If I am capable of grasping God objectively, I do not believe, but precisely because I cannot do this I must believe.

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.

Just as in earthly life lovers long for the moment when they are able to breathe forth their love for each other, to let their souls blend in a soft whisper, so the mystic longs for the moment when in prayer he can, as it were, creep into God.

Far from idleness being the root of all evil, it is rather the only true good.

Because of its tremendous solemnity death is the light in which great passions, both good and bad, become transparent, no longer limited by outward appearences.