"Politicians like to tell people what they want to hear - and what they want to hear is what won't happen."

-- Paul Samuelson

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

Amen.

-- Saint Patrick

"The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation.  For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man."

 –– John R.W. Stott

"Lord help the fish below."

--Sam Houston, upon being congratulated that baptism had just washed away his sins, 1854

"Whatever structurally does not fit the logic of machines is effectively filtered from a culture dominated by their use."

-- Ivan Illich

"The truth is more important than the facts."

  

-- Frank Lloyd Wright

"All human beings should try to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why."
 
-- James Thurber

"There's a time for joking around and a time to be serious; this is not one of them."   

--Anonymous

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

-- G.K. Chesterton

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

-- Thomas Jefferson

"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art." 

-- Tom Stoppard

"The family is the cornerstone of our society. More than any other force it shapes the attitude, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of the child. And when the family collapses it is the children that are usually damaged. When it happens on a massive scale the community itself is crippled."

-- Lyndon B. Johnson

"I had sooner play cards against a man who was quite skeptical about ethics, but bred to believe that 'a gentleman does not cheat,' than against an irreproachable moral philosopher who had been brought up among sharpers." 

-- C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

"The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it."

 

-- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

"Stoop and you'll be stepped on; stand tall and you'll be shot at."  

-- Carlos A. Urbizo

“The miracles of Jesus were the ordinary works of his Father, wrought small and swift that we might take them in.”

-- George MacDonald

"Ye know, doan't ye, what it feels like when ye burn yer hand . . wi' a match when ye're lightin' one of they godless cigarettes? Aye. It stings wi' a fearful pain, doan't it? And ye run away to clap a bit o' butter on it . . . Ah but there'll be no butter in hell!"

-- Amos Starkadder, in the novel Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons, author)

"Character is what you have left when you've lost everything you can lose."  

 

-- Evan Esar

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." 

 

-- Abraham Lincoln

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts...”

-- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters