Sunday, August 16, 2026

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Jim O’Grady, on Picking a Saint To Help You)

“Maybe you, too, have an unreasonable fear that is leaching the color from your life. Maybe you remedy this through walking, meditation, or therapy. I recommend picking a saint to help you. The ‘saint’ doesn’t have to be a literal, official Catholic one—they can be anyone who rejected a life of maximal self-interest in favor of radical service, someone whose commitment to the rigors and contradictions of doing good in this world can show you how to live in it."—Podcast reporter and biographer Jim O’Grady, “Letter of Recommendation: Saints,” The New York Times Magazine, Sept. 15, 2024

2 comments:

Jim O'Grady said...

Thanks for reading and remembering that essay, and passing it on. It begins with me looking out my office window on a barren scene that stoked my sense of dread. Today, out that same window, I see tree leaves rippling in the breeze, as if whispering of promise.

MikeT said...

I am glad you liked my use of your quote, Jim. I think my readers enjoyed it as much as I did.