A Miscellaneous Day

A Miscellaneous Day for miscellaneous quotes.

"How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life" This is a quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein, a Philosopher. It needs a bit of reflection, but we all have some of those "small thoughts" that take a whole life to fill. When I thought of this, I had a Scripture quote pop into my head: "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Actually, it jumped into my mind in Spanish first and then I thought that this is a quote that can fill my whole life. There is an exercise that one can do to brainstorm about any other quotes, words, phrases, sentences, or Scripture passages that somehow relate to the original small thought you chose to work with - think about how these other quotes or words relate to, expand, or illuminate your understanding of the quote and then maybe think how to paraphrase the verse or see how I can deepen my understanding of it and see how it is having an influence on the way I act in the world...lots to reflect on from one small thought!

I read another quote this morning that I do not want to forget as it may be one to help others. This is from a wise priest who said: "People are like photographs: they develop in the dark."

And one more quote from St. Madeleine Sophie:
Ah! If only it were possible, if I were not unworthy, if God would give me the grace, to speak to you of the happiness of the person who gives herself over to the Holy Spirit… completely… whole and entire… with no reservations! If only I could tell you what takes place in her… if I could describe her happiness; it is no longer herself who acts, it is God… every step she takes is by the inspiration of the Spirit… everything becomes easy… she no longer knows difficulty, she meets no more obstacles… The Holy Spirit holds this person captive; the Spirit possesses her, binds her, establishes communication between her and heaven; it is like Jacob’s ladder on which the angels continuously ascend and descend; the good actions, desires, sacrifices of this faithful person mount towards heaven, and the Holy Spirit comes down laden with the new graces that God is pleased to bestow on her. I regret that it is time to end; but if the happiness of the individual open to the Spirit is so great, what would be the happiness of a group of people, of a whole Society that would allow itself to be guided unreservedly by the Holy Spirit. That would be a foretaste of heaven! What peace, what union and, at the same time, what good we would be able to produce.
Let us live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, one day at a time.
I am glad I am making this a miscellaneous day and think I should do this more often!