Inspiration

I don't know about you, but I love to be inspired by others. On this page, I have compiled some of my favorite bits of wisdom, quotes, and passages that inspire me. I hope they inspire you too! Enjoy!

P.S. If you enjoy these quotes, check back here from time to time. I update this list fairly regularly.


"Bloom, bloom, bloom where you are planted . . . ."

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings."
~ Victor Hugo

"Bad times, hard times - this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times."
~ St. Augustine of Hippo

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
~ Robert Frost

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
~ George Eliot

"The chief thing is to take the burden on one's shoulders.  As you press forward, it soon shakes down and the load is evenly distributed."
~ Saint John Bosco

"J. Hudson Taylor, that great pioneer missionary to China, used to say we should not mind how great the pressure is--only where the pressure lies. If we make sure it never comes between us and our Lord, then the greater the pressure, the more it presses us to Him."
~ Ruth Bell Graham

"May no one cast upon me the accusation that I have undertaken too much here, that I have begun too grandly and extended the word of God too widely. The future will give a fuller explanation."
~ Blessed Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger, Foundress of School Sisters of Notre Dame

"Our culture has filled our heads but emptied our hearts, stuffed our wallets but starved our wonder.  It has fed our thirst for facts but not for meaning or mystery.  It produces 'nice' people, not heroes."
~ Peter Kreeft

“Those who suffer the lack of abundance, joy, love, fulfillment, and prosperity in their own lives really have no business imposing their self-limiting beliefs on your reality experience.”
~ Anthon St. Maarten

"For just as from the heavens, the rain and snow come down, and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth:
It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it."
~ Isaiah 55: 10-11

"[I]f we don’t show up, we’re going to lose by default."
~ Kevin Clarkson

"Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person."
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Address in Hyde Park, London, Sept. 2010

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand."
~ Ephesians 6:12-13

"The devil strains every nerve to secure the souls that belong to Christ.  We should not grudge our toil in wresting them from Satan and giving them back to God."
~ Saint Sebastian

"Death doesn’t discriminate
between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes.
History obliterates.
In every picture it paints,
it paints me with all my mistakes.
When Alexander aimed
at the sky,
he may have been the first one to die,
but I’m the one who paid for it.
I survived, but I paid for it.
Now I’m the villain in your history.
I was too young and blind to see.
I should’ve known.
I should’ve known
the world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me.
The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me."
~ Aaron Burr in "Hamilton"

"Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear-I fear greatly-the storm will not pass. It will rage and it will roar, ever more loudly, ever more widely. It will spread to the South; it will spread to the North. There is no chance of a speedy end except through united action . . . ."
~ Winston Churchill

"The Lord God has no one else but you. You'd better get off your lead bottoms and go out there and change this pagan world."
~ Mother Angelica

“The whole course of Christianity from the first century is but one series of troubles and disorders. Every century is like every other, and to those who live in it seems worse than all times before it because the Church is ever ailing and the cause of Christ is ever in its last agony.”
~ John Henry Cardinal Newman

"Do not fear: I am with you;
do not be anxious: I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
~ Isaiah 41:10

"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control."
~ 2 Timothy 1:7

"[I]f you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
~ Matthew 17:20

"'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.  'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.'"
~ J.R.R. Tolkien

"I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world."
~ John 16:33

"We are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good."
~ Romans 8:28

Every day, arise anew and wage a war of love. Even if you lose the battle or all seems lost and wasted, never forget that God has already won the war.

"The blossom cannot tell what becomes of its fragrance as it drifts away, just as no person can tell what becomes of their influence as they continue through life."

“No ray of sunshine is ever lost, but the green which it awakens into existence needs time to sprout, and it is not always granted for the sower to see the harvest. All work that is worth anything is done in faith.”
~ Albert Schweitzer

"So God said to him: Because you asked me for this -- you did not ask for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but you asked for discernment to know what is right. I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you."
~ 1 Kings 3:11, 12

“Our gifts and attainments are not only to be light and warmth in our own dwellings, but are also to shine through the windows into the dark night, to guide and cheer bewildered travelers on the road.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher

"I seem to have been led, little by little, toward my work; and I believe that the same fact will appear in the life of anyone who will cultivate such powers as God has given him, and then go on, bravely, quietly, but persistently, doing such work as comes to his hands."
~ Fanny Crosby

"Do not model your behavior on the contemporary world, but let the renewing of your minds transform you, so that you may discern for yourselves what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and mature."
~ Romans 12:2

"Our work for today is to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. The work is not so much what we do for God, but rather what God does in and through us in our steadfast belief."
~ Caroline Gash (Gospel Reflection, John 6:22-29)

"Being a Christian isn’t about being perfect or living a good life. It’s about loving God and trusting in his plan for our lives. And when we do screw up (which is inevitable), it’s about running back to God because He’s standing their with His arms wide open waiting to lovingly embrace us. You see, when God sacrificed his son Jesus to die for our sins, those sins were paid for once and for all. There’s nothing you can do that can’t be forgiven and God will never stop loving you."
~ Sean Lowe

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality."
~ Colossians 3:23

"[L]ove considers others first; and anger is a self-centered betrayal of love."
~ Ed Stubbing

"I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world."
~ John 12:46-47

"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men."
~ Abraham Lincoln

"This democracy was made for a religious people, any other kind and it is sure to fail."
~ John Adams

"He who angers you conquers you."
~ Elizabeth Kenny

"Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions."
~ George W. Bush

"[T]he grace to appreciate the depth of someone’s struggles only comes after fighting the fight yourself."
~ God via Kathryn Whitaker

"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness."
~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Think then, of this world as a sea, whipped up to tempestuous heights by violent winds.
A person's own private tempest will be his or her unruly desires. If you love God you will have
power to walk upon the waters, and all the world's swell and turmoil will remain beneath your feet."
~ St. Augustine

"Don’t submit to what Chesterton called 'the degrading slavery of being a child of [one’s] age.' Make your own decisions. . . . And don’t believe them when they tell you you’re weird, frigid, sick, or backwards. Even as they accuse you of leading a deprived live, they are a prisoner to their impulses, inviting in unplanned pregnancy, STDs, abortion, heartbreak, loss of self-respect, and more."
~ Kristen Walker

"In our book, Way of the Cross which is used for Stations, the Sixth Station is "Veronica wipes the face of Jesus." The song sung before the station is
Brave but trembling came the woman,
None but she would flaunt the Roman,
Moved by love beyond her fear.
Pray that we have the love beyond fear to do the right things in our lives.”

“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my entire career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
~ Michael Jordan

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
~ Theodore Roosevelt

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“It is one thing to see the land of peace from a wooded ridge. . . and another to tread the road that leads to it.”
~ St. Augustine

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick . . . ."
~ Proverbs 13:12

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
~ Romans 8:28 (KJV)

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that
works in us, to Him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus to all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.”
~ Ephesians 3:20-21

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“Happiness comes when you believe in what you are doing, know what you are doing, and love what you are doing.”
~ Brian Tracy

"Do what you like and what you love and you’ll be best at that and happiest at that. There’s no one right path. If the right man comes along right away, don’t turn love down. Have your children. If the right man doesn’t come along right away, prepare yourself for an otherwise productive life. You can’t predict your path. But do what you love."
~ Jane Sullivan Roberts (when asked what advice she has for young women)

What you do will never be enough. You can always do more. But always remember that you cannot ask more of yourself than "your" best. And "your" best must ought to be shaped and directed by "your" priorities. If you can figure out the secret to navigating that slippery slope, then you are on you way to greatness and, hopefully, fulfillment and, most importantly, Grace.

"At the end of the day it doesn't matter whether I put any makeup on or showered or brushed my teeth…but if in forgoing any of those things I was less patient, less kind, and less loving toward my family, then actually, it matters quite a bit."
~ Jenny

"You never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears."
~ James 4:14

"Pray as though everything depends on God; work as though everything depends on you."
~ St. Augustine

"Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward."
~ Psalm 127:3

"I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. CHOOSE LIFE, then, that you and your descendants may live by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the Lord swore he would give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
Deuteronomy 30: 18-19

“All who are genuinely committed to the advancement of women can and must offer a woman or a girl who is pregnant, frightened, and alone a better alternative than the destruction of her own unborn child.”
~ Mary Ann Glendon

"Fewer women would have abortions if wombs had windows."
~ Dr. Bernard Nathanson

"Babies cry, make noise, go here and there. But it annoys me when a baby cries in church and there are those who say he needs to go out. The cry of a baby is God's voice: never drive them away from the church!"
~ Pope Francis, 12/16/2014, Visit to Parish of St. Joseph, Rome

"It is not in the still calm of life, or in the repose of a specific situation, that great characters are formed."
~ Abigail Adams

The Armor of God
~ Ephesians 6:10-17

"To love a person is to learn the song that is in their heart, And to sing it to them when they have forgotten." 
~ Anonymous

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love."
~ Romans 8:38

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
~ John 3:17

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
~ John 10:10b

“Where God leads, He meets needs. Where God guides, he provides.”
~ Unknown

"Lord, on our own we simply do not have the conviction to side-step the negativity that darkens our path. Give us the grace to move through our obstacles with confidence, protection, and generosity. Wherever we are, there is your assurance. Where we fear, there is your light. And where we fall, there is your hand ready to assist. Amen."
~ Father Stephen Gibson, C.S.C.

“God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be employed; and that employment is truly 'our Father’s business.' He chooses work for every creature. . . . He gives us always strength enough, for what He wants us to do.”
~ John Ruskin

"The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom and his tongue utters what is right. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps do not falter."
~ Psalm 17

~ Proverbs 31:10-31

"Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us."
~ Titus 2:6-8

“Don’t outsmart your common sense.”
~ Lee Brice

"He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he can not lose."
~ Jim Elliot

"Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
~ Rick Warren, Sr.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
~ President Ronald Reagan

"For all its considerable merits and inspirational principles, the American system is based upon a continuous uninterrupted process of election campaigns, stretching out year after year.  Lost in the perpetual scramble is any long-term vision capable of addressing the complex tangle of causes at the root of human suffering, especially in the Middle East."
~ Queen Noor of Jordan "Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life" (observation after President Reagan's National Security Adviser, Robert McFarlane, asked her, "Are you trying to lose the President the election?", when she raised the need to address the violence and murder being perpetrated against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians)

"Grounded in the power of the resurrection, there is nothing in this world, and nothing in hell, that can ultimately defeat God’s one, true, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. . . . And in the power of the resurrection, the Church will survive the hatred of Hollywood, the malice of the media, and the mendacious wickedness of the abortion industry. . . . As Christians we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but as Christians we must also stand up for what we believe and always be ready to fight for the Faith. The days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction. In our own families, in our parishes, where we live and where we work – like that very first apostolic generation – we must be bold witnesses to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. . . . We have nothing to fear, but we have a world to win for him. We have nothing to fear, for we have an eternal destiny in heaven. We have nothing to fear, though the earth may quake, kingdoms may rise and fall, demons may rage, but St. Michael the Archangel, and all the hosts of heaven, fight on our behalf."
~ Bishop Daniel R. Jenky

Homily by Father Sammie L. Maletta, Jr., Esq., St. John the Evangelist Parish, St. John, Indiana, Feb. 5, 2012

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~ Edmund Burke

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then YOU WIN.”
~ Ghandi

"In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world."
~ John 16:33

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
~ Ephesians 6:12 (Webster’s Bible Translation)

"For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
~ Ephesians 6:12 (English Revised Version)

"And yet we were hopeful, too, that we would become pregnant again one day. The human condition is such that as deeply as you grieve, you continue mining the well of optimism, and this is a gift because it compels us to move forward and make peace with the past. "
~ Brianna Heldt

"To eat little, work hard, have lots of concerns on our mind, and then to refuse to give our body sleep is to try to get much work out of a poor, emaciated horse without letting him graze."
~ Saint Francis de Sales

"In the end, it will be okay. If it is not okay, it is not the end."
~ Giuliana Rancic, Speech at the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce's Annual Women of Influence Luncheon, April 25, 2012

"God is not a God of confusion, but of peace."
~ 1 Corinthians 14:33

"Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?"
~ Rose F. Kennedy

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