"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
Eugene Kennedy's quote "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" implies that individuals who resort to violence do so because they lack the skills, knowledge or resources to solve their problems peacefully or effectively. It suggests that such acts of violence are a sign of weakness rather than strength, and that competent people find alternative ways to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
This quote by Eugene Kennedy highlights the importance of individual action in combating evil or negative forces. It suggests that if righteous people remain idle while injustice prevails, it gives room for evil to flourish, ultimately leading to its triumph. Therefore, the message is a call to action, urging individuals to actively resist evil and stand up for what is good.
"Talk doesn't cook rice."
The quote "Talk doesn't cook rice" by Eugene Kennedy is a metaphorical way of saying that talk, or conversation without action, has little value or impact. It emphasizes the need for actual implementation to achieve results, as opposed to simply discussing ideas or plans. In other words, it's a reminder that words alone do not bring about change or success; actions are what truly matter.
"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer."
This quote by Eugene Kennedy emphasizes that heroes are not inherently braver or stronger than ordinary individuals; instead, they display extraordinary courage for a slightly longer duration. In the face of adversity, they persist where others may falter or retreat. The heroism lies in the endurance and resilience to continue even when fear, exhaustion, or doubt might set in. It's about pushing oneself beyond the ordinary limits to achieve something extraordinary.
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
This quote by Eugene Kennedy emphasizes that investing in child development and upbringing has a longer-lasting, more effective impact on society than attempting to rehabilitate troubled adults. It suggests that it's better to focus efforts on nurturing children with strong values, positive experiences, and solid foundations, rather than trying to correct problems that may have arisen from neglect or adversity in adulthood. Essentially, it highlights the importance of preventive measures over reactive ones when it comes to shaping healthy individuals and a thriving community.
The mystery of being human and, certainly, of being a Catholic lies in our embracing together the imperfect state known as the human condition. First and foremost, if we could ever be perfect or do things perfectly, we would eliminate mystery, an essential ingredient in the good life and the spiritual life.
- Eugene Kennedy
There would be no need for love if perfection were possible. Love arises from our imperfection, from our being different and always in need of the forgiveness, encouragement and that missing half of ourselves that we are searching for, as the Greek myth tells us, in order to complete ourselves.
- Eugene Kennedy
St. Pope John XXIII called for the Second Vatican Council because he understood, as no Holy Father had in a long time, religion spoke to and found its language and symbols - its entire sense of the sacramental nature of existence - in the imagination that reveals not just the penalties of living, but the wonder and awe of our existence.
- Eugene Kennedy
Francis seems familiar because Catholics have already known him in the Vatican II priests who have been their pastors and sacramental ministers over the years since that council brought new life to an old church. Catholics have known him in the bishops and priests who brought the spirit of the council to their dioceses and parishes.
- Eugene Kennedy
The whole world feels that it knows Francis, not so much because he follows Francis of Assisi but because he is always himself. We have seen him pay his own hotel bill and heard that Francis called Buenos Aires for a pair of ordinary black shoes, like John XXIII, who preferred stout peasant shoes to the traditional papal footwear.
- Eugene Kennedy
We encounter and enter our richest, most humanly defining experiences by way of a tear in the fabric of things, because we are running late, or because we recognize, across a crowded room, a face whose lack of perfection allows a unique light to shine through and to stir us with uncommon wonder.
- Eugene Kennedy
Good priests never look for awards and, perversely enough in the clerical culture universe, do not receive many. Like the aged nuns who taught selflessly and nearly anonymously all their lives, these servants of the People of God only get into the papers when their obituaries are printed.
- Eugene Kennedy
9/11 revealed that those about to die do not seem afraid or plead for forgiveness for their sins, if they think about them at all. They all have one thing in mind - those they love - and they all do the same thing: They call them up - spouses, family or friends - to tell them they love them.
- Eugene Kennedy
In April, God speaks to us in the seas whose rhythmic murmuring fills our ears from a long way off. It was in April that the Titanic went down into the deep to lie like a slasher's victim, bleeding the 'debris field' - its passengers' personal possessions, the everyday things of everyman and everywoman - across the ocean's floor.
- Eugene Kennedy
9/11 allowed us to witness the ordinary face of goodness in the love that those about to die brought with them to work that day. It is fitting that we refer to a large segment of the church year as Ordinary Time because it describes the look of the true faith that, as we read of the Kingdom, is spread about us.
- Eugene Kennedy
The truth of faith is a slender, glowing element that runs through even the seemingly ordinary and undramatic moments of existence. Even at low intensity, it is a steady source of illumination. Such religious truth is powerful even when it seems faint, even when it seems obscured by the larger events of history.
- Eugene Kennedy
Wherever you find 'men together' - writing the rules, as at exclusive golf or other men's clubs, businesses, and lodges where they wear elaborate robes and funny hats - women are kept completely outside if possible and, when grudgingly admitted, to highly restricted areas or token status.
- Eugene Kennedy
Hierarchical formulations died because their wedding cake levels posited a multiply fractured cosmos that does not match the Space Age revelation of a unified universe in which the earth is clearly in, rather than separated from, the heavens. Hierarchical representations do not reflect what either the world or we are like.
- Eugene Kennedy
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