Good spirit

“ Let your words be full of kindness, admonition, and instruction, and let your lives be living examples of the love and truth you expound. Thus you will accomplish a great and lasting good for the benefit of others and the glory of the angel world. ”

“ Those who cultivate the spirit of 'love to God, and good-will to their fellow-men,' will be surprised to see how much easier it is to do these things when they try, than when they only think about them. ”

“ Thoughts of good will, sympathy, magnanimity, good cheer—in brief, all thoughts emanating from a spirit of love—are felt in their positive, warming, and stimulating influences by others; they inspire in turn the same types of thoughts and feelings in them, and they come back to us laden with their ennobling, stimulating, pleasure-bringing influences. ”

“ See that you do all that he has commanded, and in a proper spirit, and you cannot fail to be blessed—not, perhaps, with earthly prosperity, but with that better portion, peace of mind, a good conscience, and the hope which maketh not ashamed, whose end is eternal life. ”

“ Shall we, in view of these things, call back young, generous spirits just entering upon the perilous pathway? God forbid! Welcome, thrice welcome, rather. Let them go forward, not unwarned of the dangers nor unreminded of the pleasures which belong to the service of humanity. Great is the consciousness of right. Sweet is the answer of a good conscience. ”

“ As thou, O Lord, art the first and supreme efficient cause of all things, so thou art equally the last end, especially of rational creatures. I ought, therefore, to withdraw my mind to a distance from creatures, and to place in them no hope, because they very much hinder me from arriving at my happy and last end, for which thou hast created me, who art my true, only, and supreme good. 2. Nothing, therefore, ought to be more my care and study than to be united to thee in vision, love, and joy; because, in this union consists both my highest good, and thy highest glory. ”

“ Unselfish thoughts, training your mind to desire only universal good, the cultivation of the highest attributes, such as love, honesty, gratitude, faith, reverence and good will, all mean a life of usefulness and happiness in another incarnation, as well as satisfaction and self-respect in this sphere. ”

“ No good withholds from those whose mind
Is bent with earnest zeal to find
What pleaseth God.
Then let the world, with stubborn will,
Its earthborn pleasures follow still;
Be this, my soul, thy constant aim,
Thy riches, honor, glory, fame,
What pleaseth God.
Should care and grief thy portion be,
To thy strong refuge ever flee;
For all his creatures but perform,
In peace and tumult, calm and storm,
What pleaseth God.
Faith lays her hand on God's rich grace,
And hope gives patience for the race;
These virtues in thy heart enshrined,
Thy portion thou wilt surely find,
What pleaseth God. ”

“ How shall we attain it? By being men of good will, plainly. But what constitutes good will in a man? That which I have already discussed, perhaps abundantly, simplicity and childlike obedience of character. ”

“ He who perseveres with constancy and fervor will, without fail, raise himself to a high degree of perfection. — Bl. Henry Suso.
2
An upright intention is the soul of our actions. It gives them life, and makes them good. — St. Alphonsus.
3
You wish to reform the world: reform yourself, otherwise your efforts will be in vain. — St. Ignatius.
4
Let all thy care be to possess thy soul in peace and tranquillity. Let no accident be to thee a cause of ill-humor. ”

“ What is the drift of these remarks? That the more the mind is developed, both intellectually and emotionally, the greater becomes its power of realizing the knowledge of good, and therefore of glorifying God—the Good. ”

“ The problem is to combine the absolute value of that Goodness which, as we say, 'saves the soul' with the relative values of the various good things that soothe or beautify life. For, if there is any value at all—I will not say in health and happiness, but in art, poetry, knowledge, refinement, public esteem, or human affection, and if their claims do clash, as in common opinion they sometimes do, with the demands of absolute sanctity, how is the balance to be struck? ”

“ But for you that fear the Lord in sincerity, I have nothing but good and comfortable words: may your souls ever live. What condition can you devise wherein there will not be matter of joy unspeakable to you. O beloved, know your own happiness, and live in that holy admiring, adoring, praising of your gracious God, that becomes the people of his praise. ”

“ The glory of the good is in their consciences, and not in the tongues of men. The gladness of the just is of God, and in God; and their joy is of the truth,
*He enjoyeth great peace of mind, that careth neither for the praise nor dispraise of men.
3. He will easily be content, whose conscience is pure.
Thou art not the more holy, though thou art praised; nor the less, though thou art dispraised.
*What thou art, thou art; neither canst thou be said to be greater than thou art in the sight of God.
If thou considerest what thou art within, thou wilt not care what men say of thee. ”

“ With what grace, intelligence, and appreciation of values would you move among the other monitors of great fortunes, admired by them, praised, and loved, I think. What a factor for good you could become! ”

“ God gives this grace to the humble, together with the other virtues, even as He denies it to the proud.
8. These souls will give their heart’s blood to anyone that serves God, and will help others to serve Him as much as in them lies. The imperfections into which they see themselves fall they bear with humility, meekness of spirit and a loving fear of God, hoping in Him. But souls who in the beginning journey with this kind of perfection are, as I understand, and as has been said, a minority, and very few are those who we can be glad do not fall into the opposite errors. ”

“ While, therefore, they feel it to be their duty still to add to their [240] "virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity;" they are fully conscious of their innumerable defects, and wait in humble expectation of eternal life, not as a reward for their good deeds, but as a sovereign and unmerited favour. ”

“ Here I found, also, warm faith in the human, glowing idealism, sweetnesses of unselfishness, renunciation, and martyrdom — all the splendid, stinging things of the spirit. Here life was clean, noble, and alive. ”

“ The soul says, in effect, "In searching after my Beloved I will practice great virtue, and abase myself by lowly mortifications and acts of humility, for the way to seek God is to do good works in Him, and to mortify the evil in ourselves, as it is said in the words that follow: "I will gather no flowers." ”

“ That take care to keep it when they have got it; it is health, and wealth, and honour, and all, to the soul, and therefore he that keeps understanding, as he shows that he loves his own soul, so he shall certainly find good, all good. He that retains the good lessons he has learnt, and orders his conversation according to them, shall find the benefit and comfort of it in his own soul and shall be happy here and for ever. ”

“ All those to whom I looked up, were of opinion that the pleasure of sympathy with human beings, and the feelings which made the good of others, and especially of mankind on a large scale, the object of existence, were the greatest and surest sources of happiness. ”

“ What you ardently desire for yourself and what your parents and spiritual directors desire for you from the bottom of their hearts, is that good fortune, happiness, and well-being may perpetually encompass your path. ”

“ The spirit and virtue of your master shall advance by you being his servant: thus will you yourself advance with his spirit and virtue!"
And verily, you famous wise ones, you servants of the people! You yourselves have advanced with the people's spirit and virtue- and the people by you! To your honor do I say it!
But the people you remain for me, even with your virtues, the people with purblind eyes- the people who know not what spirit is!
Spirit is life which itself cuts into life: by its own torture does it increase its own knowledge,- did you know that before? ”

“ Let your feelings be governed and controlled by the principles of eternal life, as should the children of God, delighting in truth and righteousness. Let the wicked say what they please, for their breath is in their nostrils, and all their glory is like the grass and the flower of the grass that passeth away. ”

“ Take care to stamp upon it only the images of virtue and of piety. Strive to lay the foundation of an amiable and an useful character. Endeavour to gain a spirit of meekness, of gentleness, and of sincerity. ”

“ Take out, then, from any such emotion, what Imagination, and Love, and Sympathy have supplied, and leave only what the Moral Spirit recognises of Moral Will in the act, and you will find that much of that dazzling and splendid Beauty which produced the transport of loving admiration is removed. ”

“ And in thus giving and receiving affection, the soul experiences its highest enjoyment, its greatest [Pg 92] good; and when the understanding perceives, in the object loved, perfections of the highest character, and affection of the purest kind for those that love him, the conscience sanctions the action of the heart and the obedience of the will, and all the moral powers of the soul unite in happy and harmonious action. ”

“ The good soul nourishes me, and unlocks new magazines of power and enjoyment to me every day. I will not meanly decline the immensity of good, because I have heard that it has come to others in another shape. ”

“ The inducements to virtue are, in his view, our humane sentiments, on the one hand, and our self-love, or prudence, on the other; the two classes of motives conspiring to promote both our own good and the good of mankind. ”

“ On such occasions I say from my heart, I rejoice, and give thee joy for thy infinite perfections, — that thou art who art, a God supremely powerful, wise, good, merciful, just, &c., the supreme good of the rational creature; that thou needest nothing, for thou art happy enough in thyself, and sufficient for thyself, while all our sufficiency is from thee. ”

“ There needs, however, it appears to me, something still before our charity shall be effectual for good. The feeling is there, the conscience is there, but there is wanting the wise thought and the resolute, because educated, will. ”

“ What our calling demands is something more, the rejoicing, hopeful recognition of the good deed or purpose anywhere, and the offer of a sympathy and a faith in which it can grow. That gift of yours may actually be the decisive factor in a life balancing perilously betwixt good and evil. ”

“ Strengthen me, O God, by the grace of Thy Holy Spirit. Give me virtue to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and to free my heart from all fruitless care and trouble, and that I be not drawn away by various desires after any things whatsoever, whether of little value or great, but that I may look upon all as passing away, and myself as passing away with them; because there is no profit under the sun, and all is vanity and vexation of spirit. ”

“ By looking upon this beautiful and wonderful world around us with reverence, and earnestness, and love, as what it is,—the work of God’s Spirit,—we shall become not merely the more learned, or the more happy, we shall become actually better men. ”

“ By these qualities, accompanied with great sweetness of manners, he acquired the love and esteem of all good men, in a degree which perhaps very few have experienced; and after passing an active life with the uniform testimony of a good conscience, he became an eminent example of its influence, in the cheerfulness and serenity of his latest age. ”

“ Is it to seek happiness, or to seek virtue and knowledge?—Attend, and I will show you that in finding one, you shall find the three. To be happy, we must be virtuous; and when we are virtuous, we are wise. Let us then begin: and first, let us for awhile hush our passions into slumber, forget our prejudices, and cast away our vanity and our pride. Thus patient and modest, let us come to the feet of Philosophy; let us say to her, ‘Behold us, scholars and children, gifted by nature with faculties, affections, and passions.—Teach us their use, and their guidance. ”

“ We desire unfeignedly that all the thoughts and designs of our minds, all the affections and tempers of our hearts, and all the actions of our life, may be pure, holy, and unreproveable in thy sight.
Search us, O Lord, and prove us; try out our reins and our heart. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in us, and lead us in the way everlasting. Let thy favour be better to us than life itself; that so in all things we may approve our hearts before thee, and feel the sense of thy acceptance of us, giving us a joy which the world cannot give. ”

“ 'That of His great goodness He would make known to you, and take from your heart, every kind and form and degree of Pride, whether it be from evil spirits, or your own corrupt nature; and that He would awaken in you the deepest depth and truth of that Humility, which can make you capable of His light and Holy Spirit.' Reject every thought, but that of waiting and praying in this matter from the bottom of your heart, with such truth and earnestness, as people in torment wish to pray and be delivered from it. ”

“ Then will you, in good truth, yield to the impulse of your heart when reason is your guide; then will you consult in the calmness of passion, and counsel yourself on the advantages of virtue, and the consequences of its want; and you may flatter yourself that you cannot be displeasing to a wise God, though you disbelieve absurdities, nor agreeable to a good God in doing things hurtful to yourself or to others. ”