Faith, Hope, Light: Stained Glass Windows

I have always loved the story behind stained glass windows. From several perspectives, it is a fascinating one. There is the fact that medieval artisans did not know the exact chemical process from which different colors were created; yet they could still create them. There is the fact that these windows are incredibly beautiful pieces of art; yet sometimes the forces that drove their creation have also at times been among the ugliest known to mankind.

Then there is the light. It always does seem to shine through, despite our sometimes off- coloring of it, and also in so many different, often joyous jewel-toned hues.

On Faith:

“When you have come to the edge Of all light that you know And are about to drop off into the darkness Of the unknown, Faith is knowing One of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly”
--Patrick Overton

“The faith that stands on authority is not faith.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.”
--David Viscott

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”
--Elie Wiesel

“Where there is FAITH, there is LOVE; Where there is LOVE; there is PEACE; Where there is PEACE; there is GOD; Where there is GOD; there is BLISS.”
--Sri Sathya Sai Baba

On Hope:

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
--Thich Nhat Hanh

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death”
--Robert Fulghum

“Hope is the dream of a soul awake.”
--French Proverb

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise”
--Oscar Wilde

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out”
--Vaclav Havel

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”
--Eskimo Proverb

On Light:

“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
--Chinese Proverb

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”
--Mahatma Gandhi

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.”
--Marianne Williamson

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”
--Abraham Lincoln

“The truth, as the light, makes blind.”
--Albert Camus

“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
--Dylan Thomas

“To confront a person with his own shadow is to show him his own light”
--Carl Gustav Jung