Words for the Way

a d i g i t a l s c r a p b o o k

For the spiritually desolate soul. For the world-weary and heartbroken soul. For the waiting soul. For the lonely soul…

When considering what I might offer to you on this site, I immediately thought of creating a page that would serve as my own online quote scrapbook (or, if you dabble in literary studies, you might consider it something like a “commonplace book”). It’s like a little glance at my bookshelf of favorites, as these quotes come from works and authors that have significantly formed me. Our journey through this earthly life to eternity is rife with hard seasons, but we can gather strength from timeless wisdom for the hills and valleys alike. We should remain steeped in the word of God, the nuggets of truth that Holy Mother Church holds forth for us in her Theology, and the timeless insights found in great books of literature and philosophy.

Below is a sampling of the gems that I carry close to my heart as I write, dabble in creative things, and seek to live life to the fullest. For, as Tolkien wrote in the voice of the elves in The Fellowship of the Ring, “we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.” I pray that these treasures of time and tradition might serve you on your path, too.

Courage, dear heart…

b e i n s p i r e d o n y o u r j o u r n e y .

  • Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

    “GOD WOULD NEVER INSPIRE ME WITH DESIRES WHICH CANNOT BE REALIZED; SO IN SPITE OF MY LITTLENESS, I CAN HOPE TO BECOME A SAINT.”

  • J.R.R. Tolkien

    “NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST.”

  • C.S. Lewis

    “I THOUGHT WE WENT ALONG PATHS – BUT IT SEEMS THERE ARE NO PATHS. THE GOING ITSELF IS THE PATH.” (Perelandra)

  • C.S. Lewis

    “ALL THAT IS MADE SEEMS PLANLESS TO THE DARKENED MIND, BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE PLANS THAN IT LOOKED FOR . . .

    THERE SEEMS NO PLAN BECAUSE IT IS ALL PLAN: THERE SEEMS NO CENTRE BECAUSE IT IS ALL CENTRE.

    BLESSED BE HE!” (Perelandra)

  • T.S. Eliot

    “TEACH US TO SIT STILL / EVEN AMONG THESE ROCKS / OUR PEACE IN HIS WILL / EVEN AMONG THESE ROCKS”

    (“Ash Wednesday”)

  • Alice von Hildebrand

    “. . . ‘THE APOSTOLATE OF BEING’ – THE GENTLE RADIATION OF PEACE AND JOY THAT IS THE SECRET OF THE SAINT.”

  • Dietrich von Hildebrand

    “TRUE FAITHFULNESS IS AN INDISPENSABLE ELEMENT OF ALL MORAL GREATNESS, OF ALL DEPTH AND STRENGTH OF PERSONALITY.”

  • Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

    “THE ACCIDENTS OF LIFE SEPARATE US FROM OUR DEAREST FRIENDS, BUT LET US NOT DESPAIR. GOD ITS LIKE A LOOKING GLASS IN WHICH SOULS SEE EACH OTHER. THE MORE WE ARE UNITED TO HIM BY LOVE, THE NEARER WE ARE TO THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM.”

  • Saint John Paul II

    "IT IS JESUS THAT YOU SEEK WHEN YOU DREAM OF HAPPINESS; HE IS WAITING FOR YOU WHEN NOTHING ELSE YOU FIND SATISFIES YOU; HE IS THE BEAUTY TO WHICH YOU ARE SO ATTRACTED . . . IT IS HE WHO READS IN YOUR HEART YOUR MOST GENUINE CHOICES, THE CHOICES THAT OTHERS TRY TO STIFLE.

    IT IS JESUS WHO STIRS IN YOU THE DESIRE TO DO SOMETHING GREAT WITH YOUR LIVES, THE WILL TO FOLLOW AN IDEAL, THE REFUSAL TO ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE GROUND DOWN BY MEDIOCRITY . . ."

  • C.S. Lewis

    “ALL IS GIFT . . . THROUGH MANY HANDS, ENRICHED WITH MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF LOVE AND LABOUR, THE GIFT COMES TO ME.” (Perelandra)

  • Isaiah 40:31

    “THEY THAT HOPE IN THE LORD WILL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH, THEY WILL SOAR AS WITH EAGLE’S WINGS; THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY, WALK AND NOT GROW FAINT.”

  • Psalm 121

    “I RAISE MY EYES TOWARD THE MOUNTAINS. FROM WHERE WILL MY HELP COME? MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH . . .

    GOD WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR FOOT TO SLIP; YOUR GUARDIAN DOES NOT SLEEP . . . THE LORD IS YOUR GUARDIAN, THE LORD IS YOUR SHADE AT YOUR RIGHT HAND . . .

    THE LORD WILL GUARD YOUR COMING AND GOING BOTH NOW AND FOREVER.”

  • Benedict XVI

    “TO SAY THAT GOD HAS CREATED US IN HIS IMAGE MEANS THAT HE WANTED EACH ONE OF US TO EXPRESS AN ASPECT OF HIS INFINITE SPLENDOR, THAT HE HAS A DESIGN FOR EACH OF US, THAT EACH OF US IS DESTINED TO ENTER––BY MEANS OF AN ITINERARY THAT IS SPECIFIC TO HIM––INTO BLESSED ETERNITY.”