I realized that everything I had to do I could not do on my own, and so I was almost obliged to put myself in God's hands, to trust in Jesus who - while I wrote my book on him - I felt bound to by an old and more profound friendship.

The first fresh hour of every morning should be dedicated to the Lord, whose mercy gladdens it with golden light.

For he who loves God without faith reflects on himself, while the person who loves God in faith reflects on God.

The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I would reply: Create silence! The Word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today. And even if it were blazoned forth with all the panoply of noise so that it could be heard in the midst of all the other noise, then it would no longer be the Word of God. Therefore create Silence.

for he who loves God without faith reflects upon himself, he who loves God believingly reflects upon God. Upon

When you read God's Word, in everything you read, continually to say to yourself: It is I to whom it is speaking, it is I about whom it is speaking—this is earnestness, precisely this is earnestness

Scripture suggests that meditating on the Word of God can have an always-on effect of peace and strength in difficult times.

Without preservation and cultivation of the spiritual, your material success will be as ashes in your mouths.

I remember one time you said your life made you feel so ashamed you couldn't even talk about it to God, you had to write it, bad as you thought your writing was. Well, now I know what you meant. And whether God will read letters or no, I know you will go on writing them; which is guidance enough for me. Anyway, when I don't write to you I feel as bad as I do when I don't pray, locked up in myself and choking on my own heart.

Have I allowed my personal human life to become a 'Bethlehem' for the Son of God?

The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos.

What am I then, my God? What is my nature? A life varied, multifaceted and truly immense.