Quotes by Peter Kreeft

About Peter Kreeft:

Peter John Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College. He is the author of numerous books as well as a popular writer of Christian philosophy, theology and apologetics. He also formulated, together with Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, "Twenty Arguments for the Existence of God".
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

You do not have to wait until you become a saint. [Prayer] is the way to become a saint.

Peter Kreeft

Prayer is essentially the practice of the presence of God, and that is the road to Heaven. There is no alternative. God is the only game in town. All other roads are dead ends. Since we must give our all to the one true God, we must not give any part...

Peter Kreeft

The practice of the presence of God, though we begin it at special times of prayer, is designed to spill out and over and into all times.

Peter Kreeft

Our conversation with God should be utterly free and familiar, because God is the only person who will never, ever misunderstand us and never, ever reject us (hate us, ignore us, or be indifferent to us). These are the tow reasons we hid from other p...

Peter Kreeft

To invoke Jesus' name is to place yourself in his presence, to open yourself to his power, his energy. The prayer of Jesus' name actually brings God closer, making him more present. He is always present in some way, since he knows and loves each one ...

Peter Kreeft

Saint Thomas Aquinas says, wisely, that the only way to drive out a bad passion is by a stronger good passion. The same is true of thoughts as of passions. When your mind wanders, like a child, your will must bring it back, like a mother. [. . .] The...

Peter Kreeft

The only way God can strengthen his presence in our will is to weaken his presence in our feelings. Otherwise we would become spiritual cripples, unable to walk without emotional crutches. This is why he gives us dryness, sufferings, and failures.

Peter Kreeft

God wants us to worry about our sins we sin; the devil wants us to worry we sin. God wants us to feel free after we repent (for we really are free then); the devil is a deceiver). The devil tempts us to cavalier pride before we sin and worrisome desp...

Peter Kreeft

Trusting God's grace means trusting God's love for us rather than our love for God. […] Therefore our prayers should consist mainly of rousing our awareness of God's love for us rather than trying to rouse God's awareness of our love for him, like ...

Peter Kreeft

I guarantee you that after you die you will not say 'I spent too much time praying; I wish I had watched more TV instead.

Peter Kreeft

God really performs the miracle of multiplying our time, but only if we give it to him first.

Peter Kreeft

Nothing but prayer can make saints because nothing but God can make saints, and we meet God in prayer. Prayer is the hospital for souls where we meet Doctor God.

Peter Kreeft

Feelings are wonderful decorations, but they are not a foundation to build on.

Peter Kreeft

Feelings, like waves, look more substantial than they are.

Peter Kreeft

The saints, too, had wandering minds. The saints, too, had constantly to recall their constantly wandering mind-child home. They became saints because they continued to go after the little wanderer, like the Good Shepherd.

Peter Kreeft

Indifference is more truly the opposite of love than hate is, for we can both love and hate the same person at the same time, but we cannot both love and be indifferent to the same person at the same time.

Peter Kreeft

When we pray, instead of trying to produce love in our souls toward God, we should be basking in God's love for us. How foolish to stay indoors in the cold, dark little room off the self, trying to turn on the light and turn up the heat, when we can ...

Peter Kreeft

We must pray in order to grow, and we must grow because Infinite Love will not, cannot, settle for less than the greatest joy of which his beloved creature is capable.

Peter Kreeft

There is something in us that fears prayer as a maggot fears light. We must do violence to this voice, for it is not ourselves. It is our Enemy.

Peter Kreeft

We pray to obey God, not to 'play God'. We pray, not to change God's mind, but to change our own; not to command God, but to let God command us. We pray to 'let God be God'. Prayer is our obedience to God even when it asks God for things, for God has...

Peter Kreeft

One common cause of this mistake of preferring to imagine and admire a great ideal instead of beginning to do little deeds is our impatience with little baby steps, our lack of humility.

Peter Kreeft

Author Bio

  • NamePeter Kreeft
  • DescriptionAmerican philosopher
  • Born1937
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionTheologian; Philosopher; Writer