Thomas Paine Quotes

I would rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty.

We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself.

It is much easier for me to imagine a praying murderer, a praying prostitute, than a vain person praying. Nothing is so at odds with prayer as vanity.

I try hard to be a good Catholic.

As long as there are religions, there are going to be people who are hiding their rottenness behind the veil of religion.

Bernard always had a few prayers in the hall and some whiskey afterwards as he was rather pious.

My faith guides my life.

I have a Bible near my bed.

The thing that brings people to wail at a wall, or face Mecca, or to go to church, is a search for that feeling of purity.

Passion is best spent on God; so get committed.

I try to be - well, not holy - but my whole family is very religious, and I want to be like that, too. So I try my hardest to be more in touch with the Lord.

I think about my parents all the time, especially on Sunday when I'm at Mass. My mother always said, 'We do not pray to win elections. We pray for people's health, we pray that God's will be done, we pray that we do our best. But we do not pray to win elections.'

Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.

Allah's the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.

Prayer is good: but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is naught but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism.

I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a good Buddhist, a good Shintoist, a good Zoroastrian, a good friend, a good lover, a good mother, a good buddy - it's serious business.

Selfishness is the only real atheism; aspiration, unselfishness, the only real religion.

I find a great deal of comfort and care in my faith and prayer. I'd sooner do without air than prayer.

Much prayer, but no piety.

I leave to the men of God the things that pertain to the service of God.

Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs, and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly, show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves.

I always liked church. I was one of those kids who was desperate for the statue of Mary to talk to me, which is a very egotistical approach to your faith. I just wanted somebody to pay attention to me.

As a practicing Catholic all my life, my faith and the church are never far from my mind. The lessons I learned in the church have structured the way I've approached my life and my career. They were lessons of grace, kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.

I serve God.

I may worship the image of the Lord; but that act is worthless if it is not accompanied with devotion. In the absence of devotion, the idol will just be a piece of stone, and so shall I; and the worship will only mean that a stone is facing a stone!