Quote(s)

The Peace of the Grave

By: 
111

Lord Irwin had to declare that his government could not impose “the peace of the grave” on India, even though they had the capacity.

The certain victory of satyagraha

By: 

"Given a just cause, capacity for endless suffering, and avoidance of violence, victory is certain."

Plunging the prevailing idolatries into the corrosive acids of the Gospel

By: 
111

"Fidelity to the gospel lies not in repeating its slogans but in plunging the prevailing idolatries into its corrosive acids."

Cultivating a contemplation of nature as a spiritual discipline

By: 
89

"We forget to look for rainbows when the rain clouds part near sunset. We get up too late to watch the dawn. We forget to gaze at the stars and to recall the vast light's journey to reach our eyes. We take the water for granted and wish the rain would go away. We stop bending low enough to witness the toiling ant. We lose our wonder for growing plants and the mysteries by which the seed falls to the earth and brings forth grain a hundredfold.
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In the beginning, if we are rusty and out of practice, we shall have to remind ourselves constantly to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to what we see.
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A quick glance at sunset or sunrise on a busy day can bond us with nature, even if no extended moments are available, just as a parent can bond with a child in a swift glance.
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Noisy contemplation and crabgrass Christians

By: 
62

"Noisy contemplation is for crabgrass Christians. Crabgrass grows anywhere. Its roots dig deep and bind the earth. It needs little care, is resistant to drought, wind, and sun. People can walk all over it and try to kill it. It will grow where there is even a crack in the sidewalk, but can burst forth in powerful growth when conditions are favorable.
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Instead of seeking blocks of time to be alone, we can convert many small moments of our day into cumulative habits of prayer."

The importance of rigourous self-examination before confronting evil

By: 
130

"That is why we must not engage the Powers without rigorous examination of our own inner evil, which we often project onto our opponents. We must ask how we are like the very Power we oppose, and attempt to open these parts of ourselves to divine transformation. We must attempt to stop the spiral of violence both within ourselves and in our tactics vis-a-vis the Powers."

Growth against your norm of compassion

By: 
86

"Your norm of compassion is with the way you have lived in the past. Against that background, seek signs of growth."

Ministering to the soul of America

By: 
105

We cannot minister to the soul of America unless we love its soul.

Why do we believe only the past is possible?

By: 

Our natural tendency to place the possible in the past leads us to overlook the acts of our contemporaries, who defy the presumably unmovable order of things.

The Definition of Nonviolence

By: 
7

Through the vistas of time a voice still cries to every potential Peter, "Put up your sword!" The shores of history are white with the bleached bones of nations and communities that failed to follow

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