“In the early stages of any schism, its promoters find themselves oblig...” — Ronald Knox Quote

“In the early stages of any schism, its promoters find themselves obliged to hold by outworn traditions, because they have no central authority which can initiate, and sanction, disciplinary developments. Hence they seldom fail to reproach the Catholic Church with a spirit of innovation. 'It is a common trait among the heretics and schismatics of all ages; schism and heresy have almost always, for their point of departure, a regret for the past, the claim or the dream of going back to the fountain-source of a religious idea, to the discipline or the faith of an apostolic age.”

“I may be a bigot, I may be a pedant' but I believe I have the ordinary Englishman with me here. He does not want 'religion'; he wants God.”

“A good sermon should be like a woman's skirt: short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials.”

“Hope is something that is demanded of us; it is not, then, a mere reasoned calculation of our chances. Nor is it merely the bubbling up of a sanguine temperament; if it is demanded of us, it lies not in the temperament but in the will... Hoping for what? For delivereance from persecution, for immunity from plague, pestilence, and famine...? No, for the grace of persevering in his Christian profession, and for the consequent achievement of a happy immortality. Strictly speaking, then, the highest exercise of hope, supernaturally speaking, is to hope for perseverance and for Heaven when it looks, when it feels, as if you were going to lose both one and the other.”

“those who have loved are those that have found God”

“Have faith have faith. When you have nothing else have faith.”

“It's a strange world we live in, somewhere they believe in talking snakes, somewhere they worship monkeys and vultures. Yet we forget to love our fellow human beings, because they revere different mythical creatures.”

“Wings are like dreams. Before each flight, a bird takes a small jump, a leap of faith, believing that its wings will work. That jump can only be made with rock solid feet.”

“Saints are not corporeal, but presences; they can reach and touch wherever their grace and generosity desire.”

“Perfection” of existence is in its plurality and its “imperfection.” Existence contains the whole purpose in a constant, eternal pursuit of perfection. In this pursuit, the mode, motives, and, above all, meaning are found. Even if there were a possibility for perfect particularities within the realm of existence (world, universe), this perfection would still undermine the higher perfection achieved through evolution. The perfection of particularities would undermine the absolute potential of the Absolute for infinity. The world must be “perfect” (or “imperfect”) not only concerning the Absolute and not only concerning the particular realities but also proportionately perfect (or imperfect) concerning its potential and the potential of the Absolute concerning eternity and infinity.”