There is no past and no future; no one has ever entered those two imaginary kingdoms. There is only the present. Do not worry about the future, because there is no future. Live in the present and for the present, and if your present is good, then it is good forever.
If you have difficult times, if you suffer from the loss of loved ones or from fears about the future, remember that life exists only in the present and direct all your thoughts and memories to this present. All your anguish about the past and your worries about the future will disappear, and you will feel freedom and happiness.
You cannot measure good by either the feeling of need or sacrifice, but only by the communication with God which is established between the giver and the receiver.
Life alone is not good. Goodness exists only in a proper, virtuous life.
We do good only when we do not notice what we do, when we forget ourselves and live only in others.
A material evil done by a person does not return to the evildoer, but the evil feeling which was created by the sinful deed will fester in his soul and sooner or later make him suffer.
If in the morning a person wants to do evil unto others, evil will return to him by nightfall.
Every man becomes what he teaches others to be. Those who gain victory over themselves will gain victory over others. It is most difficult to achieve victory over oneself. Every man has power only over himself.
There is no material goodness which can restore the soul after the damage done by the evil which you create.
Remember: Those who suffer through to the end will be saved. Very often a person becomes desperate or even stops in his purpose when only a small effort is needed to achieve it.
Right cannot be defeated, because it is done not by your will but according to the eternal laws of God.
Persecution and suffering are the necessary conditions of the fulfillment of Christian law. Persecution is precious because it reveals whether a person lives with real faith.
Do not seek love in other people, and do not complain about the absence of their love for you. Some people love wrong, not right; therefore, try to please God, rather than people.
There is no deed in this life so impossible that you cannot do it. Your whole life should be lived as an heroic deed.
Every time you wake up and ask yourself, “What good things am I going to do today?” remember that, when the sun goes down at sunset, it will take a part of your life with it.
I am the tool with which God works. My virtue is to participate in this work, and I can do so if I keep the instrument which is given to me, namely my soul, in immaculate condition.
All things, even the most complicated things, become simple and clear if you separate them from other people and place them before God for judgment.
Other than our service to God, all our actions, whether we consider them important or not, are completely trivial. We may not know what the consequences of our actions will be, but we know what we should do.
The more busy you are with the improvement of your inner life, the more active you become in social life, helping other people.
It is as wrong for one person to rule many as it is for many to rule one.
When I sit on the seashore and listen to the waves beating on the sand, I feel free from any obligation, and I think that all the people of the world can change their constitutions without me.
