"With the eyes of faith, consider the greatness of your mission and the wonderful amount of good you can accomplish. And also consider the great reward promised to those who have taught the truth to others and have helped form them into justice: 'they will shine eternally in the skies like the stars of the heavens.' With the hope of this glory, we must generously complete the Lords work"
- Fr. Basil Moreau, CSC
Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross


"We can only survive when we have a goal - a passionate purpose which bears upon the public interest."
- Margaret E. Kuhn


"I want to be present. I want to share what I have - my life, my laughter, my love, my joy. I want to give to you as I receive from you. I want to learn from you so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, so that we can grow together and walk together and talk together and live together in love, in joy, in peace forever"
- author unknown


"Spirituality is more than just religion and other streotypes we are fed so much. For some, the traditional ways work, and that's good. For me, my relationship with God is found in my willingness to be in relation and kinship to others, particularly those who are most often forgotten in our society. It has and I hope will contine to be defined through my service for AND with others. My spiritual life has always been chaotic and perhaps sometimes fluid and undefined. But in the end, through all the mud and the muck, it's been something to call uniquely my own. And so I bring myself: the struggles, questions, and passion for social teaching and liberation theology to this group of volunteers, and we interact as an "intentional community" in an attempt to find God in our own lives, and our own ways. And I won't always agree with their theology. They most certainly will not always agree with mine, but we will learn and grow. Ultimatley we'll be challenged to understand our own lives better through attempts to understand the lives of others."
- Patrick Furlong


"The word 'compassion,' helps us to understand the quality of the 'approach,' for it is important in the biblical text as well. To have compassion etymologically, means 'to suffer with.' It means to suffer along side, to enter fully into the situation of the other, sharing what ever comes. The initiative is not taken to fulfill some formal religious obligation but to act out of concern for the other...[thus,] 'compassion' really means 'interhuman justice.'
- Unexpected News (Changing the Question, Jesus' Story: From Head Trips to Foot Trips)


The neighbor is the one from afar whom I approach...When this begins to happens, the world will change, along with our ways of acting with it. All those things that create barriers between neighbors, thus understood, must be challenged, smashed if necessary, and rebuilt.
- Unexpected News (Changing the Question, Jesus' Story: From Head Trips to Foot Trips)


"Holy One of Blessing
Giver of all life and beauty
You love us into being.
We come before you in gratitude
for your call to us - alone and together -
into a journey of love and service.

Bless us with the gift of vision
To see your beauty around us and within us,
To delight in the lavish gifts of your
gracious creation. Bless us with vision!

Bless us with the gift of courage...
To embrace the darkness and pain on our journey,
To stand in love with those who suffer and are in
pain. Carve into our hearts your faithful love.
Bless us with courage.

Bless us with the gift of gentleness
To walk through our joys and pains with gentle love.
Teach us to be gentle with our sisters and brothers
as we share in the wonder of your call to unity.
Bless us with gentleness!

Bless us with the gift of compassion...
To see the interconnectedness of all life,
To celebrate your healing presence to others
in and through us.
Bless us with compassion! "
- author unknown