Invitation to Contemplation

"Let us take Jesus at his word and we will be contemplatives at the heart of the world, because if we have faith then we are his permanent presence. In contemplation the soul draws directly from God's heart the graces that the active life has been entrusted to distribute. Our very existence is to be intimately bound to the living Christ within us. If we do not live in God's presence, we cannot keep going ... Our lives and our contemplation are one. It's not a question of doing but of being. In fact it is about the complete happiness of our spirit through the Holy Spirit who breathes God's fullness into us and send us into all creation as his own, personal message of love." -- Mother Teresa

disguise, falsehood & hypocrisy

The conclusion of Pascal's Pensees #978:

"Man is therefore nothing by disguise, falsehood, & hypocrisy, both in himself and with regard to others. He does not want to be told the truth. He avoids telling it to others, and all those tendencies, so remote from justice and reason, are naturally rooted in his heart."

Faith & Reason

From Pascal's Pensees #589:

"Faith is a gift of God. Do not imagine that we describe it as a gift of reason. Other religions do not say that about their faith. They offered nothing but reason as a way to faith, and yet it does not lead there."