We must now surrender to the obligation to understand and to care. We must surrender ourselves to becoming conscious, thinking members of the human race. We must put down the temptation to powerlessness and surrender to the questions of the moment. Joan D. Chittister More Quotes by Joan D. Chittister More Quotes From Joan D. Chittister Too many times we insist on loving people the way we want to love them instead of the way they need to be loved. Joan D. Chittister want people needs It is in community that we come to see God in the other. It is in community that we see our own emptiness filled up. It is community that calls me beyond the pinched horizons of my own life, my own country, my own race, and gives me the gifts I do not have within me. Joan D. Chittister filled-up race country Compassion makes no distinction between friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners. Compassion is the gate to human community. Joan D. Chittister community compassion enemy Spirituality without a prayer life is no spirituality at all, and it will not last beyond the first defeats. Prayer is an opening of the self so that the Word of God can break in and make us new. Prayer unmasks. Prayer converts. Prayer impels. Prayer sustains us on the way. Pray for the grace it will take to continue what you would like to quit. Joan D. Chittister grace self prayer Compassion is the ability to understand how difficult it is for people to be the best of what they want to be at all times. Joan D. Chittister compassion want people Today we live in a world that judges its achievements by speed and busyness. We are so busy making things happen that we have little time left to think about the value of what is happening. We urgently need people who concentrate on the meaning of life rather than simply the speed. Joan D. Chittister judging people thinking Our role in life is to bring the light of our own souls to the dim places around us. Joan D. Chittister roles light soul Acceptance is the universal currency of real friendship. . . .It does not warp or shape or wrench a person to be anything other than what they are. Joan D. Chittister real acceptance doe The purpose of leadership is not to make the present bearable. The purpose of leadership is to make the future possible. Joan D. Chittister bearable purpose Don't worry about wearing the sign; be the sign. You don't have to wear a sandwich board saying, "I am religious and spiritual and know what you should do." You do have to be the best of the mystical presence that your tradition brings. Certainly in Christianity, that means that you begin to go through life putting on the mind of Jesus, trying to see the world as Jesus saw the world. Joan D. Chittister religious spiritual jesus Learning to celebrate joy is one of the great practices of the spiritual life. Joan D. Chittister practice spiritual joy Compassion for the other comes out of our ability to accept ourselves. Until we realize both our own weaknesses and our own privileges, we can never tolerate lack of status and depth of weakness in the other. Joan D. Chittister weakness depth compassion We don't change as we get older - we just get to be more of what we've always been. Joan D. Chittister dont-change My limitations make space for the gifts of other people. Without the grace of our limitations we would be isolated, dry, and insufferable creatures indeed. Joan D. Chittister space grace people An authentic spirituality does not cater to culture; it calls culture to accountability. Joan D. Chittister accountability doe culture A seeker searched for years to know the secret of achievement and success in human life. One night in a dream a sage appeared bearing the answer to the secret. The sage said simply: "Stretch out your hand and reach what you can." "No, it can't be that simple," the seeker said. And the sage said softly, "You are right, it is something harder. It is this: Stretch out your hand and reach what you cannot." Now that's vision. Joan D. Chittister simple dream night Life is not meant to be a burden. Life is not a problem to be solved. It is a blessing to be celebrated. Joan D. Chittister problem blessing life-is Work is not slavery, then. Work is creativity. It is the expression of ourselves that no one else can duplicate. Joan D. Chittister creativity expression work We may well be the ones Proverbs warns when it reminds us: "Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks the truth." The point is clear: If the people speak and the king doesn't listen, there is something wrong with the king. If the king acts precipitously and the people say nothing, something is wrong with the people. Joan D. Chittister truth leadership kings Beauty scatters the seeds of hope in us. Joan D. Chittister seeds
