“Scripture and tradition tell us that formation into the likeness of Christ, also known as spiritual maturity, is not achieved by always getting what we want.”

“The dialectic between the social situation of the believer and Scripture and the traditions of the Church is the place to begin the investigation of the question, Who is Jesus Christ for us today? Social context, Scripture, and tradition operate together to enable the people of God to move actively and reflectively with Christ in the struggle of freedom.”

“There was that word again. Mature. Was this what maturity was? Giving up on the things we wanted because we knew we’d never get them?”

“It's always been hard for me to tell the difference between denial and what used to be known as hope.”

“The message of Scripture is that God wants us to connect both with Him and also with each other.”

“Language always betrays us, tells the truth when we want to lie, and dissolves into formlessness when we would most like to be precise.”

“Fight for what you want to achieve with patience. And keep what you achieve also with patience.”

“We do not find happiness by being assertive. We don't find happiness by running over people because we see what we want and they are in the way of that happiness so we either abandon them or we smash them. The Scriptures don't teach us to be assertive. The Scriptures teach us—and this is remarkable—the Scriptures teach us to be submissive. This is not a popular idea.”

“Science tells us that the earth is getting warmer and we are probably doing it. Science tells us that this is bad. Therefore, we want science.”

“The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience.”