---
title: "57 Ifs Quotes By Thomas Merton"
description: "57 Ifs quotes by Thomas Merton. Plus more from Thomas Merton and more Ifs sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/thomas-merton-231_all-things_if-you-have-love-you-will-do-all-things_894303.jpg"
---

> [If you have love you will do all things well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-have-love-you-will-do-all-things-well/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/thomas-merton-231_all-things_if-you-have-love-you-will-do-all-things_894303.jpg)

> [If we seek paradise outside ourselves, we cannot have paradise in our hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-we-seek-paradise-outside-ourselves-we-cannot-have-paradise-in-our/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/thomas-merton-231_being-alone_if-we-seek-paradise-outside-ourselves-we_966203.jpg)

> [If you yourself are at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-yourself-are-at-peace-then-there-is-at-least-some-peace-in-the/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/thomas-merton-231_ifs_if-you-yourself-are-at-peace-then-there_2510340.jpg)

> [If you have never had any distractions you don't know how to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-have-never-had-any-distractions-you-don-t-know-how-to-pray/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a1/thomas-merton-231_distraction_if-you-have-never-had-any-distractions-y_1098469.jpg)

> [Stop asking yourself questions that have no meaning. Or if they have, you'll find out when you need to -- find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/stop-asking-yourself-questions-that-have-no-meaning-or-if-they-have/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/thomas-merton-231_answers_stop-asking-yourself-questions-that-have_3040184.jpg)

> [What is the use of praying if at the very moment of prayer, we have so little confidence in God that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-is-the-use-of-praying-if-at-the-very-moment-of-prayer-we-have-so/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/thomas-merton-231_answers_what-is-the-use-of-praying-if-at-the-ver_2396750.jpg)

> [If there was no other proof of the infinite patience of God, a very good one could be found in His toleration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-there-was-no-other-proof-of-the-infinite-patience-of-god-a-very/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/thomas-merton-231_found_if-there-was-no-other-proof-of-the-infin_1211899.jpg)

> [But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/but-if-you-want-to-identify-me-ask-me-not-where-i-live-or-what-i-like/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/thomas-merton-231_ask-me_but-if-you-want-to-identify-me-ask-me-no_2307870.jpg)

> [If you want to have a spiritual life you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you-must-unify-your-life-a-life/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/thomas-merton-231_ifs_if-you-want-to-have-a-spiritual-life-you_1536301.jpg)

> [How do you expect to arrive at the end of your own journey if you take the road to another man's city?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/how-do-you-expect-to-arrive-at-the-end-of-your-own-journey-if-you/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/thomas-merton-231_another-man_how-do-you-expect-to-arrive-at-the-end-o_526592.jpg)

> [If Zen has any preference it is for glass that is plain, has no color, and is "just glass."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-zen-has-any-preference-it-is-for-glass-that-is-plain-has-no-color/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71b/thomas-merton-231_color_if-zen-has-any-preference-it-is-for-glas_3169447.jpg)

> [If we have not silence, God is not heard in our music. If we have no rest God, does not bless our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-we-have-not-silence-god-is-not-heard-in-our-music-if-we-have-no/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83f/thomas-merton-231_bless_if-we-have-not-silence-god-is-not-heard_3090895.jpg)

> [Do not look for rest in any pleasure, because you were not created for pleasure: you were created for joy. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/do-not-look-for-rest-in-any-pleasure-because-you-were-not-created-for-2/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf0/thomas-merton-231_differences_do-not-look-for-rest-in-any-pleasure-bec_2263589.jpg)

> [We are obliged to love one another. We are not strictly bound to 'like' one another. Love governs the will: 'liking' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-obliged-to-love-one-another-we-are-not-strictly-bound-to-like-3/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/thomas-merton-231_bounds_we-are-obliged-to-love-one-another-we-ar_1591168.jpg)

> [The only true liberty is in the service of that which is beyond all limits, beyond all definitions, beyond all human appreciation:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-only-true-liberty-is-in-the-service-of-that-which-is-beyond-all/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-merton-231_appreciation_the-only-true-liberty-is-in-the-service_2710914.jpg)

> [To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect on me is to live on the doorstep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-consider-persons-and-events-and-situations-only-in-the-light-of-2/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/thomas-merton-231_all-things_to-consider-persons-and-events-and-situa_2986222.jpg)

> [If there is no silence beyond and within the many words of doctrine, there is no religion, only a religious ideology. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-there-is-no-silence-beyond-and-within-the-many-words-of-doctrine/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/250/thomas-merton-231_action_if-there-is-no-silence-beyond-and-within_1069649.jpg)

> [It is easy enough to tell the poor to accept their poverty as Gods will when you yourself have warm clothes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-easy-enough-to-tell-the-poor-to-accept-their-poverty-as-gods/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/thomas-merton-231_accepting_it-is-easy-enough-to-tell-the-poor-to-ac_1742362.jpg)

> [Detachment from things does not mean setting up a contradiction between 'things' and 'God' as if God were another thing and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/detachment-from-things-does-not-mean-setting-up-a-contradiction/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/thomas-merton-231_all-things_detachment-from-things-does-not-mean-set_1027176.jpg)

> [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/thomas-merton-231_air_things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one_37769.jpg)

> [The illusion that mechanical progress means human improvement ... alienates us from our own being and our own reality. It is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-illusion-that-mechanical-progress-means-human-improvement/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/thomas-merton-231_car_the-illusion-that-mechanical-progress-me_552657.jpg)

> [Our God...is a consuming fire. And if we, by love, become transformed into Him and burn as He burns, His fire will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/our-god-is-a-consuming-fire-and-if-we-by-love-become-transformed-into/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/thomas-merton-231_and-love_our-god-is-a-consuming-fire-and-if-we-by_881234.jpg)

> [It's a risky thing to pray and the danger is that our very prayers get between God and us. The great thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-s-a-risky-thing-to-pray-and-the-danger-is-that-our-very-prayers/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/872/thomas-merton-231_constant_it-s-a-risky-thing-to-pray-and-the-dange_2120244.jpg)

> [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e13/thomas-merton-231_darkness_if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-b_7412.jpg)

> [It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, now I realize what we all are . If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-a-glorious-destiny-to-be-a-member-of-the-human-race-now-i/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/thomas-merton-231_big-problem_it-is-a-glorious-destiny-to-be-a-member_1795511.jpg)

> [Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation-we-are-all-called-by-god-to/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/thomas-merton-231_called-by-god_each-one-of-us-has-some-kind-of-vocation_186666.jpg)

> [Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If I am going to have a true memory, there are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/memory-is-corrupted-and-ruined-by-a-crowd-of-memories-if-i-am-going/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbb/thomas-merton-231_alive_memory-is-corrupted-and-ruined-by-a-crow_3151222.jpg)

> [It is not humility to insist on being someone that you are not. It is as much as saying that you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-not-humility-to-insist-on-being-someone-that-you-are-not-it-is/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c90/thomas-merton-231_another-man_it-is-not-humility-to-insist-on-being-so_975812.jpg)

> [For if I am to love truly and freely, I must be able to give something that is truly my own to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/for-if-i-am-to-love-truly-and-freely-i-must-be-able-to-give-something/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/thomas-merton-231_able_for-if-i-am-to-love-truly-and-freely-i-m_474619.jpg)

> [If we are to love sincerely, and with simplicity, we must first of all overcome the fear of not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-we-are-to-love-sincerely-and-with-simplicity-we-must-first-of-all/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/thomas-merton-231_being-loved_if-we-are-to-love-sincerely-and-with-sim_405261.jpg)

> [What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we cannot cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/what-can-we-gain-by-sailing-to-the-moon-if-we-cannot-cross-the-abyss/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/thomas-merton-231_abyss_what-can-we-gain-by-sailing-to-the-moon_2308759.jpg)

> [How can I be sincere if I am constantly changing my mind to conform with the shadow of what I think others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/how-can-i-be-sincere-if-i-am-constantly-changing-my-mind-to-conform/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38c/thomas-merton-231_changing-mind_how-can-i-be-sincere-if-i-am-constantly_3068986.jpg)

> [None of our prayers should ever be petitions for our own needs: for this is only another subtle way of trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/none-of-our-prayers-should-ever-be-petitions-for-our-own-needs-for/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/thomas-merton-231_acting_none-of-our-prayers-should-ever-be-petit_1831490.jpg)

> [God utters me like a word containing a partial thought of him. A word will never be able to comprehend the voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/god-utters-me-like-a-word-containing-a-partial-thought-of-him-a-word/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/thomas-merton-231_able_god-utters-me-like-a-word-containing-a-p_1635273.jpg)

> [It is both dangerous and easy to hate man as he is because he is not what he ought to be. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-both-dangerous-and-easy-to-hate-man-as-he-is-because-he-is-not/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/thomas-merton-231_dangerous_it-is-both-dangerous-and-easy-to-hate-ma_1852016.jpg)

> [If a writer is so cautious that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never be able to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-a-writer-is-so-cautious-that-he-never-writes-anything-that-cannot/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/thomas-merton-231_able_if-a-writer-is-so-cautious-that-he-never_2436868.jpg)

> [We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs. But if we have the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-cannot-master-everything-taste-everything-understand-everything/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d05/thomas-merton-231_able_we-cannot-master-everything-taste-everyt_1528247.jpg)

> [One of the first things to learn if you want to be a contemplative is to mind your own business. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/one-of-the-first-things-to-learn-if-you-want-to-be-a-contemplative-is/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/thomas-merton-231_contemplative_one-of-the-first-things-to-learn-if-you_2461178.jpg)

> [We assume that others are receiving the kind of appreciation we want for ourselves, and we proceed on the assumption that since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-assume-that-others-are-receiving-the-kind-of-appreciation-we-want/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/thomas-merton-231_appreciation_we-assume-that-others-are-receiving-the_2828600.jpg)

> [There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/there-is-only-one-problem-on-which-all-my-existence-my-peace-my/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/thomas-merton-231_depends_there-is-only-one-problem-on-which-all-m_1367931.jpg)

## Other authors on Ifs

## More by Thomas Merton

> [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

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                        "text": "If there is no silence beyond and within the many words of doctrine, there is no religion, only a religious ideology. For religion goes beyond words and actions, and attains to the ultimate Truth only in silence and Love.",
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                        "text": "It is easy enough to tell the poor to accept their poverty as Gods will when you yourself have warm clothes and plenty of food and medical care and a roof over your head and no worry about the rent. But if you want them to believe youtry to share some of their poverty and see if you can accept it as Gods will yourself!",
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                        "text": "Detachment from things does not mean setting up a contradiction between 'things' and 'God' as if God were another thing and as if creatures were His rivals. We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God.",
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                        "text": "Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one is getting something. The truth is doing us good. The truth of the sunshine, the truth of the rain, the truth of the fresh air, the truth of the wind in the trees, these are truths. And they are always accessible!",
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                        "text": "The illusion that mechanical progress means human improvement ... alienates us from our own being and our own reality. It is precisely because we are convinced that our life, as such, is better if we have a better car, a better TV set, better toothpaste, etc., that we condemn and destroy our own reality and the reality of our natural resources. Technology was made for man, not man for technology. In losing touch with being and thus with God, we have fallen into a senseless idolatry of production and consumption for their own sakes.",
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                        "text": "Our God...is a consuming fire. And if we, by love, become transformed into Him and burn as He burns, His fire will be our everlasting joy. But if we refuse His love and remain in the coldness of sin and opposition to Him and to other men then will His fire (by our own choice rather than His) become our everlasting enemy, and Love, instead of being our joy, will become our torment and our destruction.",
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                        "text": "It's a risky thing to pray and the danger is that our very prayers get between God and us. The great thing in prayer is not to pray, but to go directly to God. . . . The fact is, though, that if you descend into the depths of your own spirit and arrive somewhere near the center of what you are, you are confronted with the inescapable truth that, at the very root of your existence, you are in constant and immediate contact with the infinite power of God.",
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                        "text": "If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must pass beyond everything that can be seen and enter into darkness. Since nothing that can be heard is God, to find Him we must enter into silence. Since God cannot be imagined, anything our imagination tells us about Him is ultimately a lie and therefore we cannot know Him as He really is unless we pass beyond everything that can be imagined and enter into an obscurity without images and without the likeness of any created thing.",
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                        "text": "It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, now I realize what we all are . If only they [people] could all see themselves as they really are I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure truth This little point is the pure glory of God in us. It is in everybody.",
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                        "text": "Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the Kingdom. If we find that place we will be happy. If we do not find it, we can never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God's will, to be what God wants us to be.",
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                        "text": "Memory is corrupted and ruined by a crowd of memories. If I am going to have a true memory, there are a thousand things that must first be forgotten. Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not remember the here and now, does not remember its true identity, is not memory at all. He who remembers nothing but facts and past events, and is never brought back into the present, is a victim of amnesia.",
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                        "text": "It is not humility to insist on being someone that you are not. It is as much as saying that you know better than God who you are and who you ought to be. How do you expect to arrive at the end of your own journey if you take the road to another man's city? How do you expect to reach your own perfection by leading somebody else's life? His sanctity will never be yours; you must have the humility to work out your own salvation in a darkness where you are absolutely alone.",
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                        "text": "For if I am to love truly and freely, I must be able to give something that is truly my own to another. If my heart does not first belong to me, how can I give it to another?",
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                        "text": "If we are to love sincerely, and with simplicity, we must first of all overcome the fear of not being loved.",
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                        "text": "What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we cannot cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?",
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                        "text": "God utters me like a word containing a partial thought of him. A word will never be able to comprehend the voice that utters it. But if I am true to the concept that God utters in me, if I am true to the thought of Him that I was meant to embody, I shall be full of his actuality and find him everywhere in myself, and find myself nowhere.",
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