One of the loveliest lines I have ever read comes from Brother Roger, the Prior of the Protestant monks of Maize, France: 'Assured of your salvation by the unique grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.' It is still difficult for me to read these words without tears filling my eyes. It is wonderful.

— Brennan Manning

One spiritual writer has observed that human beings are born with two diseases: life, from which we die; and hope, which says the first disease is not terminal. Hope is built into the structure of our personalities, into the depths of our unconscious; it plagues us to the very moment of our death. The critical question is whether hope is self-deception, the ultimate cruelty of a cruel and tricky universe, or whether it is just possibly the imprint of reality.

— Brennan Manning

On one level, a roomful of men is always a dangerous thing. Competition is usually in the air, so the potential for violence is always nearby.

— Brennan Manning

Our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh when we learn where the outcast weeps.

— Brennan Manning

Our identity rests in God's relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ.

— Brennan Manning

Ragamuffins are simple, direct and honest. Their speech is unaffected. They are slow to claim, "God told me..." As they make their way through the world, they bear wordless, prophetic witness.

— Brennan Manning

Real freedom is freedom from the opinions of others. Above all, freedom from your opinions about yourself.

— Brennan Manning

* Recognize that God is with you.* Acknowledge God knows what He's doing.* Search for God's will: the path He desires you to take in life.* Consider what God did for you when He sent Jesus to die on the cross (forgiveness and righteousness)

— Brennan Manning

Ruthless trust ultimately comes down to this: faith in the person of Jesus and hope in his promise.

— Brennan Manning

Several times in my ministry people have expressed the fear that self-acceptance will abort the ongoing conversion process and lead to a life of spiritual laziness and moral laxity. Nothing could be more untrue. The acceptance of self does not mean to be resigned to the status quo. On the contrary, the more fully we accept ourselves, the more successfully we begin to grow. Love is a far better stimulus than threat or pressure.

— Brennan Manning