Living in a monastery, even as a guest rather than a monk, you have more opportunities than you might have elsewhere to see the world as it is, instead of through the shadow that you cast upon it.

Money and beauty are defenses against the sorrows of this world but neither can undo the past. Only time will conquer time. The way forward is the only way back to innocence and to peace.

His resiliency was not the resiliency of the dumb but of a lamb who can remember hurt but cannot sustain the anger or the bitterness that brittles the heart.

And because we have been given thought, will, and imagination, albeit on a human scale, we too have this power to create.

Then perhaps you shouldn't sleep. The imagination has terrifying power.

It's a world of sorrow, Oddie, because we make it so.

Life had been hard on this girl, Jacob, but she had enough courage for an army.

Human beings not only can't bear too much reality, we flee from reality when someone doesn't force us close enough to the fire to feel the heat on our faces.

When you laugh at yourself, you gain perspective. Then you realize that the mistakes you made, as long as they didn't hurt anyone but yourself——well, you can forgive yourself for those.

My imagination is as rich as my bank account is empty.

You can't fix things with a hug, but you can't make them any worse either.

Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? Would you follow him for the life, joy and fulfilment he gives you right now?

Traveler, there is no path, the path must be forged as you walk.

On being asked what condition of man he considered the most pitiable: A lonesome man on a rainy day who does not know how to read.

Bless yourself with holy water, have Masses said, and so on; by a simple and natural process this will make you believe, and will dull you - will quiet your proudly critical intellect.

What people have got to remember is that Sept. 11 happened in 2001 and not in 2003. It was planned under the presidency of Bill Clinton.

In my quiet, I was working something out.

The highest virtue here may be least in another world.

Everyone should know that the 'war on cancer' is largely a fraud.

Oh, that was a good time, when I was unhappy. [Fr., Oh c'etait le bon temps, j'etais bien malheureuse.]

Oh God, you know what would be really good for me is a dog locater - it would save me the hours that I have to spend looking for my dog.