannot take with us, but to make reparation for our sins.