God, Who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present.
Thomas Merton
Related I know now: what is is all that matters. Not the thing you know is meant to be, not what could be, n... AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS For with G.D., to be absent from the body is sometimes (not to
speak it profanely) to be present wi... CHARLES LAMB (USED PSEUDONYM ELIA) God can never be perfectly present to us here below on account of our flesh. But he can be almost pe... SIMONE WEIL A man may go into the field and say his prayer and be aware of God, or he may be in Church and be aw... MEISTER ECKHART He that fears you present will hate you absent. THOMAS FULLER He that fears you present will hate you absent THOMAS FULLER He is never more present in my work than when no image of him is there. OSCAR WILDE Man can only be certain about the present moment. But is that quite true either? Can he really know ... MILAN KUNDERA Where fear is present, excuses are present and Where fear is absent, excuses are absent. LEBOGANG MARUMO God is not present but Omnipresent. However, In known reference, He cannot be everywhere or nowhere ... WOHI PURANA In the days of His earthly ministry, only those could speak to him who came where He was: if He was ... WILLIAM TEMPLE There are times that are trying. They're difficult, ... There are times when he has to be away ... JAMES KRAMER Any one reflecting upon the thought he has of the delight, which any present or absent thing is apt ... JOHN LOCKE Most powerful of all powers in its holy insinuation is _being_. _To be_ is more powerful than even _... GEORGE MACDONALD He blesses us so we can be different. CRAIG GROESCHEL A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our pres... CONFUCIUS Sometimes, it is good to be "alone".... but that doesn't make us lonely. It is not a matter of bein... SOURCE UNKNOWN To be, or not to be, that is the question. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE The new man is born too old to tolerate the new world. The present conditions of life have not yet e... EUGENIO MONTALE He is not unused to it, he knows they are going to be waiting for him sometimes when he is out and a... PADDY HARVERSON It is a mark of soulfulness to be present in the here and now. When we are present, we are not fabri... JOHN BRADSHAW When the past is always with you, it may as well be present; and if it is present, it will be future... WILLIAM GIBSON God never leaves us. However, sometimes we know that we are not where we should be. Being out of pos... LASHAN DIA GRAY Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if w... THICH NHAT HANH The people who are absent are the ideal; those who are present seem to be quite commonplace. JOHANN VON GOETHE There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual ... C.S. LEWIS I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always... MADELEINE L'ENGLE Do no look for that ideal person to be with, be that ideal person. JEFFREY FRY Sheep don’t need the shepherd to be what they are. The shepherd needs sheep to be what he is. LJUPKA CVETANOVA It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on prob... THOMAS à KEMPIS Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future.... BLAISE PASCAL Wait on the Lord" is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often kee... J.I. PACKER To be or not to be. That's not really a question. JEAN-LUC GODARD But even the Christian, for all this satisfying and hopeful conviction, does not know the meaning of... J. B. PHILLIPS I know what he is like and I know that he will not be satisfied with the present situation at Arsena... MATTHIAS SAMMER Some people masturbate to temporarily replace their partners when they are absent, whereas some peop... MOKOKOMA MOKHONOANA God is omnipotent, He is omniscient, and He is ever present. LITTLE RICHARD He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than t... ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than t... ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPéRY When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already were w... JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already were wh... JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE A gentleman has his eyes on all those present; he is tender toward the bashful, gentle toward the di... LAWRENCE G. LOVASIK We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than ... A.W. TOZER He who is false to present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and will find the flaw when he may have... HENRY WARD BEECHER He who is false to present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and
will find the flaw when he may hav... HENRY WARD BEECHER He is very much present, his spirit is very much here, but not in a superficial way. He lives throug... DAMIAN MARLEY If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man's conscience, althoug... SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man's conscience, althoug... ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI How can the past and future be, when the past no longer is, and the future is not yet? As for the pr... AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares... GORDON B. HINCKLEY We are not supposed to be praying to God to do what He has asked us to do. SUNDAY ADELAJA It is regret for the absence of his loved one which causes a mourner to grieve: yet it is clear that... SENECA He says to me, Ranulph, he says... that the past will never come again, but that we must remember th... HOPE MIRRLEES There is no good singing, there is only present and absent. JEFF BUCKLEY Sometimes it is hard not to say, 'God forgive God.' Sometimes it is hard to say so much. But if our ... C.S. LEWIS Cosmic Ordering is absent in body but present in spirit. STEPHEN RICHARDS The ambassador was never present, but his presence was never absent. THEODORE C. SORENSEN Do I have the courage of being a ruthless man to myself with the complete knowledge on my manner or ... FEREIDOON YAZDI If you were to ask everyone what 'Hamlet' was about, they might say, "It's about a ... ORLANDO BLOOM Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base amon... BIBLE My time has is here, my mission has failed, but in spite of my limitations i will never loose faith.... RYAN LEONARD He is a man, who is to be a man, the fruit is always present in the seed. TERTULLIAN Feast of Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Teacher, 1380 He has loved us without being loved... We are b... CATHERINE OF SIENA Christ is the eternal Son of God, and He is in His divine attributes the same yesterday and today an... WILLIAM HENRY FROST I appreciate Coach Barnes being who he is and doing all he has for us. I've never met anybody with m... BAM DOYNE God is not external to anyone, but is present with all things, though they are ignorant that he is s... PLOTINUS Feast of Thomas More, Scholar & Martyr, & John Fisher, Bishop & Martyr, 1535 We sometimes come ... JOY DAVIDMAN Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. T... DANNY MEYER It's unfortunate for us his availability does not allow him to be here all the time. But when he is ... ERIC HOOLAHAN If a superior give any order to one who is under him which is against that man's conscience, alt... FRANCIS OF ASSISI 35. God is entitled to a portion of our income—not because He needs it but because we need to give... JAMES C. DOBSON Now is where your brightest greatest self breathes. SRAVANI SAHA NAKHRO Live in the moment. SRAVANI SAHA NAKHRO Because I don’t live in either my past or my future, I’m interested only in the present. If you ... PAULO COELHO Stop worrying about what's next and concentrate on delivering what is now! TED RUBIN We all reconstruct our past because we wish to see how our present came to be our present - do we no... ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT The magic that is all around us is a present for being present. Photography is a way to show the wor... MAURICE SPEES We must exercise ourselves in the things which bring happiness, since, if that be present, we have e... EPICURUS We must exercise ourselves in the things which bring happiness, since, if that be present, we have e... GRETCHEN RUBIN He to whom the present is the only thing that is present, knows nothing of the age in which he lives... OSCAR WILDE Lift up your heart to Him, sometimes even at your meals, and when you are in company; the least litt... BROTHER LAWRENCE This is who we are, who we represent. God is present and can't be ignored. We share (his teachings) ... CURT COLEMAN The absent are never without fault. Nor the present without excuse. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN The absent are never without fault. Nor the present without excuse. MICHAEL CAINE God may not be there when you want him but he is always on time. TERRELL OWENS That he was present we suggest is beyond doubt. RICHARD HORWELL Here is the thing about God. He is so big and so perfect that we can't really understand Him. We can... LAUREN F. WINNER Death, the most dreaded of all evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is ... EPICURUS The criterion for our intercessory prayer is not our earnestness, nor our faithfulness, nor even our... CHARLES H. TROUTMAN The truth is that none of us is wise enough to know our best future. We do not have the vision to se... JON MORRISON It's been aggravating for me at times going through struggles and seeing other guys go through strug... AARON COOK Man surprised me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. ... JAMES J. LACHARD I know that in my own mind, I struggle with a desire to be both entirely absent and entirely present... K. FLAY What is Christ's joy in us, but that He deigns to rejoice on our account? And what is our Joy, which... ST. AUGUSTINE The quest of the Inner Ring will break your hearts unless you break it. But if you break it, a surpr... C.S. LEWIS He has certainly not presented a list of teams he would be willing to play for, nor has the team ask... BARRY MEISTER We must never undervalue any person. The workman loves not that his work should be despised in his p... SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES We just felt this is what God wanted us to do. At first, he didn't want to live with us. Said he wou... DOUG WALKER
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THOMAS MERTON We thank Him less by words than by the serene happiness of silent acceptance. It is our emptiness in... THOMAS MERTON The more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant thi... THOMAS MERTON The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not t... THOMAS MERTON Please do not look only at the dark side All the newspapers in the free world explain why... THOMAS MERTON The story of the Fall tells us in mythical language that "original sin" is not simply a stigma arbit... THOMAS MERTON Reason is in fact the path to faith, and faith takes over when reason can say no more. THOMAS MERTON The selfishness of an age that has devoted itself to the mere cult of pleasure has tainted the whole... THOMAS MERTON If we live with possibilities we are exiles from the present which is given us by God to be our own,... THOMAS MERTON The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on th... THOMAS MERTON When you expect the world to end at any moment, you know there is no need to hurry. You take your ti... THOMAS MERTON I read every book about Buster Keaton and Chaplin to see how they worked - it's all about dedica... PAUL MERTON There's something magical about film, it's the ultimate for me, because it's kind of per... PAUL MERTON So everybody has some information. The function of the markets is to aggregate that information, eva... MERTON MILLER Everyone recognizes that's a joke because obviously the number and shape of the pieces doesn'... MERTON MILLER I'm always amazed to hear of air crash victims so badly mutilated that they have to be identifie... PAUL MERTON My school days were the happiest days of my life; which should give you some indication of the miser... PAUL MERTON As an economics undergraduate, I also worked on a part-time basis in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a... MERTON MILLER You only need to make one big score in finance to be a hero forever. MERTON MILLER I was trying to organise my DVDs into a sort of chronological order, and I am afraid that it all tra... PAUL MERTON When I wake up on a Monday morning and I realise I don't have to go and work at the civil servic... PAUL MERTON If you became a comedian in the '80s, you had to work the circuit and make people laugh. Canned ... PAUL MERTON When I turned about 12 or 13, I realised that being funny wasn't about remembering jokes. It was... PAUL MERTON All disc jockeys are without talent. Noel Edmonds - I can't stand Noel Edmonds. PAUL MERTON Most people might just as well buy a share of the whole market, which pools all the information, tha... MERTON MILLER When I used to do the Edinburgh Festival, there was a bunch of guys selling fresh oysters and I'... PAUL MERTON My research interests since then have shifted strongly towards the economic and regulatory problems ... MERTON MILLER The thing about improvisation is that it's not about what you say. It's listening to what ot... PAUL MERTON When things are difficult, awful, stressful, the thing that always gets you through is a sense of hu... PAUL MERTON Beginning with a trip out to Ellis Island, I saw for myself where thousands of European immigrants t... PAUL MERTON We thought it would have significance for practice but nothing of the magnitude that's occurred over... ROBERT MERTON