Top 40 Jacques Philippe Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “We should fight, not to attain holiness as a result of our own efforts, but to let God act in us without our putting up any resistance against him; we should fight to open ourselves as fully as possible to his grace, which sanctifies us.”

— Jacques Philippe

2. “We do not have to become saints by our own power; we have to learn how to let God make us into saints.”

— Jacques Philippe

3. “True peace does not come as the result of a process of human reasoning. It can only come from having our hearts attached to the promises God makes us through his Word.”

— Jacques Philippe

4. “Our Lord is always ready to lift us up again when we fall, and he even finds a way to make our falls beneficial to us if after them we turn back to him with a humble, trusting heart.”

— Jacques Philippe

5. “The most important criterion for discerning divine inspirations is the one that Jesus himself gives us in the Gospel: “A tree is known by its fruit.” An inspiration from God, if we follow it, will produce sound fruit: the fruits of peace, joy, charity, communion, and humility.”

— Jacques Philippe

6. “The more God is at the center of our lives, and the more we expect everything from him and him alone, the better chance our human relationships will have of being well-balanced and happy.”

— Jacques Philippe

7. “We need to note this important point: A divine inspiration can disturb us to begin with, but to the extent that we do not refuse it, but open ourselves to it and consent to it, little by little it will establish peace in us.”

— Jacques Philippe

8. “Evil is a mystery, a scandal and it will always be so.”

— Jacques Philippe

9. “Real freedom does not mean being ruled by one’s impulses from one moment to the next. Just the opposite. Being free means not being a slave to one’s moods; it means being guided in a course of action by the fundamental choices one has made, choices one does not repudiate in the face of new circumstances.”

— Jacques Philippe

10. “God would spare us, if He could, all these trials, but they are necessary in order that we should be convinced of our complete powerlessness to do good by ourselves.”

— Jacques Philippe

11. “One of the petitions we make to God most often should be: “Inspire me in all my decisions, and never let me neglect any of your inspirations.”

— Jacques Philippe

12. “God calls us to perfection, but he is not a perfectionist. And perfection is reached not so much by external conformity to an ideal as by inner faithfulness to God’s inspirations.”

— Jacques Philippe

13. “We are not always masters of the unfolding of our lives, but we can always be masters of the meaning we give them. Our freedom can transform any event in our lives into an expression of love, abandonment, trust, hope, and offering. The most important and most fruitful acts of our freedom are not those by which we transform the outside world as those by which we change our inner attitude in light of the faith that God can bring good out of everything without exception.”

— Jacques Philippe

14. “The sign of spiritual progress is not so much never falling as it is being able to lift oneself up quickly after one falls.”

— Jacques Philippe

15. “The experience of the Church and the saints4 demonstrates a general law: what comes from the Spirit of God brings with it joy, peace, tranquility of spirit, gentleness, simplicity, and light. On the other hand, what comes from the spirit of evil brings sadness, trouble, agitation, worry, confusion, and darkness. These marks of the good and the evil spirit are unmistakable signs in themselves.”

— Jacques Philippe

16. “What makes possible this inner illumination that gives us access to the riches of the Word? I think the essential thing is a genuine desire for conversion. If we read Scripture while praying, confident that God is awaiting us there, and in a sincere desire for his Word to touch our hearts, show us our sins, lead us to a true conversion, and if we are resolved to put into practice what he tells us, then Scripture will be illuminated for us. That is the main secret of exegesis. I.”

— Jacques Philippe

17. “Love is also a decision. Sometimes it comes spontaneously, but very often loving people will mean choosing to love them. Otherwise love would be no more than emotion, even selfishness, and not something that engages our freedom.”

— Jacques Philippe

18. “The proud person is unable to receive, because pride does not allow it. Only the humble person knows how to receive.”

— Jacques Philippe

19. “Even for those who abandon themselves to Him, God permits suffering; He leaves them wanting of certain things, in a manner sometimes painful.”

— Jacques Philippe

20. “Even in the natural order, all genuine love is a victory of weakness. Loving is not dominating or possessing, imposing oneself on the person loved. Loving means that one welcomes the other person without putting up any defenses. In return, one is certain of being welcomed totally by that person without being judged, condemned, or compared. There are no more trials of strength between two people who love each other.”

— Jacques Philippe

21. “I’m not going to spend my life denouncing sin. That would be doing it too much honor. I would rather encourage good than condemn evil.”

— Jacques Philippe

22. “Another characteristic of God’s Spirit is that, while enlightening us and impelling us to act, he imprints our souls with a deep sense of humility. He makes us do good in such a way that we are happy to do it, but without any presumptuousness, self-satisfaction, or vanity. We see quite clearly that the good that we do does not come from ourselves but from God.”

— Jacques Philippe

23. “There are many souls who think they do not have prayer, yet they have much; and, on the contrary, others who think they have much prayer but have very little.”

— Jacques Philippe

24. “We can make our heart into an oratory, into which we withdraw from time to time, to spend time talking with him.”

— Jacques Philippe

25. “There are times in every life when we find ourselves in situations of trial and difficulty, either affecting us or someone we love. We can do nothing. However much we turn things over and examine them from every angle, there is no solution. The feeling of being helpless and powerless is a painful trial, especially when it concerns someone close to us: to see someone we love in difficulties without being able to help is one of the bitterest sufferings there is.”

— Jacques Philippe

26. “If you are wondering what penance to take up next Lent, I suggest this one: try to be joyful, happy, and to thank God all the time. Nothing will do you as much good as that.”

— Jacques Philippe

27. “The human heart is certainly an abyss of misery and sin, but God lies in its depths.”

— Jacques Philippe

28. “God is eternally present, eternally young, eternally new, and our past and future are his. He can forgive everything, purify everything, renew everything. “He will renew you in his love.”3 In the present moment, because of his infinitely merciful love, we always have the possibility of starting again, not impeded by the past, or tormented by the future.”

— Jacques Philippe

29. “El amor, aunque pobre e impotente en apariencia, siempre es fecundo y no puede no serlo porque participa del mismo ser y de la vida misma de Dios.”

— Jacques Philippe

30. “Ultimately, we can really forgive people only because Christ rose from the dead; his Resurrection is the guarantee that God can cure every wrong and every hurt.”

— Jacques Philippe

31. “I keep these words in my heart, repeating often during the day: “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

— Jacques Philippe

32. “Nevertheless, it seems to me that today’s believers need a presentation of the Church’s traditional teaching that is simple and easily accessible, adapted to today’s outlook and expressed in today’s language.”

— Jacques Philippe

33. “The point is to move from “Why?” to “How?” The real question isn’t “Why is this happening to me?” but “How should I live through these things?” How am I called to face this situation? What call to growth is being made to me through this? That question will always get an answer.”

— Jacques Philippe

34. “Living in the present moment means accepting the poverty in us: not insisting on going over and over the past or taking control of the future, but contending ourselves with today.”

— Jacques Philippe

35. “If trust disappears when we do wrong, it shows that our trust was based on ourselves and our deeds. Discouragement is a clear sign that we’ve put our trust in ourselves and not at all in God.”

— Jacques Philippe

36. “Therese felt clearly that she could not become a saint through her own efforts alone. Her own merits or her good works could not save her. In this way she was simply agreeing with the message of the Gospel and of St. Paul: We are not saved by our deeds, by what we accomplish. We are saved by grace, by mercy, and this grace is received through faith and trust.”

— Jacques Philippe

37. “Pay attention to these words: “Keep your soul at peace.” It is an expression employed by our Divine Maser. Your soul should always be enclosed in itself – or better enclosed in Jesus Who dwells therein – not imprisoned or locked up under a key, but in gentle repose, kept in Jesus, Who holds it in His arms.”

— Jacques Philippe

38. “The two main signs of pride are despising others and getting discouraged.”

— Jacques Philippe

39. “Hope consists, amidst radical poverty, of expecting everything from God with full confidence. God will give us his gifts not according to our virtues, our qualities, our merits, or our good deeds, but according to our hope.”

— Jacques Philippe

40. “A necessary condition for interior peace, then, is what we might call goodwill. We could also call it purity of heart. It is the stable and constant disposition of a person who is determined more than anything to love God, who desires sincerely to prefer in all circumstances the will of God to his own, who does not wish to consciously refuse anything to God.”

— Jacques Philippe

41. “She was there, God was there, and that was enough.”

— Jacques Philippe