Saints' Discussion Forums

I desire to be the servant of the Son; but because no one will ever be so without serving the Mother, for this reason I desire servitude to Mary. :crucifix:

St. Ildephonsus, Bishop and Confessor

Amen.

There are souls for whom God's mercy wearies not of waiting, and to whom He gives His Light only by degrees.


St. Therese of Lisieux

God help poor souls!

Praise Him for His patience!

'This Rosary will be your little wreath of roses, your crown for Jesus and Mary.'

St. Louis Marie de Montfort

Amen!

As all the world is under obligation to Jesus for his Passion, so also are we under obligation to Our Lady for her compassion.


St. Albertus Magnus, OP
Doctor of the Church

The sun penetrates crystal and makes it more dazzling. In the same way, the Sanctifying Spirit indwells in souls and makes them more radiant.
They become like so many powerhouses beaming grace and love around them.
St. Basil

'Mary being in heaven nearer to God and more united to Him, knows our miseries better, compassionates them more, and can more efficaciously assist us.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

"Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
 my eye is wasted from grief, my soul and my body also."

Psalm 31: 9

I always notice and think about the portion of it where it says, 'my eye is wasted from grief'. . .

 Now listen, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city,
 spend a year there, carry on business and make money"
 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
 Instead, you ought to say,
"If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

James 4:13-15
NIV

For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and if we shall live, we will do this or that.

But now you rejoice in your arrogancies. All such rejoicing is wicked. To him therefore who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.

I, for my part, know that my Redeemer lives.
That He, at last, will rise on the earth.
After I wake up, He will make me stand next to Him.
And I, in my flesh, I shall see God.
The One, I shall see shall be for me.
The One, I shall look upon will not be a stranger.
Job 19:25-27

So inspiring!

'To obtain the love of God, I will call to mind the favors I have received from Him.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

A good work talked about is a good work spoiled.
St. Vincent de Paul

There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life at the same time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga

It's heartening to read of signs of predestination!

And it's a good warning too, to read of the signs of reprobation.

Meditate assiduously on the mysteries of the Passion and on the Sorrows of the Most Holy Mother of God at the foot of the Cross. Watch and pray at all times.


St. Clare of Assisi

'O men too slow to listen to the appeal of the poor! It was one of your brothers the angels crying to you. He came to prove you and to assure himself whether you forgot the Saviour in your merry makings. I wish to God you had guessed who it was.'

St. Lydwine of Schiedam

“Continue to pray the Rosary every day.”
Our Lady of Fatima to Sister Lucia

It seems that God allowed Saint Christina the Astonishing to experience some of that awareness of sin as well.

Her life's story is one of my favorites. . .

One of a kind!

"Love God, serve God: everything is in that."
 St. Clare of Assisi

"My daughter, I see more Pharisees among Christians than there were around Pilate"
 St. Margaret of Cortona

"No prayer is ever lost"
St. Jean Vianney

'When you see someone suffering great dishonor, you may be sure that he was carried away by thoughts of self-esteem and is now reaping, much to his disgust, the harvest from the seeds which he sowed in his heart.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Have no other desire or intention but to please God in all that you do. See Him alone in everything that befalls you.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

" Before reading, ask and beseech God that He reveals Himself to you."

Saint Ephrem

"When I am before the Blessed Sacrament I feel such a lively faith that I can't describe it. Christ in the Eucharist is almost tangible to me...When it is time for me to leave, I have to tear myself away from His sacred presence."
 St. Anthony of Claret

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength"
Saint Francis de Sales

'Spiritual freedom is release from the passions; without Christ's mercy you cannot attain it.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'Pray that temptation may not come to you; but when it comes, accept it as your due and not undeserved.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Even though knowledge is true, it is still not firmly established if unaccompanied by works. For everything is established by being put into practice.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

Talking of Knowledge, Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us that "To love God is something greater than to know Him"

"If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor.
 If you wish God to anticipate your wants,
provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you.
Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg.
 To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it"
St. Thomas of Villanova

I think it's especially touching to hear that, about giving alms to folks who have trouble asking.  :crucifix:

It is not easy to beg.
For some people to beg is synonymous with being stripped of all  dignity.

Hmm.. yes.. though.. one shouldn't feel that way, I think..

I understand the feeling.. but.. Hmm. I haven't really thought, and felt it all out, if you know what I'm saying.

O God, watch over your Phillip today; because if you do not, your Phillip will betray you before the day is over.
St. Phillip Neri (Said each day during morning prayer)

Amen amen.

A lovely prayer.
 From a son who loves his father to a Father who loves His son!

'If our natural feelings, being hurt, cause us to utter some words, or to act in opposition with the principles we profess, we must chastise them severely until they have obeyed us.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

I've begun to say a version of this prayer myself.
It rings so true.

I've begun to say a version of this prayer myself.
It rings so true.
[/quote]

I know, I felt the same when I read it.

“ No matter how good food is, if mixed with poison, it may cause the death of him who eats it.
So it is with conversation.  A single bad word, an evil action, an unbecoming joke, is often enough to harm one or more young listeners, and may later on cause them to lose God’s grace.”                   

    St. John Bosco.

 “ If you do not hope You will never find what is beyond your hope.” 

 St. Clement of Alexandria

 

He loves, He hopes, He waits.
 If He came down on our altars on certain days only,
 some sinner, on being moved to repentance,
might have to look for Him, and not finding Him, might have to wait.
 Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner
 for years rather than keep him waiting one instant.
 St Peter Julian Eymard

"If you must choose between me and the baby, no hesitation;
choose - and I demand it - the baby. Save her!"

Saint (and doctor) Gianna Molla

'God gave Himself to you: give yourself to God.'
Blessed Robert Southwell

"Charity may be a very short word, but with its tremendous meaning of pure love, it sums up man's entire relation to God and to his neighbor."
 St Aelred of Rievaulx

"Fear not because God is with you"
Saint Padre Pio

"Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be and becoming that person"
Saint Therese of Lisieux

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength"
Saint Francis de Sales

"The Devil is like a mad dog tied by a chain.
Beyond the length of the chain he cannot catch hold of anyone.
And you, therefore, keep your distance.
If you get too close you will be caught.
Remember, the Devil has only one door with which to enter into our soul: our will.
There are no secret or hidden doors.
 No sin is a true sin if we have not willfully consented"
Padre Pio
 

'Every affliction tests our will, showing whether it is inclined to good or evil. This is why an unforeseen affliction is called a test, because it enables a man to test his hidden desires.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

“ Children of men,
 how long will your hearts remain heavy and earthbound?
 How long will you go on loving vain  things and seeking what is false?
Why do you not turn your eyes and your hearts towards divine Wisdom who
is supremely desirable and who, to attract our love, makes known His origin, shows his beauty, displays
  His riches, and testifies in a thousand ways how eager He is that we should desire Him and seek Him?”
 St. Louis De Montfort

'The fruit we ought to get from prayer, is to do what is pleasing to the Lord.'

St. Philip Neri

'Just as in one man there is one soul and one body, but many members; even so the Catholic Church is one body, having many members. The soul that quickens this body is the Holy Spirit; and therefore in the Creed after confessing our belief in the Holy Spirit, we are bid to believe in the Holy Catholic Church.'

St. Thomas Aquinas

I admit that we are all weak, but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily. Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time, and so give God more pleasing worship? Listen, and I will tell you. If a tiny spark of God's love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can. Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.

-- Saint Charles Borromeo

'Be careful to give no credit to yourself for anything; if you do, you are stealing from God, to whom alone every good thing is due.'

St. Vincent de Paul

"Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road.
 Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy,
 has always protected you, and loves you as a mother.
 Blessed be you, my God, for having created me."

Saint Clare of Assisi

'Everybody is against us. I rejoice in this, for God will be more favorable to us. . . If we be faithful, God will not fail us.'

St. Paul of the Cross

"What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love" 

St John of the Cross,

"Avoid slander because it is difficult to retract. Avoid offending anyone for to ask forgiveness is not delightful"

Saint John Cantius

Ho ho, that's a good point!  ;D

It is rue, asking for forgiveness is easier said than done!

Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church.
St. Thomas Aquinas

"When you decide firmly to lead a clean life, chastity will not be a burden on you: it will be a crown of triumph."
St. Josemaria Escriva

I believe it! One has to have a firm will, then leave the rest to God.

One day St. Teresa of Avila heard someone say: "If only I had lived at the time of Jesus... If only I had seen Jesus... If only I had talked with Jesus..."

To this she responded: "But do we not have in the Eucharist the living, true and real Jesus present before us? Why look for more?"

"Where the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church''
Ignatius of Antioch,

Very important to remember!

"My heart feels as if it were being drawn by a superior force
 each morning just before uniting with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
I have such a thirst and hunger before receiving Him that it's a wonder I don't die of anxiety.
 I was hardly able to reach the Divine Prisoner in order to celebrate Mass.
 When Mass ended I remained with Jesus to render Him thanks.
My thirst and hunger do not diminish after I have received Him in the Blessed Sacrament
but rather, increase steadily.
 Oh, how sweet was the conversation I held with Paradise this morning.
The Heart of Jesus and my own,
if you will pardon my expression, fused.
They were no longer two hearts beating but only one.
My heart disappeared as if it were a drop in the ocean,"

 Blessed Padre Pio

“ No one is truly poor but except the one who lacks the truth.”
St. Ephraem the Syrian

"It is better not to allow anger, however just and reasonable, to enter at all, than to admit it in ever so slight a degree; once admitted, it will not be easily expelled, for, though at first but a small plant, it will immediately grow into a large tree.”
Saint Augustine

'Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart. Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord: and give praise to the remembrance of his holiness.'

Psalm 96:11-12

'The signs that accompany those who wish to submit to the Logos of God and who bring forth good fruit are: sighing, weeping, sorrow, stillness, shaking of the head, prayer, silence, persistence, bitter grief, tribulation of heart arising from religious devotion. In addition, their actions manifest vigilance, fasting, self-control, gentleness, forbearance, unceasing prayer, study of the divine Scriptures, faith, humility, brotherly affection, submission, rigorous toil, hardship, love, kindliness, courtesy and-the sum of all-light, which is the Lord. The signs that accompany those who are not producing the fruit of life are listlessness, day-dreaming, curiosity, lack of attention, grumbling, instability; and in their actions they manifest gluttony, anger, wrath, back-biting, conceit, untimely talk, unbelief, disorderliness, forgetfulness, unrest, sordid greed, avarice, envy, fractiousness, contempt, garrulity, senseless laughter, willfulness and - the sum of all - darkness, which is Satan.'

St. Symeon Metaphrastis

Ever since I saw this listed in an examination of conscience as a vice, I remember it again and again.

"If you invoke the Blessed Virgin when you are tempted, she will come at once to your help, and Satan will leave you."
St. John Vianney

"Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation"
Saint Augustine

Very true!!!

'Woe to the body when it stands upon its own nature, because then it wastes and dies ; and woe to the soul if it takes its stand upon nothing but its own nature, and puts its trust in nothing but its own works, not having the fellowship of the Spirit of God, because it dies, not having the eternal life of the Godhead vouchsafed to it.

When men are sick, as soon as the body is no longer able to receive nourishment, all hopes of them are given over, and all true friends and kinsfolk and lovers are in tears. In the same way, God and the holy angels are in tears over souls that are not nourished with the heavenly nourishment of the Spirit, and have not come to life in incorruption.'

St. Macarius the Egyptian

"If you have too much to do, with God's help you will find time to do it all"
 St Peter Canisius

Worth remembering more than once!

'There are three principal reasons why we find ourselves desolate. The first is, because of our being tepid, lazy or negligent in our spiritual exercises; and so through our faults, spiritual consolation withdraws from us. The second, to try us and see how much we are and how much we let ourselves out in His service and praise without such great pay of consolation and great graces. The third, to give us true acquaintance and knowledge, that we may interiorly feel that it is not ours to get or keep great devotion, intense love, tears, or any other spiritual consolation, but that all is the gift and grace of God our Lord, and that we may not build a nest in a thing not ours, raising our intellect into some pride or vainglory, attributing to us devotion or the other things of the spiritual consolation.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola, 'Spiritual Exercises'

"The Christian law commands that we forgive our enemies and those who have wronged us.
I must therefore say here that I forgive Taikosama.
 I would rather have all the Japanese become Christians."

Saint Paul Miki one of the Martyrs of Nagasaki

"The Devil is like a mad dog tied by a chain. Beyond the length of the chain he cannot catch hold of anyone. And you, therefore, keep your distance. If you get too close you will be caught. Remember, the Devil has only one door with which to enter into our soul: our will. There are no secret or hidden doors. No sin is a true sin if we have not willfully consented."

Padre Pio

All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be.
Saint Francis de Sales

'If you purify your soul of attachment to and desire for things, you will understand them spiritually. If you deny your appetite for them, you will enjoy their truth, understanding what is certain in them.'

St. John of the Cross

'If man remembered that it is written: "By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned," (Matt 12:37) he would choose to remain silent.'

St. Poemen

It is great to hear from you James!

Compliments of this holy season to you! :D


St. Albert the Great, pray for us!

'If you wish to pray well, be faithful in the practice of mortification, avoid dissipation of mind during the day, and never commit any willful faults.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

"Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly"
Saint Francis de Sales

"Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds Him"
Padre Pio

"Don't you long to shout to those youths who are bustling around you: Fools! Leave those worldly things that shackle the heart - and very often degrade it - leave all that and come with us in search of Love!"
St. Josemaria Escriva

"Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.’ Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven?...What greater power is there than this? The Father has given all judgment to the Son. And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men. They are raised to this dignity as if they were already gathered up to heaven"
St. John Chrysostom

'Take care, my brothers and sisters, for the Evil One wars against spiritual strugglers in sundry ways. He works againt man with unimaginably hypocritical cleverness. Thus, before a sin is committed, the Enemy diminishes its significance in the eye of strugglers. More than any other sin, he puts before them the desire for fleshly pleasure as such a small thing, that, prior to succumbing to it, it appears as insignificant to the conscience of a brother or sister as throwing a glass of cold water on the ground. When, however, the fleshly desire is fulfilled, then the Evil One greatly puffs up the sin in the conscience of the sinner, kindling in his soul numberless thought of despair, like black waves from Hell, so that the brother's good thoughts of repentance are submerged and he is hurled into the depths of hopelessness. Seeing from the foregoing, my brothers and sisters, the machinations of the Enemy, take care not to be duped in some misdeed, persisting in it and despairing of your salvation; rather, after rising from your fall, return to the Lord your God.'

St. Ephraim

So true!

'Our struggle is not waged for money, which if one loses he is able to acquire again. The peril which we confront relates to the soul, which, when we lose it, cannot be recovered. . .'

St. Ephraim

'And while physical bodies, the heavens and the earth, shall pass away and disappear, the glory of the Saints will have no end.'

St. Ephraim

Amen.  :crucifix:

'Very few, however, are they who supply a good beginning with a good end, and come through to the end without falling, with no love but one, for God only, and detached from all else.

Many are pricked at heart, and many become partakers of heavenly grace, and are smitten with divine passion; but because of the conflicts and struggles and labours and divers temptations of the devil to be borne on the way, they do not hold out, but are occupied with divers and sundry worldly desires, because every one has some worldly thing that he chooses to love, and has not detached his affections all round, and so they have stopped short, and have been plunged in the deeps of the world, through the feebleness and slackness and cowardice of their own wills, or through some worldly affection. For those who wish really to come through to the end in good living must not willingly admit and combine any other love or affection with that heavenly one, for fear of being hindered from spiritual things, and turning backward, and at last being exiled from life.

Great and unspeakable and inestimable are the promises made by God; and in proportion to them great faith and hope and labours and conflicts are required, and much trial. The blessings for which a seeker of the kingdom of heaven hopes are no trifle. Thou desirest to reign with Christ through ages without end; wilt thou not readily welcome the conflicts and labours and temptations of this short span of life, even unto death?

The Lord cries, any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily rejoicing and follow Me; [Luke 9:23] and again, any man hate not father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. [Luke 14:26] But most men wish to attain the kingdom, and would like to inherit eternal life, but do not refuse to live to their own wills and to follow them out. Not denying themselves, they wish to inherit eternal life; and this is impossible.'

St. Macarius the Great

THAT is a GREAT meditation !!!  :+: :thumbsup:

'One day, two Protestant ministers came here, who did not believe in the Real Presence of Our Lord. I said to them, "Do you think that a piece of bread could detach itself, and go, of its own accord, to place itself on the tongue of a person who came near to receive it?" "No." "Then it is not bread." There was a man who had doubts about the Real Presence, and he said, "What do we know about it? It is not certain. What is consecration? What happens on the altar at that moment?" But he wished to believe, and he prayed the Blessed Virgin to obtain faith for him. Listen attentively to this. I do not say that this happened somewhere, but I say that it happened to myself. At the moment when this man came up to receive Holy Communion, the Sacred Host detached Itself from my fingers while I was still a good way off, and went off Itself and placed Itself upon the tongue of that man.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'Man is like a tree, bodily asceticism is the foliage, interior vigilance the fruit. According to that which is written, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire" (Matt. 3:10) it is clear that all our care should be directed toward the fruit, that is to say, guard of the spirit; but it needs the protection and the embellishment of the foliage, which is bodily asceticism.'

St. Agathon

"But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway."
1 Corinthians 9:27

This quote has helped me in early rising. Getting up in the morning has always been difficult for me. I keep allowing myself " 5 more minutes" ! ;D

Yes, I know how that feels! St. Patrick, pray for us!  :biggrin:

'Silence is not a virtue when charity calls for speech.'

St. Poemen

'We must know how to confide. There is the fear of God and the fear of a Judas. Too much fear makes one labour without love, and too much confidence prevents from considering the danger which we must overcome.'

St. Padre Pio

'Many cry to God, but not with the voice of the soul, but with the voice of the body; only the cry of the heart, of the soul, reaches God.'
St. Augustine

'When the devil wants to capture our soul, he first divides our mind by many cares. Some of them appear to be necessary, others appear to be fraternal charity; and as he thus divides it, the stream of compunction is dried up, and when it is dried up the city is captured, and reason perishes. I say to you, then, be not solicitous.'

St. Anthony of Padua

"Let us regard the tradition of the Church also as worthy of belief.
Is it a tradition? Seek no further!"
St. John Chrysostom

"Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it; and indeed to neglect to confound evil men, when we can do it, is no less a sin than to encourage them."

Pope St. Felix III

Where sin was hatched, let tears now wash the nest.

St. Robert Southwell

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."
Saint Augustine (354 - 430)

Beautiful quote!

    “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”
St. Francis of Assisi

Two beautiful quotes!

'Sometimes we try hard to practice pure prayer, and cannot; but it happens also that we do not compel ourselves, yet the soul prays with purity. The first results from our infirmity, the second, from grace from above, which thus calls us to seek purity of soul and teaches us, in each case, not to ascribe it to ourselves if our prayer is pure, but to recognize in this a gift of the Giver. "We know not what we should pray for as we ought;" [Romans 8:26]. When we try to make our prayer pure and cannot, but are enveloped in darkness, let us moisten our cheeks with tears and implore God to disperse the night of the battle and to let light shine in the soul.'

St. Nilus of Sinai

"There is no surer way to know that one is a saint than to see him lead a holy life and yet suffer desolation, trials and tribulations"
St. Louis Gonzaga

'In the face of the never-ceasing snares of the enemy, it is necessary to have each day a fixed hour for review, to enter into one's self and consider carefully, in presence of God, all one's thoughts, words, and actions.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

    “Do not look forward to what might happen tomorrow;
    The same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will
    Take care of you tomorrow, and every day.
    Either He will shield you from suffering, or HE will give you
    Unfailing strength to bear it.
    Be at peace, then and put aside all anxious thoughts
    And imaginings.”
   St. Francis de Sales.

"Any wound, but not a wound of the heart!

Any wickedness, but not the wickedness of a woman!"

Sirach 25:13