"Silent solitude makes true speech possible and personal. If I am not in touch with my own belovedness, then I cannot touch the sacredness of others. If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others."
"we unwittingly project onto God our own attitudes and feelings toward ourselves... But we cannot assume that He feels about us the way we feel about ourselves -- unless we love ourselves compassionately, intensely, and freely."
"The sorrow of God lies in our fear of Him, our fear of life, and our fear of ourselves. He anguishes over our self-absorption and self-sufficiency... God's sorrow lies in our refusal to approach Him when we sinned and failed."
"Our hearts of stone become hearts of flesh when we learn where the outcast weeps."
"Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion."
"Our identity rests in God's relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ."