Sean O'Faolain Quotes

Celibacy is a great help, inasmuch as it enables one to lead a life of full surrender to God.

No freedom without renunciation.

In every possible instance Saint Paul begged Christians to restrain themselves to contain their carnal yearnings to live solitary and sexless lives on earth as it is in heaven. "But if they cannot contain " Paul finally conceded then "let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn." Which is perhaps the most begrudging endorsement of matrimony in human history.

He was seriously thinking of becoming a monk. He thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument, but my instrument needed tuning, and we had to split.

The disciplined are free.

Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire.

I've calmed down already. I don't hook up anymore.

I took the vow of celibacy in 1906. I had not shared my thoughts with my wife until then, but only consulted her at the time of making the vow. She had no objection.

I hate exercising self-control.

If you deprive yourself of something, you're going to want it more.

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.

I have a life of sacrifice. I don't have a normal social life.

Asceticism and celibacy can conceal many incapacities.

I’ve remained a virgin for you.

Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.

I'd also gone through an entire year of celibacy based on my feeling that lust was the direct cause of birth which was the direct cause of suffering and death.

A true Brahmachari will not even dream of satisfying the fleshly appetite

Celibacy and suicide are a similar levels of understanding, suicide and a martyr's death not so by any means, perhaps marriage and a martyr's death.

Good God. I don’t believe St. Vincent and the word ‘celibacy’ have ever been mentioned in the same sentence before.

Every act of will is an act of self-limitation. To desire action is to desire limitation. In that sense, every act is an act of self-sacrifice. When you choose anything, you reject everything else.

Deny yourself! You must deny yourself! That is the song that never ends.

Behind real freedom, there lies discipline.

Jesus was a bachelor and never lived with a woman. Surely living with a woman is one of the most difficult things a man has to do, and he never did it.

My father taught me that only through self-discipline can you achieve freedom. Pour water in a cup and you can drink; without the cup, the water would splash all over. The cup is discipline.

It’s impossible,” he snapped. “Why?” “Because I’m Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can’t be celibate. Everyone knows that.