Helen Prejean Quotations

Remorse presupposes enough self-forgetfulness to feel the pain ofothers.

To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Time rushes by and yet time is frozen. Funny how we get so exact about time at the end of life and at its beginning. She died at 6:08 or 3:46, we say, or the baby was born at 4:02. But in between we slosh through huge swatches of time--weeks, months, years, decades even.

Mercy is "stronger and more God-like than vengeance".

Writing is like praying, because you stop all other activities, descend into silence, and listen patiently to the depths of your soul, waiting for true words to come. When they do, you thank God because you know the words are a gift, and you write them down as honestly and cleanly as you can.

The important thing is that when your come to understand something you act on it, no matter how small that act is. Eventually it will take you where you need to go.

Government ... can't be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes equitably or fill a pothole, much less decide which of its citizens to kill.

When you try, God is there and you get the grace you need to get you through.

Once you inject fear into a society of people, they become more and more afraid because they don't cross over the neighbourhoods and the only information they get about other people is through the media.

We are not the worst moments of our lives. Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking.