Joyce Rupp Quotes

if I wait to be perfect before I love myself I will always be unsatisfied and ungrateful if I wait until all the flaws, chips, and cracks disappear I will be the cup that stands on the shelf and is never used

No matter how much light I carry within me, there will always be times of feeling lost, being confused, seeking direction. It is the way of the human heart.

I heard a wise saying once that has helped me: "Negative feelings are like stray cats. The more you feed them, the more they hang around.

By the light of your stars, heal me.

Wisdom is a unique manifestation of God, a catalyst for transformation of the human person's life into one of fight and goodness.

No matter how hard I fight to stay "in the light," I will have some darkness in my life. This is as sure as the patter of sunrise and sunset in the natural course of the day.

Life moves so fast that I can easily forget they have happened to me unless I take time to record them.

You do not always have to be producing, creating, harvesting. Learn to be idle. Learn to rest.

Too many of us consent, or are forced, to spend time doing things for which we have no heartfelt reason. If we were asked, “Why are you doing this?” we would not know how to answer. —Parker Palmer

the difference between confusion and ‘don't know’ is that confusion can only see one way out and that way is blocked, while ‘don't know’ is open to miracles and insights.

will not criticize or find fault with myself or others.

Mary Jo Meadows defines compassion as “the quivering of the heart in response to another’s suffering” and notes that “compassionate beings . . . cannot bear to see suffering and remain unengaged.

The true essence of humankind is kindness. There are other qualities which come from education or knowledge, but it is essential, if one wishes to be a genuine human being and impart satisfying meaning to one's existence, to have a good heart. —The 14th Dalai Lama

SOUL CONTRACTIONS My mother ages all too quickly now, the latest illness claiming more chunks of her vitality each day. This beloved woman whose womb held my body, I now hold in the chalice of my vigilance. Sadness and sorrow pulse inside my spirit, a kindred soul-contraction resonating with her spiritual gestation as she prepares during these final years for her birth into eternity. Dear mother, I, who burst forth from your womb on a sunny morning in June, embrace you now with gratitude, praying to let you go freely, to encourage your spirit to wing forward peacefully into the mystery of the One Great Womb, where there is space enough to embrace us all.

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Thich Nhat Hanh said: “I am not running anymore; I have run all my life; now I am determined to stop and really live my life.

They say in old stories that you can't discover new lands without losing sight of the shore for a long time. —Laurie Gough

Keep a Strong Network of Prayer Guardian of my soul, guide me on my way today. Keep me safe from harm. Deepen my relationship with you, your Earth, and all your family. Strengthen your love within me that I may be a presence of your peace in our world. Amen

as I step into another Lenten season, I bring to you what requires your graced touch. You know what will further my well-being. I open my mind and heart to you with confidence that you will tend with care what troubles me.

Showing love and concern as a caring teacher Teaching how to live into the fullness of his message Testifying to sacred realities invisible on the surface Pointing to what one needs to learn and trust Forgiving those who stumble and fall off of the path Encouraging the effort to go an extra mile for others Explaining what human minds find difficult to perceive Leading into the depths of being where the true self resides Extending compassion for sorrows, defeats, and struggles Attending a desire to be a truly loving individual Understanding how challenging it is to absorb his teachings Cautioning to stay alert and appreciate life to the utmost Influencing the decision to be generous and self-giving Finding the lost when they wander far from the Way Inviting to accept with faith what is not fully perceived Midwifing the ongoing process of transformation

He Dwells Among Us He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. John 1:8 John the Baptist knew his place. He recognized how insignificant he was in comparison to the One whom he announced. At the same time, John also valued his own significance. He accepted the tremendous calling that was his, to be trusted as a messenger of the Light. And isn’t that true for each of us? We, too, are not the Christ, but we are filled with his love and light. Like John, we are also entrusted with announcing Christ’s coming among us. Each thought, word and deed of ours that contains love becomes a messenger announcing the presence of the Holy One. Thus it is that all through Advent we can proclaim, without any egotistical fanfare, that the Promised One is among us. Our patience, generosity, understanding, forgiveness, all these—and other choices we make to be persons of love—quietly declare the Word who became flesh is dwelling among us. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 • Luke 1:46-50, 53-54 • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 • John 1:6-8, 19-28

Renew My Strength God of Strength, who calls forth eagles to bend wings in adoration, who sends forth eagles to wing wide in praise, I am in need of your strength. Carry me on your loving wings. Renew my strength. Give me the energy for the going and create in me an openness to future flying. Great God of eagles’ hearts, I want to trust that you will bear me up, that you will support me. I look to you to renew my strength just as surely as eagles’ wings are wide in the sky.

Quiet

The Ache of Autumn in Us There is a season for everything, a time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing. . . . —Ecclesiastes 3:1,2,4 The trees grow more restless; October wind weaves through them; they shake their arms in dismay as if to fight the coming cold and the grief of leaves going. Autumn air does a heart-dance on branches already gone barren; the misty air clings to golden leaves,