Mark Hart quotes:

Great morning prayer is like marinating in the Holy Spirit.

When I get "too busy" to pray, I envision Jesus at the Pearly Gates showing me the time I wasted looking for something to watch on Netflix.

We can't understand our calling and our vocation until we listen to the Lord... until we look upon the Lord... until we realize who it is that we're really serving. Are we serving God? Or the world?

Authentic Christianity is a roller-coaster ride, not a merry-go-round.

Gray and overcast from my earthly perspective, but it's sunny above these storm clouds. Grace lets us see life from God's point of view.

Instead of loving the Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), we tend to love a different trinity: Me, myself, and I.

Honestly, I don't think Victoria has too many Secrets left... might be time to prayerfully consider a name change.

I'm at my 3 year-olds year-end concert. It's full of very off-key, mostly unfocused children, but this father is still beaming. Must be how God feels on Sunday.

Pentecost is a celebration of God... a celebration of God's power... a celebration of God's desire to empower us and to dwell within us.

Teacher: "If your daughter knew her spelling words as well as her Bible stories she'd get into Harvard." Me: "I'll settle for Heaven."

A broken heart is merely an empty manger. Invite the Virgin and the carpenter to pray beside you. Invite the Savior to dwell there.

I'm a sinner. I don't always love God as strongly as I could or as directly as I should. Ash Wednesday reminds me that it is only through God that I have life; He gave it to me. God forgives. He loves. And He gives this sinner a second chance. Put simply: my God kicks ash.

It is so beautifully ironic that St. Francis - the great lover of animals - is now a pigeon's target in countless yards.

Note to self: If you can't hear God when you pray, shut up.

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus offers more than God's personal email or private cell number - He offers us a heart transplant.

If more husbands and fathers would put as much energy into their marriages and families as they do their jobs, the world would change.

We often talk about how we are God's "hands and feet," which is true. That being said, we can't fall into the trap of thinking God needs us like we need Him. He's God - which makes the reality that He wants to use us and be in relationship with us an even sweeter, more profound truth.

The atheist barista (who's obsessed with astrology) asked me, "So what's your sign?" I responded, "The sign of the cross." I think she spit in my coffee...

It's one of the greatest comforts of working in ministry: the unspoken certitude that your spouse did not marry you for your money.

You don't become a saint by comparing yourself to a sinner.

An annoyed and joyless Christian is the devil's greatest billboard.

Are you willing to go the extra mile in this new year to know God?

God has a plan for you today: one designed to help get you to Heaven.

A homeless man standing at the off-ramp: the question in these moments isn't whether Jesus is in Him, but in me.

"Love one another": No command is simpler; no command more difficult.

A parent asked me today, "How do you get your children to pray in church?" My response? "Pray at home."

A rib... loaves and fish... some spit... God can do a lot with a little.

As a father of young girls, I want to publicly thank all women who dress and carry themselves like ladies. Your example is a gift.

As I get older I've come to realize that the best way to "get even" with someone is to forgive - and then forget.

Christ always calls us to life and constantly to greater joy, but rarely does He call us to comfort.

Consider God's love for you. Now double it. Now multiply that by 900 trillion. You're still not even close.

Courage doesn't mean we're not afraid. Courage means we refuse to be mastered by fear.

Don't make Christ ride shotgun.

Enthusiasm is contagious - so is a lack of it. Joyless Christians are a greater assault on the gospel than atheism.

Ever doubt that God answers your prayers? Pray (sincerely) for humility... and watch what happens.

Everything we have - every blessing, every talent - is a gift from our Father. The only thing that's all ours is our sin.

Faith does not contradict reason. Faith exceeds reason.

Fatherhood: How God blesses you out of your selfishness and floods your soul with love, all while reminding you how little you know...

Friday and Saturday nights have a funny way of revealing what we really believe on Sunday mornings.

Giving God permission to make you a saint will ruin your life.

God didn't give Adam and Eve the right to decide what was good and evil. He gave them the right to choose between good and evil.

God doesn't desire our worship because He is egocentric. He desires it because we are.

God has great plans for you today... creative and unexpected means by which He will make you a saint. He needs only your joyful submission to His plan.

God is holding you in His heart, right at this very moment. It's a fact that can make you feel so small yet so big at the same time.

God loves us too much to pretend our sin isn't there. Sin is a cancer and Christ the surgeon. True prayer signs the consent form.

God made saints out of far worse people than you.

God will put someone in your path today who doesn't necessarily need you... but who desperately needs Christ in you.

God's truth is this: abortion is murder.

How beautiful that after 2,000 years, no one can outdo "God is love." It's the most perfectly concise, hopeful phrase in history.

If I were as good at praying as I am at not praying I'd be really holy.

If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, an even greater miracle happened: 12 relatively uneducated guys changed the world and were martyred to protect a lie.

If the heart is hardened, the intellect is darkened.

If today were your final day of this life, would those things causing you stress still do so?

If we could see, even for a split second, the depths of God's love for us - all we'd want to do is worship and prayer would never seem a chore.

If you want to live as a Christian, get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

If you want to love God better, hate sin more.

If your sin feels "too big," your vision of God is too small.

It breaks my heart when couples focus more on being wed than being married. Two become one doesn't happen without work, humility, and sacrifice.

It is in our darkest cultures that the greatest saints rise, stand, and lead.

It's been a few days since I've seen my kids. My hearts racing; I can't wait to hold them. This is just a glimpse into God's heart at Mass.

It's easier not to love. Beware of the easy path this day.

It's funny how the closer you get to God, the more you realize how far you are from Him.

It's pretty sad that when people see a guy buying flowers, they assume he's in trouble.

Laziness in prayer is like handing the devil a key to your house.

Life was a lot more adventurous before caller I.D.

Life's too short not to tell the people you love how you feel. Say it... and say it often. Oh, and start with God.

Many of us want to know why we don't "hear" God when we pray. Few of us shut up long enough to really listen.

Married couples, may we never forget that when attacks come the grace of the sacrament is eternally stronger than we are.

Maybe if we said that sin causes cancer, people would take it more seriously.

Much of Satan's time is spent trying to make you remember what God has already forgotten. Reconcile, rejoice, and look forward.

Never complain about growing old... Some never have the privilege.

Oh, how much holier the world would be if more people invoked their right to remain silent.

Oh, how thunderous the applause must be in Heaven, all those times we are mocked on earth for the sake of His name.

Our Sabbath practices reveal which Trinity we truly worship: Father, Son, and Spirit... or me, myself, and I.

People with a lot of theological study and no prayer life are dangerous... and not in a good way.

Prayer is where the cross changes shoulders.

Preaching Christ's truth always bears fruit. Of course, some people will probably end up wanting to throw that fruit at you...

Reconciliation is the fastest way to change your life.

Rules for today: 1) Pray 2) Laugh 3) Repeat. The only reason to take this life too seriously is if it's your only one.

Saints didn't set out to have everyone follow them. Saints set out to follow Jesus, and others followed them in their pursuit of Him.

Some people say, "If you trust in God's unconditional love, why do you need to pray?" A better ending is "why wouldn't you want to?"

Sometimes holiness demands that we speak up, but oftentimes it calls us to shut up.

Sometimes we forget that sin really is optional.

Speaking truth will rarely earn you friends, but it will reveal who your true friends are and who are true friends of Christ.

Stress will either drive you crazy or drive you to your knees. It depends on who is in control of your life.

Sunday doesn't just prepare us for the week ahead - it prepares us for eternity.

Tell the devil to go to hell... that's where he belongs.

The amount of "followers" you have does not make you better than anyone else. Hitler had millions. Jesus had twelve.

The Church needs more people willing to wash feet, not just point out they're dirty or complain that they smell.

The commandments are a gift, not a curse. Sin is less about breaking the rules and more about breaking the Father's heart.

The devil doesn't sit idly by while you seek God. If you're pursuing Christ, the enemy is pursuing you.

The following is a phrase we don't hear enough but that I sincerely mean (and our culture needs to hear more often): I love being married.

The funny thing about the boy who gave away his loaves and fish is that he, too, ended the day with a full stomach.

The holidays often bring challenging conversations and situations. Sometimes holiness demands that we speak, other times it invites us to be silent. In all circumstances, though, we are called to love.

The man who built the manger had a purpose in mind... God had another. You'll never know how far reaching God's plan is for your work.

The miracle of Good Friday is that there was no miracle. Legions of angels stood - with swords sheathed - watching as the Son took our place.

The people hung upon His words - that is, until they hung Him on a cross. Admiration is fleeting. Love is eternal.

The truest friends are usually the ones telling you what you don't want to hear.

There are 2 main things I've learned about following the Holy Spirit: It will never be easy. It will never be boring.

Time is the most valuable commodity we have, worth more than gold, yet wasted more than all else. Efficient use of time begins with prayer.

To love someone properly probably means that you won't be very popular. Pure love, loving the way it was intended, is unfortunately a foreign concept to many. Love is messy. Love will involve hardship, demand patience, require forgiveness, test maturity, strain friendship, challenge priorities, refine character, ignite the heart and unleash the soul. Love is not something you sing about, it's the reason you sing. Love is not something you write about, it's the reason you write. Love is not something you live to find, it's the reason that you are alive.

True holiness is not achieved by what we do, but what we allow God to do in us.

Using death to defeat death... wow. No way the devil saw that one coming.

We can't experience all that Heaven has to offer until we renounce all that the world offers in its place.

We must not become so preoccupied looking for "major" miracles that we miss all the daily ones.

What annoys us most in other people is oftentimes the same area God wants us to grow in ourselves.

What did all the saints have in common? They feared sin more than even physical death.

When a majority of my prayers are for others to change, I've gotten off track. Lord, change this sinner's heart.

When it's hardest to pray are usually the times I need to pray the hardest. Not sure if that's irony or common sense.

You can usually tell by the look on someone's face if they woke up counting their problems or their blessings.

Your faith is measured by how well you love those who can't stand you.

When we get ashes we are not publicly proclaiming our greatness, but God's. We are not saying, 'look at how great I am,' but 'ask me about how great my God is!'

Fatherhood has taught me when it's too quiet my kids are usually sinning. God the Father knows the same. Are you praying?

If true love were only about feelings, Jesus would have been hugged to death for our redemption. Thank God for His cross this and every day.

You can't do God's will and satisfy everyone.