In my opinion, it is a mistake to expect in prayer a response from God. Often, God's response is outside prayer. And often, we do not link up an outside response with the effort we put into prayer.
Basil Hume
It is not because we are drawn to prayer that we first begin to pray; more often, we have to begin prayer, and then the taste and the desire for it come.
Basil Hume
We are blind: we cannot see God with our senses, and our deductions from what we know or are thinking about the word of God itself - how little power they have to bring us to God! We are blind, and our eyes need the touch of our Lord's hand to enable us at times to even see dimly.
Basil Hume
The experience of prayer when there is no awareness of God and no apparent response from ourselves should not lead us to escape from prayer or give it up.
Basil Hume
Know how to 'cling' to him in prayer, and then you will see the face of Christ more clearly in those whom you are called to serve.
Basil Hume
Living and working in the centre of a city, one cannot but be affected by the sight of the homeless on the streets. They are almost an expected feature of life in a big city, and it is tempting to think there is little or nothing that can, or even should, be done about it. This is not so.
Basil Hume
Our response, our attitude, depends on our realisation of God's attitude toward us. If I experience love or have experienced it, this is the means whereby I can explore the mystery of God's love.
Basil Hume
The devil took advantage of Christ's hunger to tempt him to limit his concern to the relief of human need. These are vital concerns, but they cannot be the sole concern of the Church. We need daily bread; we need, too, a reason for living, a sense of purpose, a vision.
Basil Hume
The 'Rule of St. Benedict' makes it possible for ordinary folk to live lives of quite extraordinary value. The weak have a place to do their best.
Basil Hume
Death remains about the one certain fact in the lives of each one of us, and there will be suffering, sorrow, and sadness next week as there was last week.
Basil Hume
Behind every crucifix stands our risen Lord. Hidden in every suffering and pain is the joy of closer union with him. His is the victory. He invites us to share it.
Basil Hume
It is healthy to say, 'Yes, I am a sinner,' and to recognise that this should lead us to turn to God full of confidence in his love and mercy.
Basil Hume
Christ shared our experience; he suffered as we suffer; he died as we shall die, and for forty days in the desert he underwent the struggle between good and evil.
Basil Hume
Moral choices do not depend on personal preference and private decision but on right reason and, I would add, divine order.
Basil Hume