Quotes about Contemplation

It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God's face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.

The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him.

By my intimacy with nature I find myself withdrawn from man. My interest in the sun and the moon, in the morning and the evening, compels me to solitude.

Prayer is the act by which man, detaching himself from the embarrassments of sense and nature, ascends to the true level of his destiny.

If we allow ourselves even for a moment to contemplate the vast weight of suffering in the world, we will easily be overwhelmed with grief. This is why we develop the habit and self-protective instinct of overlooking the suffering around us.

Nergens heb ik meer rust gevonden dan in bossen en boeken.

What canst thou see elsewhere which thou canst not see here? Behold the heaven and the earth and all the elements; for of these are all things created.

Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or endeavoring something for the public good.

Let all your thoughts be with the Most High, and direct your humble prayers unceasingly to Christ. If you cannot contemplate high and heavenly things, take refuge in the Passion of Christ, and love to dwell within His Sacred Wounds. For if you devoutly seek the Wounds of Jesus and the precious marks of His Passion, you will find great strength in all troubles.

This is great wisdom, not to be hasty in action, or stubborn in our own opinions.

O quam salubre, quam iucundum et suave est sedere in solitudine et tacere et loqui cum Deo!

How came it to pass that many of the Saints were so perfect, so contemplative of Divine things? Because they steadfastly sought to mortify themselves from all worldly desires, and so were enabled to cling with their whole heart to God, and be free and at leisure for the thought of Him. We are too much occupied with our own affections, and too anxious about transitory things.