J.Gaert

“The man who has no inner-life is a slave to his surroundings.”

—Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Thank you, apoetreflects.

"The thing which keeps life romantic and full of fiery possibilities is the existence of these great plain limitations which force us to meet the things we do not like or do not expect."

G.K. Chesterton (via invisibleforeigner)

— 3 days ago with 12 notes

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/magazine/is-giving-the-secret-to-getting-ahead.html?_r=0 →

“The greatest untapped source of motivation, is a sense of service to others; focusing on the contribution of our work to other peoples’ lives has the potential to make us more productive than thinking about helping ourselves.” - paraphrase, Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist

Great article. Slow start, but it gets really meaty by about page 6. ;)

— 2 months ago

"Does man need God, or can we do quite well without him? When, in the first phase of God’s absence, his light continues to illumine and sustain the order of human existence, it appears that things can also function without God. But the more the world withdraws from God, the clearer it becomes that man, in his hubris of power, in his emptiness of heart and in his longing for satisfaction and happiness, increasingly loses his life. A thirst for the infinite is indelibly present in human beings. Man was created to have a relationship with God; we need him."

POPE BENEDICT XVI

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2011/09/god-will-judge-us-on-how-we-respond-to.html

— 2 months ago

When Light Does Not Reach Our Hearts

“What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure? I think it is the hope of loving, or being loved.

“I heard a fable once about the sun going on a journey to find its source, and how the moon wept without her lover’s warm gaze.

“We weep when light does not reach our hearts. We wither like fields if someone close does not rain their kindness upon us.”

- Meister Eckhart

“God doesn’t ultimately judge us for how adept we are at following the rules of the Church, but by how much we’ve loved other people. “ – A comment made by my sister a few weeks ago.

For years now, I have been moving in circles when it comes to what to believe about the Church. Somehow, I still think that what we believe has an impact on our hearts and the way we live. Yet I keep having to ask: To what end do we believe? For what purpose do we go to Church?

I have all these lofty ideals about love and humanity, but actually loving self-sacrificially? I can’t even bring myself to go to lunch with a person who simply needs to be listened to.

It’s easy to give time to a friend that gives back, but there are an abundance of broken, lonely individuals that are only able to take. I worry of being depleted. But how is anyone to be restored unless they are given medicine? I’ve been in that needy place before. Why am I unwilling to give, now that I have something to offer?

If I love God as much as I think I do, what would I do if it were the Christ that was suffering from debilitating loneliness? Why did he say “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40)?

Am I going to awaken one day before God’s face and realize I could have given 1% of the love he gave me and it would have been enough?

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal 5:14)

— 2 months ago with 1 note