God never intended most human beings to become philosophers or theologians, but God does want all humans to represent the very Sympathy and Empathy of God.

Our faith became a competitive theology with various parochial theories of salvation, instead of a universal cosmology inside of which all can live with an inherent dignity.

The point of the Christian life is not to distinguish oneself from the ungodly, but to stand in radical solidarity with everyone and everything else. This is the full, final, and intended effect of the Incarnation—symbolized by its finality in the cross, which is God's great act of solidarity instead of judgment.

We are driven, kicking and screaming, toward ever higher levels of union and ability to include (to forgive others for being "other"), it seems to me. "Everything that rises must converge," as Teilhard de Chardin put it.

So long as we all cling to our prejudices and identify with our preconceived views and feelings, genuine human community is impossible. You have to get to the point where you can break free from your feelings. Otherwise in the end you won't have any feelings; they'll have you.

Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other's feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us.

Focus on their feelings, not the facts. Begin with sympathy, not solutions.

Lord, as You have been to me, so I will be to others. As I pray, I'll measure Your compassion by the cross and Your power by the resurrection.

May each family rediscover family prayer, which helps to bring about mutual understanding and forgiveness.

Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful - Christian community is the final apologetic.

If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.

Understanding comes about through feeling, from moment to moment in the mirror of relationship.