Saints' Discussion Forums

'The Holy Scriptures do not know any distinctions. They enjoin that all lead the life of monks.'

St. John Chrysostom

A few days ago I was browsing in the bookshop. I picked up a book entitled: “Your Word Is My Path” Daily Meditations. My eyes  caught a quoted conversation between Saint John Chrysostom and  Emperor Arcadius.
The following is what I read. The author in his turn quoted from  Anthony P Castle, The Book of Quotes and Anecdotes. Ch 20, p.338.

“Saint John Chysostome, summoned before the Roman Emperor Arcadius and threatened with banishment, is said to have replied;
“You cannot banish me for the world is my Father’s house”

“Then I will slay you,” exclaimed the Emperor wrathfully.

“No, but you cannot, for my life is hidden with Christ in God”

“Your treasures shall be confiscated!” was the grim reply.

“That Sir,  cannot be! My treasures are in heaven as my heart is there.”

“But I will drive you from men and you shall have no friends left.”

“That you cannot do either Sir, for I have a Friend in heaven, who has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”

I closed the book, went happily to pay for it at the cashier  satisfied with my find ;D

Very happy to read the quotes here! :D

Nothing seemed to ever faze the Saints!!  :gunfight: :madgunfighter: :ActofGod: :faint: :swordfight:

“Though one should fall into many and grievous sins and imperfections, he ought never to despair of his salvation nor lose confidence in God, for the Divine clemency is infinitely greater than human malice.”

- St. John Chrysostom

Thanks be to God for his mercy!

Amen!

'In our recreations and pleasures, we should, after the example of Mary, love to hear and speak of God.'

St. Jean Eudes

'Eating and drinking don't make friendships - such friendship even robbers and murderers have. But if we are friends, if we truly care for one another, let us help one another spiritually. . . Let us hinder those things that lead our friends away to hell.'

St. John Chrysostom

'The soul is more precious than the whole world!'

St. John Chrysostom

This is so true, and you and everyone here are in my prayers everyday.

George I prayed for you during my Spiritual Communion this evening.

I know your prayers, and everyone's are helping me to make progress in holiness. Thanks be to God, I am grateful!  :D

Thank You brother, good night.

And goodnight to you too. May God keep you!  ;D

Meekness, the greatest of virtues, is reckoned among the beatitudes. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land."
For that blessed land, the heavenly Jerusalem, is not the spoil of warriors who have conquered, but the hoped for inheritance of the meek, who patiently endure the evils of this life.
St. Basil

Is the difference between meekness and humility that of accepting suffering then?

That's thought provoking..

I am going to have to learn more about meekness. . .

Ah, how interesting..  In the Summa it says, "It would seem that neither clemency nor meekness is a virtue. For no virtue is opposed to another virtue. Yet both of these are apparently opposed to severity, which is a virtue. Therefore neither clemency nor meekness is a virtue."

And then later, "Meekness is not directly opposed to severity; for meekness is about anger. On the other hand, severity regards the external infliction of punishment, so that accordingly it would seem rather to be opposed to clemency, which also regards external punishing, as stated above (Article 1). Yet they are not really opposed to one another, since they are both according to right reason. For severity is inflexible in the infliction of punishment when right reason requires it; while clemency mitigates punishment also according to right reason, when and where this is requisite. Wherefore they are not opposed to one another as they are not about the same thing."

I'll be interested in what you (or anyone) say. The Summa is just too complicated for me. I know he's not meaning to be, but ....... I get it, but don't really get it if you know what I mean.

Haha, I don't understand it entirely too! It makes me think! I will have to read more but right now I like wondering about it!  ;D

Humility is necessary not only for the acquisition of virtues, but even for salvation. For the gate of heaven, as Christ Himself testifies, is so narrow that it admits only little ones.
St. Bernard

And St. Therese's Little Way shows so clearly how to be a little one. We are so lucky to have her example  of humility. I need to look at her works again.

You Lord, will descend to my nothingness and transform that nothingness into living fire.
St. Therese of Lisieux

Amen!

I shall do everything for heaven, my true home. There I shall find my mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety.
St. Bernadette Soubirous

Seek your place of refuge in the Divine Heart, the haven of tranquility. Within that furnace of saintly love, become evermore inflamed with love for God.
St. Gaspar del Bufalo

Even when alone, be cheerful, remembering always that you are in the sight of angels.
St Therese of Lisieux

'In every danger, as the dove when frightened flies for refuge to the hollows of the rock, so will the Christian soul seek protection in the cleft of the mystical rock, the Wounded Side of the Redeemer.'

St. Bernard

That's so hard to remember!

We have a beautiful forever and ever and ever waiting for us in the next life! :D

In the words of an old monk whom I've come to admire, there is a peace in loneliness
when you come to know the " Invisible companionship of God."

It makes me think of the word 'solitude'.

One is alone.. but not alone.

There's a kind of loneliness that is a temptation. Then there's another kind I think is relatively harmless.

And then there's the recognition that angels and saints and devils too, are besides us throughout our lives.

We can always talk with Him. And always love them. And we always have something to put ourselves to the test against and exercise some virtue regarding too!

And then there's a sort of listlessness and searching for satisfaction that the Desert Fathers call the noonday demon, which all must be one of its common sources when it's a temptation. There is plenty to keep one occupied but one forgets or can't focus on it..

Forgetting the happiness of Heaven is something that causes me to lose motivation, I have to remember God and the right way, not the wrong way.

The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter;
The God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin.
Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this?
Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common laborer;
The wise to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate;
A child of a prince, to a peasant.
St. Anthony of Padua

Beautiful quote by St. Anthony!! O:)

Perfect sentiment!

The antidote to pride! :D

Goodnight folks!

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy.
Prayer draws into the soul, the Holy Spirit, and raises a man to heaven.
St. Ephraem of Syria

There's nothing like prayer. :D


'He who dwells continually within his own heart is detached from the attractions of this world, for he lives in the Spirit and cannot know the desires of the flesh. Such a man henceforward walks up and down within the fortress of the virtues which keep guard at all the gates of his purity. The assaults of the demons are now ineffective against him, even though the arrows of sensual desire reach as far as the doorways of his senses.'

St. Diadochos of Photiki

Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it: And you will find refreshment for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16

This quote is so perfect for these times..

And so too are all the surrounding passages of it in the Holy Scriptures..

Yes, perilous times! Darkness everywhere. Time to pray and pray again.

It seems like prayer is the answer to everything! :D

Amen

'Do not neglect the practice of the virtues; if you do, your spiritual knowledge will decrease, and when famine occurs you will go down into Egypt (cf. Gen. 41:57; 46:6).'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'Sometimes in scripture prosperity is spoken of as light, and worldly misfortune as night.  So it is said through the psalmist, "Like its darkness, so also its light." holy men despise and trample on the prosperity of this world, so also they trample down and endure its misfortune with a great loftiness of mind.  They compel both the prosperity and the misfortune of the world to serve them, saying, "Like its darkness, so also its light," as if to say clearly, 'Just as the sadness of the world does not disturb the strength of our purpose, so also its pleasantness does not corrupt our strength.''

Pope St. Gregory the Great

Don't sow your desires in someone Else's garden; just cultivate your own as best you can; Don't long to be other than what you are, but desire to be thoroughly what you are. Direct your thoughts to being very good at that, and to bearing crosses, little or great, that you will find there.
Believe me, this the most important and least understood point to the spiritual life. We all love according to what is our own taste; few people like what is according to their duty or to God's liking. What is the use in building castles in Spain when we have to live in France.
St. Francis de Sales

Come to me , all of you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.
Matthew 11:28-30

Sacred Heart of Jesus please hear our prayers.

'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. For the Lord will not hold him innocent that shall take the name of the Lord his God vainly.'

Exodus 20:7

Who will set a guard over my mouth,
and upon my lips an effective seal,
That I may not fail through them,
That my tongue may not destroy me.
Sirach 22:27

The Divine Heart is an ocean full of good things, wherein poor souls can cast all their needs; it is an ocean full of joy to drown all our sadness, an ocean of humility to drown our folly, an ocean of mercy to those in distress, an ocean of love in which to submerge our poverty.
St. Margaret Mary

In times of desolation, God conceals himself from us so that we can discover for ourselves what we are without Him.
St. Margaret Cortona

That's quite thought provoking..

'We must be content with and conformed to His most Holy Will, stripped and destitute of pleasure, friends, consolation, talents, and aware of our lack of virtue.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Yes that is the truth.  :D

'Repose on the naked cross, and make no other complaint than this infantine cry: "My Father, my Father, Thy will be done!" and then be silent. Continue to repose on the cross until the happy moment of your mystical death. This precious death is more desirable, than life. Then, as St. Paul said, your life will be hidden with Christ in God (Col. iii. 3), and you will find yourself in this profound solitude that you love, and entirely despoiled of every created thing. Now is the moment to suffer in silence and in peace; resign yourself to the agony you suffer, and it will conduct you to mystical death.'

St. Paul of the Cross

Without friendship there can be hardly any happiness among humans; they may well be compared to animals if they have no one to rejoice with them in good fortune or sympathize with them in sorrow, no one to whom they can unburden themselves in time of trouble, or with whom they can share some especially uplifting or inspiring insight.
St. Aelred of Rievaulx

What a beautiful quote on friendship! :crucifix:

Do not let any occasion of gaining merit pass without taking care to draw some spiritual profit from it; as for example, from a sharp word which  someone may say to you; from an act of obedience imposed against your will; from an opportunity which may occur to humble yourself, or to practice charity, sweetness and patience. All of these occasions are gain for you, and you must seek to procure them; and at the close of that day, you should go to rest most cheerful and pleased.
St. Ignatius of Loyola

'By the love and respect we owe to Jesus Christ our Lord, I beg of you to begin without delay to amend your lives with the greatest care, so that at the last day, when it will be necessary to give an exact account of them, you will be found worthy.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Every moment is precious!

If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first of all with your heart. Ask Him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire.
St, Vincent Ferrar

It is all in Gods hands.

Whoever is near us and needing us must be our neighbor, it does not matter whether he is related to us or not, whether he is morally worthy of our help or not. The love of Christ knows no limits. It never ends; it does not shrink from ugliness and filth.
St. Benedicta (Edith Stein)

In the royal galley of Divine love, there is no galley slave; all the rowers are volunteers.
St. Francis de Sales

It's all in God's hands and heart! :D

A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, "You are Mad; You are not like us.
St. Anthony the great

A timely quote.. thanks George...

'By wishing to do too much, we often spoil everything, constraining our Lord to leave us to act alone and withdraw from us in sorrow.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Anxiety arises from an unregulated desire to be delivered from any pressing evil, or to obtain some hoped for good. Nevertheless, nothing tends so greatly to enhance the one or retard the other as over-eagerness and anxiety. Birds that are captured in nets and snares become inextricably entangled therein, because they flutter and struggle so much. Therefore, whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil, or to attain some good thing, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit, steady your judgement and will, and then go quietly and easily after your object, taking all fitting means to attain thereto. By easily I do not mean carelessly, but without eagerness, disquietude or anxiety; otherwise, so far from bringing about what you wish, you will hinder it, and add more and more to your perplexities.
St. Francis de Sales

I think this quote can be a good reminder throughout one's life.

Good evening George! 

 :flower:

I know, I was reading it last night after I signed off from here and thought about it all day today, so much wisdom in the saints.

Thankfulness for it!

I am early to bed tonight I think. Though how long I'll sleep I don't know.

God keep you George! And yours!

"We put our hope in the Lord
 He is our protector and our help.
We are glad because of Him.
 We trust in His holy Name.   
May your constant love be with us, Lord.
 as we put our hope in You."

Psalm 33: 20-22

What offends Jesus, what wounds Him to the Heart, is want of confidence.


St. Therese of Lisieux

It is good to think about our having our citizenship in heaven and the saints of heaven as our fellow citizens.....Then it is easier to bear the things that are on the earth.
St Benedicta (Edith Stein)

This is the great work of man; always to take the blame for his own sins before God, and to expect temptation to his last breath.
St. Anthony the Great

'When St. Aloysius Gonzaga was a student, he never sought to excuse himself when he was reproached with anything; he said what he thought, and troubled himself no further about what others might think; if he was wrong, he was wrong; if he was right, he said to himself, "I have certainly been wrong some other time." My children, the saints were so completely dead to themselves, that they cared very little whether others agreed with them.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than that of prayer to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.'

St. Agathon

'Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than that of prayer to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.'

St. Agathon

This is truth.

Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.
St. Fidelis Sigmaringen

May God help us to pray!  :crucifix:

The strategy of our adversary can be compared to the tactics of a commander intent upon seizing and plundering a position he desires. The leader of an army will encamp, explore the fortifications and defenses of the fortress, and attack at the weakest point.
St. Ignatius Loyola

And how many people do not even think they are at war at all. . .

You know Shin honestly, I would say maybe everyone I know with a few exceptions, and that really worries me. I'm always fretting over the lackadaisical attitude people who's souls I pray for have about the nature of the battle were in and the deceptive power of the devil. It can be an extremely frustrating and lonely place to be.

Don't give into frustration or loneliness my friend and brother!  for what it's worth, I find as a general rule they come from the devil.

Both are very self-destructive! They've done me plenty of damage in the past, so now I am far more careful of such feelings.

The more we become holy the more we will be able to help those we love. :D

I am always availing myself too of the promises of God. Such as the prayers associated with the Green Scapular.

And I am very grateful for the good companionship here.

The more I read of the saints the more I learn, and try to gather together in a way that is more easily comprehensible. Once I know how to be more good the more I'll be able to help others to be so.

 :flower:

Remember St. Francis de Sale's quote on frustration?  :D

We must trust in the Providence of God!

With all my heart, every day my prayers go up for all those I love, all those I've known, hoping in his mercy. Still the devil is insidious and cruel, and as you well know , his greatest weapon is his ability to make people believe he doesn't exist, trying to get some of those we love to see the gravity of the situation can be challenging. But I do find my peace in my prayers and reading the words of the saints encourages me and gives me hope.

Remember that you will derive strength by reflecting that the saints yearn for you to join their ranks; desire to see you fight bravely, and that you behave like true knights in your encounters with the same adversities which they had to conquer, and that breathtaking joy is theirs and your eternal reward for having endured a few years of temporal pain. Every drop of earthly bitterness will be changed into an ocean of heavenly sweetness.
St. Henry Suso

The more virtuous we are here the more Heaven is here with us! :D

We must never lose sight of the fact that we are either saints or outcasts, that we must love for heaven or hell. There is no middle path in this.
St. John Vianney

'When in the intensity of its love for God the intellect goes out of itself, then it has no sense of itself or of any created thing. For when it is illumined by the infinite light of God, it becomes insensible to everything made by Him, just as the eye becomes insensible to the stars when the sun rises.

All the virtues cooperate with the intellect to produce this intense longing for God, pure prayer above all. For by soaring towards God through this prayer the intellect rises above the realm of created beings.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

'Certainly, it is not the spiritual which comes first, but the natural, (1 Corinthians 15.46) so one must proceed by the usual order of things, from active work to the quiet of contemplation, and from moral virtues to spiritual and contemplative realities. Finally, my soul, why are you uselessly preoccupied with so many things, and always busy with them? Seek out and love the one supreme good, in which is all that is worth seeking, and that will be enough for you. Unhappy therefore is he who knows and possesses everything other than this, and does not know this.'

St. Albert the Great

Respect the elders and love the young.....if you have a disagreement with someone, make peace with them before the sun goes down.
Finally, and importantly, never lose hope in God's mercy.
Rule of Saint Benedict

May God  help us to respect our elders and love the young..

 :+:

Amen!

O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and I proclaim your wonders still.

Even till I am old and gray-headed,
do not forsake me, O God.
Let me tell of your mighty arm
to every coming generation;
your strength and your justice, O God,
reach to the highest heavens.
It is you who have worked such wonders.
O God, who is like you?

You have made me witness many troubles and evils,
but you will give me back my life.
You will raise me from the depths of the earth;
you will exalt me and console me again.

So I will give you thanks on the Lyre
for your faithfullness, O my God.
To you will I sing with the harp,
to you, the Holy One of Israel.
Psalm71:17-22

O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

 

I love to see/hear the psalms! They seem so complete and 'worthy' of Him.

Me too Brigid.

'Look at the reality: psalmody succeeds psalmody; reading, reading; study, study; prayer, prayer, like a wheel drawing us and joining us to God. How truly excellent is this way of life, how supremely excellent! How blessed this life and thrice-blessed!'

St. Theodore the Studite

This is a wonderful thread. Thank you, everyone, for the quotes.

As a former pagan, this is one of my favorites:

I do not hold to the voice of birds, or any luck on the earthly world, or chance or a son or a woman. Christ the Son of God is my Druid; Christ the Son of Mary, the great Abbot; the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. My estates are with the King of Kings; my order is at Cenacles and Moen.

-St. Columba

I wish our Irish brother was here with us now to hear that quote.  :irishwisdom:

St. Columba pray for us!

This is the mark of Christianity.....however much a man toils, and however many righteousness-es he performs, to feel that he has done nothing, and in fasting to say, "This is not fasting", and in praying, "This is not prayer", and in perseverance at prayer, "I have shown no perseverance;
I am only beginning to practice and to take pains"; and even if he is righteous before God, he should say, "I am not righteous, not I ; I do not take pains, but only make a beginning every day."
St. Macarius the Great

This is a very memorable one..

I know, I have so much to learn.

We should bear in mind and realize that when we call God our Father, we ought also act like sons. If we are pleased to call him Father, let him in turn be pleased to call us sons.
St. Cyprian

Only the new man learns a new song; the one restored from his fallen condition through the grace of God. Let us sing a new song, not with our lips but with our lives.
St, Augustine

A song of virtue, a song of Christ, a song of sons!

'He who with fear of God admonishes or corrects a man who has sinned, gains the virtue that is opposite to that sin. But he who reproaches him out of rancor and ill will becomes subject to a similar passion, according to the spiritual law.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Let us take refuge in the Wound of the Sacred Side like a poor traveller, who seeks a safe harbor in which to shelter from the rocks and tempests of the stormy sea of this life, for here below we are continually exposed to shipwreck, unless we have the help of our all-wise Pilot.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances: for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The accidents of life separate us from our dearest friends, but let us not despair. God is like a looking glass in which souls see each other. The more we are united to him by love, the nearer we are to those who belong to him.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

One could say it is the same thing.

The Communion of Saints is a part of us more than we know.  :D

Indeed they are, they are our closest and dearest friends, we should converse with them daily. :)

Have a good night George!  :rejoice: :littlewings:  :+:

A fox pretends to be asleep; the body and the demons pretend to be chaste. The former is on the watch to seize a bird, the latter to catch a soul. So as long as you live, never trust that clay of which you are made and never depend on it until the time you stand before Christ Himself. And never imagine that abstinence will keep you from falling. It was a being who never ate that was nevertheless thrown out of heaven.
St. John Climacus

This is the great work of a man; always to take the blame for his own sons before God, and to expect temptation to his last breath.
St. Anthony the Great

A striking quote!

''How are you to meet the swarm of foolish attachments, triflings, and undesirable inclinations which beset you? By turning sharply away, and thoroughly renouncing such vanities, flying to the Saviour's Cross, and clasping His Crown of thorns to your heart, so that these little foxes may not spoil your vines. Beware of entering into any manner of treaty with the Enemy; do not delude yourself by listening to him while intending to reject him.'

St. Francis de Sales

'Friend, ugly and beautiful in the world are like bitter and sweet. Ugliness of the world, which is adversity and contempt of the world, is like a kind of bitterness conducive to the health of the righteous. Beautiful to the world is its prosperity, which is like a kind of ingratiating sweetness, false and seductive. Whoever, therefore, flees the beauty of the world and spits out its sweetness will not come to the ugliness of hell or taste its bitterness but will instead ascend to my joy. Thus, in order to escape the ugliness of hell and attain the sweetness of heaven, it is necessary to pursue the ugliness of the world rather than its beauty. Although I made all things well, and all created things are very good, great caution should be used toward the things that could present an occasion of damage to the soul for those who make irrational use of my gifts.'

Christ, 'The Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden'

'Among those who are united in our Lord Jesus Christ by the bonds of charity, and by the desire to procure the honor and glory of God, the most profitable words are those which the Holy Ghost engraves on their hearts by the prayers which they offer for one another.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

'As the breath which comes out of his nostrils, so does a man need humility and the fear of God.'

St. Poemen

Exalt not yourself lest you fall
and bring upon you dishonor;
For then the Lord will reveal your secrets
and publicly cast you down,
because you approached the fear of the Lord
with your heart full of guile.
Sirach 1:27-29

"By what things a man sinneth by the same also he is tormented."

Wisdom 11:17

A stubborn man will fare badly in the end,
and he who loves danger will perish in it.
A stubborn man will be burdened with sorrow;
a sinner will heap sin upon sin.
For the affliction of the proud man there is no cure;
he is the offshoot of an evil plant.
The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs,
and an attentive ear is the wise man's joy.
Sirach 3:25-28

'By praying for those who wrong us we overthrow the devil; opposing them we are wounded by him.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'A day will come, perhaps it is not far off, when we must bid goodbye to life, goodbye to the world, goodbye to our relations, goodbye to our friends. When shall we return, my children? Never. We appear upon this earth, we disappear, and we return no more; our poor body, that we take such care of, goes away into dust, and our soul, all trembling, goes to appear before the good God. When we quit this world, where we shall appear no more, when our last breath of life escapes, and we say our last goodbye, we shall wish to have passed our life in solitude, in the depths of a desert, far from the world and its pleasures. We have these examples of repentance before our eyes every day, my children, and we remain always the same. We pass our life gaily, without ever troubling ourselves about eternity. By our indifference to the service of the good God, one would think we were never going to die.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'Bring before your eyes the blessings, whether physical or spiritual, conferred on you from the beginning of your life down to the present, and call them repeatedly to mind in accordance with the words: "Forget not all His benefits" (Ps. 103:2). Then your heart will readily be moved to the fear and love of God, so that you repay Him, as far as you can, by your strict life, virtuous conduct, devout conscience, wise speech, true faith and humility - in short, by dedicating your whole self to God.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'You are happy in being chosen by God to enkindle his love in the hearts of others. To do this it is necessary to have deep humility and an entire distrust of self, besides zeal. We must act without haste and wait with peace and confidence until it pleases God to accomplish in those souls that which his grace alone is capable of doing and of which he alone must reap the glory.'

St. Claude de la Colombiere

'God operates in us no great thing, unless He finds in us perfect abnegation.'

St. Peter Julian Eymard

'O, that I had in the desert a wayfarer's shelter!'

Jeremias 9:2

'Human efforts inevitably fail unless God helps us; while God in His providence bestows every blessing without man's assistance.

What benefits were gained from their efforts by those to whom God said: 'You sowed much and gathered little, and I blew it away out of your hands' (cf. Hag. 1:9)?

And what did the righteous lack, though they gave no thought at all for their needs?

Were not the Israelites fed in the desert for forty years, without cultivating the land? They always had enough to eat, for in a strange and miraculous way quails came in from the sea and manna fell from the sky (cf. Exod. 16), and a dry rock, when struck, gushed water (cf. Exod. 17:6); and throughout the whole forty years their clothes and shoes never wore out (cf. Deut. 8:4). What land was tilled beside the brook Kerith where Elijah hid? Did not the ravens bring him food (cf. 1 Kgs. 17:6)? And when he came to Sarepta, did not the widow, despite her desperate need, give him bread, snatching it from the mouth other own children (cf. 1 Kgs. 17:10-16)?

All this shows that we should seek holiness, not clothing, food and drink.

Strange though all these things may seem, they are by no means impossible. A man can live without eating if God so wills. For how did Elijah complete a journey of forty days with the strength received from a single meal (cf. 1 Kgs. 19:8)? And how did Moses remain on the mountain in communion with God for eighty days without tasting human food? After forty days he came down and, enraged by the image of the calf which the Israelites had made, immediately he broke the tablets of stone engraved with the Law and went back up the mountain, remaining there for another forty days; and only then, after receiving two further tablets of stone, did he go down again to the people (cf. Exod. 24:12-18; 31:18-34: 3 5).

How can the human mind explain this miracle? How did his bodily nature survive without anything to replenish its daily loss of strength? This enigma is solved by the divine Logos, when He says: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ (Matt. 4:4).

Why, then, do we drag the monastic way of life down from heaven to earth, burying ourselves in material anxieties?'

St. Nilus of Sinai

'What advantage do we gain in life from all our useless toil over worldly things? 'Is not all man's labor for the sake of his mouth' (Eccles. 6:7)?

Now, according to the Apostle (1 Tim. 6:8), 'food and raiment' are all we need to maintain our humble flesh. Why, then, as Solomon asks, do we labor endlessly 'for the wind’ (Eccles. 5:16)?

Through our anxiety about worldly things we hinder the soul from enjoying divine blessings and we bestow on the flesh greater care and comfort than are good for it.

We nourish it with what is harmful and thus make it an adversary, so that it not only wavers in battle but, because of over-indulgence, it fights vigorously against the soul, seeking honors and rewards. What in fact are the basic needs of the body that we use as a pretext when indulging an endless succession of desires? Simply bread and water.

Well, do not the springs provide running water in abundance, while bread is easily earned by those who have hands? In this way we can satisfy the needs of the body, while suffering little or no distraction. And does our clothing call for much care? Again, no - if we reject a stupid conformity to fashion, and consider only our actual needs. For what fine-spun clothing, what linen or purple or silk did the first man wear? Did not the Creator command him to wear a coat of skins and to eat herbs (cf. Gen. 3:18, 21)? Such were the limits He set to the needs of the body - far different from the civilized shamelessness of today.'

St. Nilus of Sinai

'If none can 'scape death's dreadful dart,
If rich and poor his beck obey,
If strong, if wise, if all do smart,
Then I to 'scape shall have no way.
Oh, grant me grace, O God, that I
My life may mend, sith I must die.'

St. Robert Southwell

The king shouted with a loud voice, " O Lord, the God of Daniel, how great You are. You alone are God"  :crucifix:
Bel and the Dragon: 41

How great Thou art! You alone are God!

 :crucifix:

I have what God wished me to have, and I want no more.
Saint Germaine Cousin

Thanks be to God.  :D

'Contrition, Peter, manifests itself in many forms of spiritual beauty. For this reason, Jeremiah says, "For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water." However, there are two essential kinds of contrition.  When the soul, thirsting, seeks God, at the outset it feels contrition out of fear, but afterwards out of desire.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

This is so beautiful in it's simplicity, just thinking about it fills my soul with peace, this is what I'm striving for.

Thinking about it that way I feel the same. Thank you George. Thanks be to God for His mercy on poor souls.  :crucifix:

  When the soul, thirsting, seeks God, at the outset it feels contrition out of fear, but afterwards out of desire.'

Yes, and out of love. And in those moments I think, How can I delight thee Lord?

I've been working a little on getting my mornings in better order.

It calls to mind Cain and Abel, and Abel offering the first fruits. I started thinking to myself, 'Am I offering the first fruits of the day to God, or only the remains.'


'The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you will receive all that you ask.'

St. Albert the Great

'In a word, let us be all to God, all for God and all in God; and remember that He wills you to lead an exemplary life, wholly pure and angelic.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, to her brother a priest

Our Lord is continually guiding our feet out of the quagmire of preoccupation of present circumstances to the solid ground of joy and thanksgiving in the eternal life of heaven, helping us to rise again from our falls and to press forward to the fullness of the resurrection where our bodies will be glorified with Christ Jesus our Savior.
St. Leo the Great

That's one I hadn't heard before!  ;D

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
Romans 12:12

If you pray you are sure of saving your soul. If you do not pray you are just as sure to lose your soul.
St. Alphonsus Liguori

No prayer, no power.
A little prayer, a little power.
A lot of prayer, a lot of power!

Pray unceasingly! Pray unceasingly!

Pray for the waters of grace to rise up in the soul unceasingly. . .

 O:)

The Lord would have us smother anger when it is only a spark.
St. Peter Chrysologus

Do not let your anger outlast the sunset: Do not leave room for the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27

Nice to read those two together.

 ;D

Do not be depressed. Do not let your weakness make you impatient. Instead, let the serenity of your spirit shine through your face. Let the joy of your mind burst forth. Let words of thanks break from your lips.
Saint Peter Damian

So hard to do even when we want to do it. We spend our time in gloomy, self-serving or trivial thoughts with no idea of thanksgiving.

I had not seen this one before, thanks George.

St. Peter Damian.. what a crusader for mortification he was. And in the midst of sacrifice, joy.

'I am always happy and content in God. I accept all things, pleasant or unpleasant, gratefully from our dear heavenly Father. He knows what is best for us and so I am always happy in God. I try to love Him very much. There is only one thing that grieves me, and that is that I love Him so little. If I could become a seraph of love I would call on all creatures to help me love my God. I must close now. I could go on and on. Love has no limits. I would have to write much more but I don’t have the time. The bell is ringing to call me once more to praise God.'

St. Conrad of Parzham

It's so true, the devil would have us befuddled and self absorbed. I begin each day with prayers of thanks for all He has done in my life, and I go from there.

Let us strive after purity of heart, for the Holy Spirit dwells in candid and simple minds.
St. Phillip Neri

'He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.'

1 John 2:6

"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Luke 9:23

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."
John 14:6

 :crucifix:

'You must avoid every vice, but above all those which tempt you most: it is in these you will find your greatest danger, if you do not take wise precautions.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

The phrase 'he who loveth danger will perish in it' comes to my mind now and then when I think about temptations.

The border of danger is too dangerous.

'The peace of the celestial city is the perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God, and of one another in God. The peace of all things is the tranquillity of order.'

St. Augustine

So beautiful, makes you long to be there. :)

Yes it is so beautiful..

I was thinking the other day about how the opposite of the tranquility of order is the opposite of peace too.

The tranquility of peace..

God bring us into this peace..

'Unless various successive spiritual contemplations also occupy the intellect, the practice of virtues by itself cannot free it so entirely from passions that it is able to pray undistractedly. Practice of the virtues frees the intellect only from dissipation and hatred; spiritual contemplation releases it also from forgetfulness and ignorance. In this way the intellect can pray as it should.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

We must imitate the forbearance of God. Oh, how great is God's forbearance! He endures patiently the temples of the profane men who outrage His majesty; He endures idols and sacrilegious ceremonies; He makes the sun to shine on the evil and upon the good, and His rain descend upon the just and upon the unjust; He makes the elements serve all men alike, the impious as well as the good; the winds blow, the springs burst forth, the harvests swell with waving corn, the grapes ripen, the trees cover themselves with fruit, the forests put on thick foliage, the meadows adorn themselves with the enamel of flowers. God delays vengeance, and patiently waits, that man may correct himself and return to his Savior. Such is the forbearance of the Eternal Father, and similar to it was that of the Son, for all the actions of Jesus Christ were characterized by patience and by that divine evenness of soul of which nothing could disturb the tranquility.
St. Cyprian

Thank you George, I always appreciate a new quote (for me), from an old saint.


'Crocodiles and bees and stones and serpents are worshipped, and God alone on earth either is not worshipped or His worship does not exist with impunity.'

St. Cyprian of Carthage

Thank you Shin, because of you and this site my love for the saints grows deeper every day, I think of them and their wisdom all through the day.

Thanks be to God for the saints.  :'(

'. . . and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?'

Micah 6:8

'Be a vase, which thou fillest at the source and at the source dost drink from.

Although thou hadst drawn thy love from God, who is the Source of living water, didst thou not drink it continually in Him thy vase would remain empty.'

St. Catherine of Siena

'He who opposes unpleasant events opposes the command of God unwittingly. But when someone accepts them with real knowledge, he 'waits patiently for the Lord' (Ps. 27; 14).'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Contrition, Peter, manifests itself in many forms of spiritual beauty. For this reason, Jeremiah says, "For these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water." However, there are two essential kinds of contrition.  When the soul, thirsting, seeks God, at the outset it feels contrition out of fear, but afterwards out of desire.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus."
Mother Teresa

The womb of our Immaculate Mother Mary is wholly untouched, not dug or sown, from heaven's dew alone it brings forth a Savior, and provides mortal men with the bread of angels and the food for eternal life.
St. Irenaeus

'I am now thirty years praying daily that my Lord Jesus may preserve me from saying an idle word, and yet I am always relapsing.'

St. Sisoes

Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial. Let us wait upon God's strengthening aid.
St. Boniface

Always with God in all trials! :D

'Go, and join a man who fears God, and live near him; he will teach you, too, to fear God.'

St. Poemen

The prosecutor wanted to pressure St thomas More to sign in agreement to Henry VIII's supremacy of the church in England. "I will threaten you with justice," he said. Thomas More's reply was "If it is justice them I am not threatened.
   

If it is justice. . .

How many people know what justice is, in fact, and love it as a virtue?

On the contrary they consider punishment a sin.


'Do justice, God sees you.'

St. Veronica Guiliani, at the age of one and a half years

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20

"I believe in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe."
Saint Augustine

'It is obligatory on us to lead to Jesus Christ our Lord, by the most direct and surest path, those who live under the same roof with us.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

"God judged it better to bring good out of evil  than to suffer no evil to exist."
Saint Augustine

'Know that if you wish to possess Jesus Christ and to dwell in His Sacred Heart, you must have no other desire and be content with Him alone.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'Truly it is a blessed thing to love on earth as we hope to love in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here which is to endure for ever there. I am not now speaking of simple charity, a love due to all mankind, but of that spiritual friendship which binds souls together, leading them to share devotions and spiritual interests, so as to have but one mind between them. . . There are two sayings in Holy Scripture on which all Christian friendship should be built: - that of the Wise Man, "Whoso feareth the Lord shall direct his friendship aright;" and that of St. James, "The friendship of the world is enmity with God."'

St. Francis de Sales

'When we go into the garden, it is not to gather the leaves, but the fruits; so in the sacred garden of prayer we ought not to amuse ourselves with the leaves of sentiment and sensible consolation, but rather reap the fruits of the virtues of Jesus.'

St. Paul of the Cross

I need to think more about how to realize this one.

When you lie down on your bed, remember with thanksgiving the blessings and the providence of God.
St. Anthony of the Desert

What better way to fall asleep?

I'm not a fan of Mother Teresa quotes personally, because some of what she said and did, I prefer other quotes.  :)

'I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat. I shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I have received from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a single rule for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating, because not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of body create differences. But they have given us all a single goal: to avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies. . . A clear rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are satisfied.'

St. John Cassian

'Keep a continual remembrance of the sufferings of your heavenly Spouse. Endeavor to fathom the love with which He endured them. The shortest way is to lose yourself completely in that abyss of sufferings. Truly does the prophet call the Passion of Jesus a sea of love and of sorrow. Ah! therein lies the great secret which is revealed only to humble souls. In this vast sea the soul fishes for the pearls of virtues, and makes her own the sufferings of her Beloved. I have a lively confidence that your Spouse will teach you this divine method of fishing; He will teach it to you if you keep yourself in interior solitude, your mind free from all distraction, detached from all earthly affection, from every created thing, in pure faith and holy love.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'I have sinned against God, and have broken His commandments a thousand times. Wretch that I am, I deserve to be beaten and ill-treated by every one, and I ought only to be considered as dirt and smoke.'

St. John of God

'O virgins, know you this, that while you retain your Virginity you are ever accompanied with Angels. Not so is it with her who is married, and is joined in matrimony. Knowest thou not that the merit of the virgin is said to be one hundred, and the merit of the married woman thirty, and of the widow sixty? Seest thou by how much the virgin doth exceed the other estates? O virgins be wise to maintain yourselves as you are; flee the sight of man!'

St. Bernardine of Siena

Really encouraging for me this fact.

Good advice for children!

And good advice for all of us (when it's painful to do it's always possible to make noise-even run with NSAIDS?)

Ask the animals, and they will teach you;
The birds of the air, and they will teach you;
Or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
And the fish in the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:7-10

And I am sure he was telling them. If I remember correctly, he joined street children in the plays in order to evangelize them.

“ Life without the Cross is the heaviest Cross of all"
                       
     Saint Sebastian Valfre

A hidden truth!

'Suppose that the whole horizon, as far as you can see from this mountain, were a sea of fire; if we cast into it a bit of oakum, it will disappear in an instant. So, when you have committed a fault, humble yourself before God, and cast your fault into the infinite ocean of charity, and at once it will be effaced from your soul; at the same time all distrust will disappear.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Resist impure images. . . Pure souls must be on guard and never doubt that chastity is incomparably finer than anything incompatible with it.'

St. Francis de Sales

'Knowledge of what is good for him has been given to every-one by God; but self-indulgence leads to negligence, and negligence to forgetfulness.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

I've heard of those evils spoken of more than once. They're more dangerous than one realizes by their very nature I am thinking, they hide the realization of that don't they?

'Not always fall of leaf, nor ever spring,
No endless night, yet not eternal day;
The saddest birds a season find to sing,
The roughest storm a calm may soon allay.
Thus, with succeeding turns, God tempereth all,
That man may hope to rise, yet fear to fall.'

St. Robert Southwell

'Our actions have a tongue of their own; they have an eloquence of their own, even when the tongue is silent. For deeds prove the lover more than words.'

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

'For young men to make sure of persevering, it is absolutely necessary that they should avoid wicked companions, and be familiar with good ones.'

St. Philip Neri

Friends of good deeds!

 “The fire you threaten burns but an hour and is quenched after a little;
for you do not know the fire of the coming judgment and everlasting punishment that is laid up for the impious.
But why do you delay? come, do what you will.”
Saint Polycarp

'There was once a solitary who had built himself a royal palace in the trunk of an oak-tree; he had placed thorns inside of it, and he had fastened three stones over his head, so that when he raised himself or turned over he might feel the stones or the thorns.

And we, we think of nothing but finding good beds, that we may sleep at our ease.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

Amen amen.

'It is blasphemy against the Saints, to mock them, to attribute to them defects or failings, to find fault with the honours rendered to them by the Church, &c.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

'If only a child profits by my teachings, my trouble and my time will seem to me well spent.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

“The measure of love is to love without measure.”

 St. François de Sales

We pray to God who is well disposed toward us, in order that he might give an angel of peace as a companion to protect us.
St. Basil

Peace!

'The true preparation for prayer consists in the exercise of mortification; for he who wishes to give himself up to prayer without mortification, is like a bird wishing to fly before it is fledged.'

St. Philip Neri

'He who knows well how to practice the exercise of the presence of God, and who is faithful in following the attraction of this divine virtue, will soon attain a very high degree of perfection.'

St. Vincent de Paul

What is " the exercise of the presence of God,"?

My son, if you have sinned, do so no more,
and for your past sins pray to be forgiven.
Flee from sin as from a serpent
that will bite you if you go near it;
It's teeth are like lion's teeth,
destroying the soul's of men.
Sirach 21:1-2

Be sober and vigilant.
Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world
undergo the same sufferings.
I Peter 5:8-9

Hmm.. I think it likely a constant loving awareness of God's presence and will. . .  I wonder what more St. Vincent has to say about it..

 :crucifix:

Thank you.

'We must often remember what Christ said, that not he who begins, but he that perseveres to the end, shall be saved.'

St. Philip Neri

"Not the goods of the world, but God.
 Not riches, but God.
 Not honors, but God.
Not distinction, but God.
Not dignities, but God.
Not advancement, but God.
God always and in everything"
St. Vincent Pallotti

'I shall destroy the wise out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau. [Ob 1.8]

Behold flesh and blood: Edom means ‘bloody’, and Esau is ‘heap of stones’. The whole wisdom and prudence of this world is to nourish the flesh, and make a heap of stones (money) with which they will be stoned in the day of judgement.'

St. Anthony of Padua

"How happy you will be if you are faithful in combating and overcoming your natural inclinations, and do not allow yourself to be overcome by them, fixing your gaze on the face of Jesus, Who, as a special favor, invites you to follow Him!"

St. Paul of the Cross

If they, Why not I? If these men and women could become saints, why cannot I with the help of Him who is all powerful.
St. Augustine

Amen, George, amen.  ;D

Food for thought there George, food for thought indeed!

Yes I've been pondering this for some time. Any thoughts?

Well, Saint Augustine asked himself this question and we all know how it all ended for him. As Catholics we should all ask ourselves the same question.  

'It seems that God is calling you to great perfection. And I perceive it by this, that He takes away from you every tie that might hinder it in you.'

St. Catherine of Siena

O Virgin all holy, lead us in peace, and having brought us without shame to the throne of judgment, grant us a place at the right hand of your Son, that we may be borne off to Heaven and sing with the angels to the uncreated, consubstantial Trinity.
St. Basil

"The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history."
 Pope John Paul II

'The trickster who works mischief in secret is a snake "lying in wait on the road and biting the horse's heel" (Gen. 49:17. LXX).'

St. Mark the Ascetic

In other words: " A snake in the grass"! :)

That deserves a heel to the head!

And whose heel is better suited for that if not that of Our Holy Mother, the  BVM?

Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin.
 All hope consists in confession.
In confession there is a chance for mercy.
Believe it firmly. Do not doubt, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God.
 Hope and have confidence in confession.
St. Isidore of Seville

And after her, I'd say St. Teresa of Avila too..

That is, if she wasn't 'Discalced'!

Well, with the armour of Christ protecting her, that is no disadvantage at all!

True!  ;D

Our labor here is brief, but the reward is eternal. Therefore, do not be disturbed by the clamor of the world, which passes like a shadow. Do not let the false delights of a deceptive world deceive you.
St. Clare of Assisi

Her life was certainly a testimony to that. The order she founded, the  Poor Clares, depending entirely  on the providence of God for their livelihood.

'He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, molded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches, and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies Heavenly Food to the faithful.'

St. Peter Chrysologus

"Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him"
 Saint Dominic Savio

'The Spirit of God does all things in peace. Let us have recourse to God with love and confidence, and He will receive us into the arms of His Mercy.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

What Saint has ever won his crown without first contending for it.
Saint Jerome

Virtue should be exercised rather than left be!

 “ Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak. We are full of words but empty of action,

   and therefore are cursed by the Lord since He Himself cursed the  fig tree when He found no fruit but only leaves. ”   
                                                                                                                                St. Anthony of Padua

'Men of great virtue, though of meager knowledge, incite men more effectively to virtuous lives by their words and example, than the greatest masters of eloquence.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

 “ About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they are just one thing,
   and we should not complicate the matter.”   
                                             
   St. Joan of Arc

'God "tested Abraham" (cf. Gen. 22:1-14), that is, God afflicted him for his own benefit, not in order to learn what kind of man Abraham was - for He knew him, since He knows all things before they come into existence - but in order to provide him with opportunities for showing perfect faith.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

"The fiery trials of faith"

Great quote Shin!

Even for old dogs!  ;D

In the catholic church, old dogs can still learn new tricks  ;D

"Our faith receives its surety from Scripture."
St. Thomas Aquinas

'Let them not call bondage to pleasure freedom, as if bitterness were sweet.'

St. Clement of Alexandria

"My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings."
St. Isaac Jogues

May the life of Mary, who gave birth to God, be for all of you instructive as if it were written down. Come to know yourselves in her and carry out the good works that you have neglected in the past.
Saint Athanasius

"Many would be willing to have afflictions provided that they not be inconvenienced by them."

St. Francis de Sales

O sinners, be not discouraged but have recourse to Mary in all your necessities. Call her to your assistance, for you will always find her ready to help. It is God's will that she should help in every need.
St. Basil the Great

'One day, when the weather was extremely cold, I wished to make a fire. I went to the woods to pick up some dry branches, which had been exposed to the air for a long time. In a moment I had a big fire. Why? Because for a long time the wood had been exposed to the cold, the frost, the wind, and the sun, and had thus lost its dampness. So it is with us: if we wish our hearts to become inflamed with divine love, we must permit ourselves to be purified by suffering, humbly and resignedly, temptations, trials, persecutions, tribulations. Oh! being then well cleansed, divine love will possess us.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Pray, hope, and don't worry.'

St. Padre Pio

"Prayer is the oxygen of the soul"
Saint Padre Pio

We find ourselves on earth as in a tempestuous sea, a desert, and a vale of tears. But Mary is the star of the sea, the solace of the desert, and the light that guides us to heaven.
St. John Bosco

This reminds me of the words "the devil fishes in troubled waters."

Good evening George!

good evening Shin, yes, well if that is the case, he's filling his nets these days, I'm Afraid we're living in a world awash by troubled waters.

Yes,  I think we need more oxygen!

Well.. "when the shepherd is struck, the sheep will be scattered."

"Unfurl the sails, and let God steer us where He will"
St. Bede

"Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ looks compassion into the world.
Yours are the feet
with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are the hands
with which Christ blesses the world."

 Saint Teresa of Avila.

 
"Oh, how precious time is!
Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it.
 Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is,
undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!"
Padre Pio

'Prayer, good reading, the frequentation of the sacraments, with the proper dispositions, and particularly the flight of idleness - these are, believe me, the means of sanctifying yourself.'

St. Paul of the Cross

“ He who asks of God in faith things needful for this life is sometimes mercifully heard and    sometimes mercifully not heard. ” 
 St. Prosper of Aquitaine

When we speak the name of Mary, Heaven becomes more beautiful, and earth rejoices. The demons are terrified, and vanish like dust in the wind.
St. Francis of Assisi

'In the sweetness and delight of the soul there is always danger of the devil playing a wicked trick on us.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Why should we be attached to this world, where we can breathe only air poisoned by so many crimes?'

St. Paul of the Cross

Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
Hebrews 13:2

Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: Now I begin to love my God.
Saint Francis de Sales

"The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water: it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire: it dries up, it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat thrown into the earth: it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies; but to revive in heaven"

Bl Mary of Jesus Crucified "The Little Arab"

"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

'Evil thoughts are an abomination to the Lord: and pure words most beautiful shall be confirmed by him.'

Proverbs 15:26

”By humility a man finds grace before God and peace with men.”
Blessed Giles of Assisi

”It is better to err by excess of mercy than by excess of severity. . .Wilt thou become a Saint? Be severe to thyself but kind to others.”
Saint John Chrysostom

'Every blessing comes from the Lord providentially. But this fact escapes the notice of the ungrateful and the idle.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

"Jesus took His flesh from the flesh of Mary,"
St. Augustine

"It is very good and holy to consider the passion of our Lord, and to meditate on it, for by this sacred path we reach union with God. In this most holy school we learn true wisdom, for it was there that all the saints learned it"
St. Paul of the Cross

'Already the walls of the prison are crumbling to dust, and the prisoner is about to enjoy the liberty of the children of God.'

St. Paul of the Cross

"The nature of the Catholic faith is such that nothing can be added to it, nothing taken away. Either it is held in its entirety or it is rejected totally. This is the Catholic faith which, unless a man believes faithfully ann firmly, he cannot be saved"

Pope Benedict XV

'We were terrified beyond all else by the disastrous state of human society today. For who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is - apostasy from God, than which in truth nothing is more allied with ruin, according to the word of the Prophet: "For behold they that go far from Thee shall perish" (Ps. lxxii., 17)'

Pope St. Pius X

"Let nothing of the truths that have been defined be lessened, nothing altered, nothing added, but let them be preserved intact in word and in meaning"

Pope Gregory XVI

“Inordinate love for the flesh is cruelty, because under the appearance of pleasing the body, we kill the soul”.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

"Brethren, the just man shall scarcely be saved. What, then, will become of the sinner?”
Saint Arsenius

'Humble thy spirit very much: for the vengeance on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.'

Ecclesiasticus 7:19

'When the intellect gives its attention to sensible objects, withdraw your senses from them, bringing the objects into direct contact with the intellect.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

The divine heart is an ocean full of all good things wherein poor souls can cast all their needs; it is an ocean full of joy to drown all our sadness...
an ocean of love in which to submerge our poverty.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Amen.

 "Accept every pain and inconvenience that comes from Heaven. Thus you will attain perfection and sanctification."
Padre Pio

'The soul overcome by listlessness is manifestly also possessed by lack of faith. It is on account of this that it lets day after day go by without heeding the Gospels. Not paying attention to the inner warfare, it is taken captive by conceit and frequently elated by dreams. Conceit blinds the soul, not letting it perceive its own weakness.'

St. Symeon Metaphrastis

'After this let us suppose that you turn to God with blind trust and surrender yourself unconditionally and unreservedly to Him, entirely resolved to put aside your own hopes and fears; in short, determined to wish nothing except what He wishes and to wish all that He wishes. From this moment you will acquire perfect liberty and will never again be able to feel troubled or uneasy, and there is no power on earth capable of doing you violence or giving you a moment's unrest.'

St. Claude de la Colombiere

'In a word, let us be all to God, all for God and all in God; and remember that He wills you to lead an exemplary life, wholly pure and angelic.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, to her brother a priest

 :angelbell:

'Subjugate your body, strip it of sensual pleasures, and free it from base servitude.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Lord, shed upon our darkened souls the brilliant light of your wisdom so that we may be enlightened, and serve you with renewed purity.
St. Ephraim

Amen, amen.

Good evening George!  :D

"Holy Purity is granted by God when it is asked for with humility."
St. Josemaria Escriva

'To those who wish to stand in God's grace, neither the guardianship of saints nor the defenses of angels are wanting.'

St. Hilary of Poitiers

'The foxes have holes, and the fowls of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to repose his head.'

Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58

I keep thinking of this verse lately, in regards to Christ and the few faithful in these times.

"Love our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace to help you conquer in your daily struggle."
St. Josemaria Escriva

'With Divine consolation all troubles change into pleasures, all weariness into rest. For whoever advances with this interior peace, is never so burdened but that it feels light.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Remember this, sister, for your whole life, as waters flow from the mountains down into the valleys, so, too, do God's graces flow only into humble souls.
St. Faustina

"Truth suffers, but never dies."
St. Teresa of Avila

“Inordinate love for the flesh is cruelty, because under the appearance of pleasing the body, we kill the soul”.
 St. Bernard of Clairvaux

"God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist."
Saint Augustine

'As the coat or garment that you have on was made by another, and you wear it, and your house was created or built by another, and you live in it, so when Adam transgressed the commandment of God, and hearkened to the wicked serpent, he was sold, or sold himself, to the devil, and the evil one put on his soul like a garment -- his soul, that fair creation, which God had fashioned after His own image.

Thus the apostle says, Having stripped the principalities and powers, He triumphed over them in the cross. [Col. 2:15] This was the purpose of the Lord's coming, that He might cast them out, and recover His own house and temple, man. For this reason, the soul is called the body of the darkness of wickedness, as long as the darkness of sin is in it, because there it lives to the evil world of darkness, and is there held fast.

So Paul calls it the body of sin, the body of death, saying, that the body of sin might be destroyed, [Rom 6:6] and, Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' [Rom. 7:24]

St. Macarius the Egyptian

The one who is our very life descended into our world, and bore our death, and slew it with the abundance of His own life. Thundering, He called out to us to return to Him in Heaven.
St. Augustine

'Do we not admire Joseph, a young man of seventeen, for enduring his temptation to the end? And God glorified him. Do we not also see Job, how he suffered to the end, and lived in endurance? Temptations cannot destroy hope in God.'

St. Poemen

“I will go anywhere and do anything in order to communicate the love of Jesus to those who do not know him or have forgotten him.”
 St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

She decided to do her best for Christ!

'Those engaged in spiritual warfare practice self-control in everything, and do not desist until the Lord destroys all "seed from Babylon" (Jer. 27:16. LXX). '

St. Mark the Ascetic

“One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it.
 But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”
St. Joan of Arc

'When you are in trouble and anxiety, go and plunge yourself in the peace of this adorable Heart, which no one can take from you.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

"Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!"

Padre Pio

Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to him by whom they come!
Luke 17:1

May the Lord save folks from scandal!

Enter into the secret chamber of your heart; leave everything outside but God; and when you have shut the door, then truly seek him.
St. Anselm

Amen!

Good evening George! :D

Good evening to you my friend :)
I was pondering this  one

"Each day is a step we make towards eternity and we will continue thus to step from day to day until we take the last step, which will bring us into the presence of God."

Time is precious.  ;D

In the same way that a powerful medicine cures an illness, so illness itself is a medicine to cure passion. And there is much profit of soul in bearing illness quietly and giving thanks to God.
St. Amma Syncletice

'quietly and giving thanks'  . .



'What most checks the flow of His grace in us is that scarcely have we come to the feet of the Divine Master when we at once begin to display our sins and miseries, that is, we tire our mind and sadden our heart with the thought of them. Now, to escape from this state we must suffer. Let your first aspiration be then, O my loving Jesus, how happy I am to come to Thee and to be able to spend this hour in Thy divine Presence ! How good Thou art to have willed to call me, to deign to love a poor creature like me! Oh, I will, as far as I am able, love Thee with reciprocal love! Then love opens the Heart of Jesus to you.'

St. Peter Julian Eymard

"Don't say, 'That's the way I am—its my character.' It's your lack of character. Esto vir!—Be a man!"
St. Josemaria Escriva

'He only asks of you abandonment and perfect submission. Nothing displeases Him so much as your uneasiness and despondency. What do you fear? Is He not powerful enough to support you? Why, then, are you so reserved with Him? Let Him act!'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

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

"A talkative soul lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God. A deeper interior life, one of gentle peace and of that silence where the Lord dwells, is quite out of the question. A soul that has never tasted
the sweetness of inner silence is a restless spirit which disturbs the silence of others."

St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul

'If we fulfill Christ's commandments according to our conscience, we are spiritually refreshed to the extent that we suffer in our heart. But each thing comes to us at the right time.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial. Let us be neither dogs that do not bark or silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf.'

St. Boniface

'When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.'

St. Basil the Great

'For it is impossible for a person to deserve to triumph over a passion before he has understood that he is not able to obtain victory in the struggle by his own diligence and his own effort, even though in order to be cleansed he must always be careful and attentive, day and night.'

St. John Cassian

'Seek the good, desire their company. Look for the company of the saints. If you will share their way of acting, you will share their virtue. If you walk with wise men, you will be wise; if you walk with idiots, you will be an idiot, for persons seek those of similar stripe.'

St. Isidore of Seville

'Philosophize through your works about man's will and God's retribution. For your words are only as wise and as profitable as your works.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

I believe there's a lot of depth to this one.

He has showed you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Very soothing George, in these troubled times, where one hardly knows what to do often enough!

'St. Denis the Areopagite says, "Divine love consists in the affections of the heart more than in the knowledge of the understanding." In human sciences, knowledge excites love; but in the science of the saints, love produces knowledge. He that loves God most, knows him best. Besides, it is not lofty and fruitless conceptions, but works, that unite the soul to God, and make it rich in merits before the Lord.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

God is able to save some without any good deserts, because He is Good. He cannot condemn any without evil deserts, because He is Just. -- St. Augustine

'As the branch separated from the roots soon loses all life and verdure, so it is with good works which are not united with charity.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

A thoughtful one Therese! Good to see you!  :D

'The poverty of Jesus Christ was for us great riches, inasmuch as it moves us to acquire the treasures of heaven and to despise those of earth. Ah, my Jesus! this Thy poverty has induced so many saints to leave all riches, honors, and kingdoms in order to become poor with Thee! Oh, detach me also, my Saviour, from all affection to earthly goods, so that I may be made worthy to acquire Thy holy love, and thus to possess Thee, who art the infinite Good!'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Thanks so much, Shin! :)

'If we want to do something but cannot, then before God, who knows our hearts, it is as if we have done it. This is true whether the intended action is good or bad.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'If man or angel always rendered to God his due, he would never sin. . . Therefore to sin is nothing else than not to render to God his due.'

St. Anselm of Canterbury, 'Cur Deus Homo'

'As the breath which comes out of his nostrils, so does a man need humility and the fear of God.'

St. Poemen

'God knows how useful it is to us to be obliged to pray, in order to keep us humble, and to exercise our confidence; and he therefore permits us to be assaulted by enemies too mighty to be overcome by our own strength, that by prayer we may obtain from his mercy aid to resist them; and it is especially to be remarked that no one can resist the impure temptations of the flesh, without recommending himself to God when he is tempted.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'If God does not desire me to be a saint, He would not have created me a reasonable being.'

St. Peter Julian Eymard

He certainly has a point there  :)

Prayer
A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. In whatever state the soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again.
There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.
St. Faustina

'I also recommend to you holy modesty at all times and in all places, because we are always in the presence of God, Who is everywhere.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Let them not call bondage to pleasure freedom, as if bitterness were sweet.'

St. Clement of Alexandria

'All created things are liberal, and show the goodness of the Creator: the sun scatters its light, the fire its heat; the tree throws out its arms, which are its branches, and reaches to us the fruit it bears: water, and air, and all nature express the liberality of the Creator, and we, who are his lively image, do not represent him, but through our degenerate manners deny Him in deeds while we are confessing Him with our mouths.'

St. Philip Neri

"If you have the courage to imitate Mary Magdalene in her sins, have the courage to imitate her penance!"
Padre Pio

A very memorable one!

'It is the manner of life which shows up those who know the commandments; for as a man's word is, so is his life.

The tree is known by its fruit, not by its blossom and leaves. Knowledge, then, comes from the fruit and from behaviour, not from talk and from blossom.'

St. Clement of Alexandria

'Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.'

Philippians 4:5

Modesty everywhere! Alone and abroad!

After all truly we never are all alone! :D

'Our teacher Jesus Christ, out of pity for mankind and knowing the utter mercilessness of the demons, severely commands us: 'Be ready at every hour, for you do not know when the thief will come; do not let him come and find you asleep' (cf. Matt. 24:42-43). He also says: 'Take heed, lest your hearts be overwhelmed with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and the hour come upon you unawares' (cf. Luke 21:34). Stand guard, then, over your heart and keep a watch on your senses; and if the remembrance of God dwells peaceably within you, you will catch the thieves when they try to deprive you of it. When a man has an exact knowledge about the nature of thoughts, he recognizes those which are about to enter and defile him, troubling the intellect with distractions and making it lazy. Those who recognize these evil thoughts for what they are remain undisturbed and continue in prayer to God.'

St. Isaiah the Solitary

'Look upon the lowly path as the real one our Lord has traced out for us, and the surest to reach Him. Walk steadily therein in peace and thanksgiving.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

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

I am loving these quotes lately. :D

'The sorrow of Mary is like the Mediterranean Sea, for it is written, "Your sorrow is great as the sea." From that sea we pass to a second sea, which has no limits; it is the Passion of Our Lord, of which the Royal Prophet said, "I am entered on the high sea." There the soul enriches herself in fishing for the priceless pearls of virtue.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Blessed the one who keeps vigil in prayers and reading and good work, such a one will become enlightened so that he does not sleep in death.'

St. Ephrem of Syria

'So, then, whoever seeks to be received into the discipline of the cenobium is never admitted until, by lying outside for ten days or more, he has given an indication of his perseverance and desire, as well as of his humility and patience. And when he has embraced the knees of all the brothers passing by and has been purposely rebuked and disdained by everyone, as if he wished to enter the monastery not out of devotion but out of necessity, and has been visited with numerous insults and reproaches and has given proof of his constancy, and by putting up with taunts has shown what he will be like in time of trial, and when the ardor of his intention has been proven and he has thus been received, he is asked with the utmost earnestness if, from his former possessions, the contamination of even a single copper coin clings to him.'

St. John Cassian

'Let him who desires to be loosed from the chains of cursing and to attain to the full blessing of new grace love the Cross, from which all the fullness of blessing flows. Let him bind himself to God's commandments by the Cross. Let him restrain the unbridled lusts of the flesh by means of the Cross. For if by yielding to the flesh we incur the sentence of damnation, by restraining it we shall deserve the grace of blessedness. From the wine-press of the Cross a great flood of blessing has flowed, which washed away all the poison of the ancient curse. From it fall drops of heavenly grace, which bring life-giving moisture to the dryness of men's spirits, and cause them to abound in the happy fruit of all the virtues. This is that cloud shaped like a man's foot-mark which appeared to Elijah in the time of drought, and which soon let fall a great rain. The Scriptures tell us of this: 'Behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's foot-mark.' [3 I Kings 18, 44] Now it is said to have arisen like a man's footprint and not like a man because it symbolizes the Cross which was fitted to the limbs of Christ. And the Cross is rightly likened to a man's footprint because by it the God-man made His departure when He returned to the Father, as John tells us: 'Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father.' [4 John 13, 1] Now Pasch means 'a passing over'. And this passing over was brought about by the Cross, as the Apostle says: 'Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.' As He came down to us through a Virgin, so He returned to His own through the Cross.'

St. Peter Damian

"Tribulation is a gift from God - one that he especially gives His special friends."
St. Thomas More

"’Eat my flesh,’ [Jesus] says, ‘and drink my blood.’ The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients, he delivers over his flesh and pours out his blood, and nothing is lacking for the growth of his children"
St. Clement of Alexandria

'Each day, let us draw nearer to our beloved homeland in heaven.'

St. Gaspar

Here is one that has been speaking to me a lot lately:

"Nothing is more dangerous for beginners in the spiritual life, than to wish to play the master, and to guide and convert others.

Beginners should look after their own conversion and be humble, lest they should fancy they had done some great thing, and so should fall into pride."

St. Philip Neri

I am a convert of only three years (from atheism), and I have found this to be right on!

Good to hear! :D

'A man watches a bird flying, and wishes to fly himself, but he cannot, because he has no wings. Even so the will is present with a man to be pure, and blameless, and without spot, and to have no wickedness in him, but to be always with God; but he has not the power. To fly into the air of God and the liberty of the Holy Ghost may be his wish, but unless wings are given him, he cannot. Let us then beseech God to bestow upon us the wings of a dove, even of the Holy Ghost, that we may fly to Him and be at rest, and that He would separate and make to cease from our souls and bodies, that evil wind, which is the sin that dwelleth in the members of our souls and bodies. None but He can do it'

St. Macarius the Great

'We should laud remiss and indolent souls who are easily exhausted in the struggle for good, as well as those souls who are discouraged and fall to despair. Indeed if such souls should display even the smallest good deed, we must praise it and marvel at it, giving them encouragement in their struggle for good.'

St. Synkletike

'For when our Lord was suffering upon the cross, the tombs were burst open, the infernal region was disclosed, the souls leapt forth, the dead returned to life, and many of them were seen in Jerusalem, while the mystery of the cross was being perfected; what time our Lord trampled upon death, dissolved the enmity, bound the strong man, and raised the trophy of the cross, His body being lifted up upon it, that the body might appear on high, and death to be depressed under the foot of flesh. Then the heavenly powers wondered, the angels were astonished, the elements trembled, every creature was shaken while they looked on this new mystery, and the terrific spectacle which was being enacted in the universe. Yet the entire people, as unconscious of the mystery, exulted over Christ in derision; although the earth was rocking, the mountains, the valleys, and the sea were shaken, and every creature of God was smitten with confusion. The lights of heaven were afraid, the sun fled away, the moon disappeared, the stars withdrew their shining, the day came to end; the angel in astonishment departed from the temple after the rending of the veil, and darkness covered the earth on which its Lord had closed His eyes.'

St. Alexander of Alexandria

'Daughters, fight the ancient adversary insistently with fasting, for only he will be crowned who has striven according to the rules. If until the present you have not had a place in which to live your religious life, now you can no longer be excused, because by the grace of God you have buildings suitable enough for living the religious life. From now on I want silence to be kept in the forbidden places, the refectory, the dormitory, and the oratory, and your law to be observed in all other matters. Let none go out through the gate and no one enter except the bishop or some prelate for the sake of preaching or making a visitation. Be not sparing of discipline and vigils. Be obedient to your prioress. Avoid talking idly to one another. Let not your time be wasted in conversation.'

St. Dominic

'It is His Will that we should apply to Him in all our needs, with humble, respectful, but very filial trust, abandoning ourselves entirely to His loving care like children to a good father.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'Worldly virtues promote human glory, spiritual virtues the glory of God.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

Howl thou, fir-tree, for the cedar has fallen
Zechariah 11:2
If Judas, an apostle could fall so low, what about us? :(

I thought the other day, what would it have been like if it had been 11 traitors and 1 faithful?

'Jerusalem is the celestial knowledge of immaterial beings; within it the vision of peace can be contemplated.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'Everything in religion was a delight unto me; and it is true that now and then I used to sweep the house during those hours of the day which I had formerly spent on my amusements and my dress; and, calling to mind that I was delivered from such follies, I was filled with a new joy that surprised me, nor could I understand whence it came.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

The first requirement of salvation is to keep the standard of the True Faith.

- Pope Saint Adrian II (867-872)

One single Mass gives more honor to God than all the penances of the Saints, the labors of the Apostles, the sufferings of the martyrs, and even the burning love of the Blessed Mother of God.

- Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

The effort to live an integral Catholic life is a daily crucifixion, for it demands sustained effort and involves continuous hardship. One will have much to suffer who endeavors to act uprightly in all his dealings and to fulfill his duties to his Creator in spite of the repugnance of nature. The evil in us strikes much deeper roots in our being than we are aware. Death is dealt to this evil by the brave bearing of the daily cross. Our life will flourish in the exact measure of the death of the evil self in us.

- Father Edward Leen, C.S.Sp. (1885-1944)

'Be as eager to break your own will as the thirsty stag is to drink of the refreshing waters.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Raise up thine eyes , my soul, and behold that crucified man. Behold the Divine Lamb now sacrificed upon that altar of pain. Consider that He is the Beloved Son of the Eternal Father; and consider that He is dead for the love that He has borne thee. See how He holds His arms outstretched to embrace thee; His head bent down to give the kiss of peace; His side open to receive thee into His heart. What dost thou say? Does not a God so loving deserve to be loved? Listen to the words He addresses to thee from that cross: “Look, my son, and see whether there be any one in the world who has loved thee more than I have.”'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: which was as it were coriander seed white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey.

And Moyses said: This is the word, which our Lord hath commanded: fill an omer of it, and let it be kept unto the generations to come hereafter: that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when you were brought forth out of the Land of Ægypt.

And Moyses said to Aaron: Take one vessel, and put Manna into it, so much as a omer can hold: and lay it up before our Lord to keep unto your generations: as our Lord commanded Moyses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be reserved.'

Exodus 16:31-34

'Every virtue in your soul is a precious ornament which makes you dear to God and to man. But holy purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so precious that those who possess it become like the angels of God in Heaven, even though clothed in mortal flesh.'

St. John Bosco

'Be faithful to correspond with the wonderful graces which you have received from Our Lord; they are a preparation for greater graces and more sublime lights, which will cause you to love God more, to acquire more solid virtue, and to practise it in a more heroic degree.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'The sorrow of Mary is like the Mediterranean Sea, for it is written, "Your sorrow is great as the sea." From that sea we pass to a second sea, which has no limits; it is the Passion of Our Lord, of which the Royal Prophet said, "I am entered on the high sea." There the soul enriches herself in fishing for the priceless pearls of virtue.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Blessed the one who has made his fellow servants glad with spiritual gladness from the fruit of the virtues, which he planted by toiling to give back the fruit of life in the Lord.'

St. Ephrem of Syria

'It would be monstrous ingratitude to receive daily many blessings of Divine Goodness, and not to acknowledge your gratitude, if not in deeds, at any rate, in words and canticles.

Besides that, if this gratitude is due to Him, it is no less advantageous to ourselves. God has no need of us, but we have every need of Him.

The thanksgiving which we offer to Him, adds nothing to what He is, but it helps us to love Him more, and to repose a greater confidence in Him.

For if the remembrance of benefits we have received from men, induces us to love them more, there can be no doubt, that meditating on the graces which Almighty God has showered upon us, we should naturally feel more desire to love HIm, more prompt to obey Him.'

St.  John Chrysostom

'As for me, I am cheerful, tranquil and content, only because I am doing the will of God. I proclaim that I want to live and die with total abandonment to him. Is it not a great thing for a soul to know with certainty that one is fulfilling the divine will?'

St. Gaspar del Bufalo

    To come to enjoy what you have not
     you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.

    To come to the knowledge you have not
     you must go by a way in which you know not.

    To come to the possession you have not
     you must go by a way in which you possess not.

    To come to be what you are not
     you must go by a way in which you are not.

St. John of the Cross,
The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book 1, Ch 13, 11

St. John of the Cross reminds me of St. John the Apostle!


'The more you devote yourself to study of the sacred utterances, the richer will be your understanding of them, just as the more the soil is tilled, the richer the harvest.'

St. Isidore of Seville

'Failure to obtain pleasure induces a culpable kind of distress he who scorns pleasure is free from distress.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'In God's sight, our cross is as a precious balm which loses its aroma on exposure to the air; therefore we must make every effort to hide our cross and carry it in silence.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'"He that loveth his life (in this world) shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal." (John 12:25).

These are Thy words. To love one's life in this world means to surrender oneself to bodily pleasure and sin, to obey one's self-will, to run away (from duty) in order to escape contempt, to hold bitter resentment against people who offend us. To hate one's life means to practise (dutiful) motification generously, to deny one's self-will, to hunt contempt (when to do so is in accord with duty,) to return good for evil. Have I done this? Alas for Me!

Alas! Jesus' lips condemn me! Have I failed to be counted among those who hate their own life?'

St. Anthony Mary Claret, meditations

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."

St. Thomas Aquinas

'Let none rashly think that he may despise the holy and Catholic testimonies of the Fathers: whosoever despises them, scattered by Providence over ages and nations, when they are unanimous on any Catholic dogma, does not despise them, but God. It is necessary for all Catholics, who are ambitious of being legitimate sons of the Church, to adhere, unite to, and persevere in the faith of the Fathers; but to reject, detest, and persecute all profane novelties.'

St. Vincent of Lerins

'We truly love God and keep His commandments if we restrain ourselves from our pleasures. For he who still abandons himself to unlawful desires certainly does not love God, since he contradicts Him in his own intentions. . . Therefore, he loves God truly, whose mind is not conquered by consent to evil delight. For the more one takes pleasure in lower things, the more he is separated from heavenly love.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

'It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.'
St. John Chrysostom

'The promised land is the kingdom of heaven whose ambassadors are dispassion and spiritual knowledge.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'If, on going to the garden to pluck some fruits, you were surprised by a heavy rain, what would you do? You would seek shelter under the shed, would you not? So when sorrow, bitterness, tribulation, rain down upon you, you must seek a refuge in the safe asylum of the will of God, and you shall not be troubled.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'As for those who radiate the beauty of the soul, the longer time goes by and test their proper nobility, the warmer they make their husband's love and the more they strengthen their affection for him. Since this is so, and since a warm and genuine friendship holds between them, every kind of immorality is driven out. Not even any thought of wantonness ever enters the mind of the man who truly loves his own wife, but he continues always content with her. By his chastity he attracts the good will and protection of God for his whole household. This is how the good men of ancient times used to take wives, seeking nobility of soul rather than monetary wealth.'

St. John Chrysostom

St. Rose pray for us!

Amen, Amen.  O:)

'Would that I could set the whole world on fire with the love of God!'

St. Paul of the Cross

'I find myself threatened by new combats. . . Storms succeed each other, darkness increases, fears do not vanish, demons harass me, men slander me, combats within, fears without, darkness, coldness, tepidity, desolation. What can one do in the midst of so many dangers? Ah! death is more desirable than life. Yes, if such is the will of God, may the door of a blessed eternity open to me! I know not which way to turn; however, I have faith and confidence that God will accomplish His work in a wonderful way.'

St. Paul of the Cross

Amen!  ;D

'In the name of Jesus Christ, I bless you soul and body. I bless your body and all its senses. I bless your eyes, in order that they may always be modest by never looking at any object that may lead you into temptation; I therefore specially bless your eyes. (Here the blessing is given with the crucifix.) I bless your ears, that you may never misuse them by listening to things that offend God. I bless your mouth, that you may never employ it in uttering blasphemies, imprecations, immodest words, and wicked songs. (Here a second blessing is given.) I bless your feet, that when you can you may come to church to make mental prayer, as also visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin. I bless your hands. Young people, raise your hands: I wish to bless them. (Again the blessing is given towards the men.) I bless all your children; devote yourselves to their sanctification, in order that one day you may find them all together in paradise.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Amen, amen !

Beautiful, just beautiful !

'The law of our Lord is immaculate, converting souls:
the testimony of our Lord is faithful, giving Wisdom to little ones.
The justices of our Lord be right, rejoicing the heart:
the precept of our Lord lightsome; illuminating the eyes.
The fear of our Lord is pure, lasting forever and ever:
the judgments of our Lord are true, justified in themselves.
To be desired above gold, than much precious stone:
and sweeter above honey and the honeycomb.'

Ps. 18:8-11

'On our second day out, after the storm had calmed and the rain stopped, I took out my breviary and said Matins and the little hours. When I had finished my prayers, an English gentleman walked over. He said that he was a Catholic and liked priests. After we had chatted awhile he went to his cabin, and in a short time I saw him coming toward me with some silver coins on a tray. When I saw him, I thought, "What are you going to do? Will you accept the money or not?" I said to myself, "You don't need it, but those poor Spaniards do; so take it and give it to them." And that is just what I did. I accepted it, thanked the man, and went to divide it among those poor people, who went at once to the kitchen or refreshment counter to buy whatever food they needed.

Other passengers did the same. They gave me money and I distributed it to the others, not keeping so much as a penny for myself although it had been intended for me. I didn't take a mouthful of the food they had bought; I was content with my water-soaked bread. The Englishman was very edified when he saw how poor and detached I was and how the others were eating food that they had bought with the money I'd given them, while I ate none of it. He told me that he was getting off at Leghorn and traveling overland to Rome. He gave me a card on which he had written his name and the address of the palazzo in which he would be staying and told me to come and see him and he would give me whatever I needed.

This whole adventure confirmed what I had already believed: that the best and most effective means to edify and move people is good example, poverty, detachment, fasting, mortification, and self denial. Since this English gentleman was traveling in Oriental luxury, with his coach, servants, birds, and dogs aboard, one might imagine that my appearance would move him to contempt. But the sight of a priest who was poor, detached, and mortified moved him so deeply that he couldn't do enough for me. And not only he but all the passengers showed me great respect and veneration. Perhaps if they had seen me rubbing elbows with them at table, and ordering rich and elegant dishes, they would have criticized and looked down on me as I often saw them do with others. Virtue, it would seem, is so necessary for a priest that even the wicked want us to be good.'

St. Anthony Mary Claret

'I resolve in the first place to remain continually in the presence of God and to ask myself frequently if I would do this or that if my confessor or superior were watching me and especially if God and my guardian angel were present.'

St. Conrad of Parzham, resolutions in the novitiate

'If some obvious sinner who does not repent has suffered nothing before his death, you may be sure that judgment in his case will be merciless.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Marah was a fountain of most bitter water: Moses cast wood into it and it became sweet. For water without the preaching of the Cross of the Lord is of no avail for future salvation, but, after it has been consecrated by the mystery of the saving cross, it is made suitable for the use of the spiritual layer and of the cup of salvation. As, then, Moses, that is, the prophet, cast wood into that fountain, so, too, the priest utters over this font the proclamation of the Lord's cross, and the water is made sweet for the purpose of grace.'

St. Ambrose of Milan

'We must say to ourselves, "O Lord, Thou hast wrought all our works in us." [Is. 26:12] Because this is really so you must attribute every good work to Him and not to yourself. Bear in mind that "you in your own might and in the strength of your own hand" [c.f. Deut. 8:17] have not attained to all the good things you possess. "It is the Lord who made us and not we ourselves." [c.f. Ps. 99:3]'

St. Bonaventure

"Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: Now I begin to love my God."
- St. Francis de Sales

One can do this every day, in fact every hour.. or even every moment, no?

'We must never trust ourselves, for it is the devil's way first to get us to feel secure, and then to make us fall.'

St. Philip Neri

'Keep your heart in peace and let nothing trouble you, not even your faults. You must humble yourself and amend them peacefully, without being discouraged or cast down, for God's dwelling is in peace.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'God is the source of every virtue, as the sun is of daylight.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Garrulousness is the platform from which vainglory preaches itself. . . Silence on the other hand is the mother of prayer. It frees the prisoner; it guards the divine flame; it watches over reasoning; it protects the sense of penitence.

St. John Climacus

'Let us imagine our confusion when we appear before God and understand the reasons why He sent us the crosses we accept so unwillingly. The death of a child will then be seen as its rescue from some great evil had it lived, separation from the woman you love the means of saving you from an unhappy marriage, a severe illness the reason for many years of life afterwards, loss of money the means of saving your soul from eternal loss. So what are we worried about?

God is looking after us and yet we are full of anxiety! We trust ourselves to a doctor because we suppose he knows his business. He orders an operation which involves cutting away part of our body and we accept it. We are grateful to him and pay him a large fee because we judge he would not act as he does unless the remedy were necessary, and we must rely on his skill. Yet we are unwilling to treat God in the same way! It looks as if we do not trust His wisdom and are afraid He cannot do His job properly. We allow ourselves to be operated on by a man who may easily make a mistake -- a mistake which may cost us our life -- and protest when God sets to work on us.'

St. Claude de la Colombiere

"Be careful not to admit into your society those delicate and sensitive people who are afraid of the
slightest pin-prick, who cry out and complain at the least pain, who know nothing of the hair-shirt, the
discipline or other instruments of penance, and who mingle, with their fashionable devotions, a most
refined fastidiousness and a most studied lack of mortification."

St. Louis Marie de Montfort, 'Letter to Friends of the Cross'

Without mortification there is not enough grace..

"It is better that the truth be known than that scandal be covered up."

St. Augustine

Amen! Kyrie eleison!

What prayer could be more true before God the Father than that which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips?
Saint John Chrysostom

'Ever keep the fire of charity burning on the altar of your heart.'

St. Paul of the Cross

A good quote for Spiritual Communions!

 :)

Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: Now I begin to love my God.
Saint Francis de Sales

When we speak about wisdom, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about virtue, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about justice, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about peace, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about truth and life and redemption, we are speaking of Christ.

St. Ambrose of Milan

I am going to hold on to that quote.  :D

Much thanksgiving odhiambo! Thank you!

True wisdom, true peace, true justice, true virtue -- Our Lord Jesus Christ!

"No one in the world can change Truth.
 What we can do and should do is to seek truth
 and to serve it when we have found it."
Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894 - 1941)

Some really beautiful quotes lately odhiambo! :D

'As God is not the only witness of our life, but as moreover the world, the angels, and men behold it, let us be good not only before God, but also before men.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Absolutely !

'No one ought to consider himself a true servant of God who is not tried by many temptations and trials.'

St. Francis of Assisi

Or more fully, to a brother tempted by a grievous and obstinate temmptation, and near despair:

'Be not afflicted or dismayed my son. Believe me, I now consider thee a greater servant of God than before, and be assured that the more thou art tempted the dearer dost thou become to me. No one, my son, can repute himself to be a servant of God, until he has passed through temptation and tribulation. A temptation overcome, is like the ring by which God espouses a soul to Himself. Many flatter themselves upon their numerous good works, and rejoice never to have suffered tribulations and temptations. But, because they are frightened even before they begin to fight, God, knowing their weakness, does not try them with temptations; for hard combats are reserved for great virtue. It is a sign of His special favour when God leaves nothing unpunished in His servants in this world.'

St. Francis of Assisi

'When God intends to grant a man any particular virtue, it is His way to let him be tempted to the opposite vice.'

St. Philip Neri

This is reassuring!
Temptations aside, how does one get rid of unwanted thoughts? The more you try to banish them the more they hang around. Pray for them to melt away, they are there! :(

For me, repeated, quick, and short vocal prayer helps with that, esp. if it's provoked by the devils.

'Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, help us.' 'Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, protect us.' 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph, save souls.'

As long as the Holy Names hang in the air the devils are chased away.

They tend to swiftly return however, and so 'repeated'.

Yes it is reassuring! Temptation can be so discouraging! So these quotes are very helpful for overcome such and bearing it with Christ hopefully.

A real torment. Whenever I am praying, out of nowhere bad thoughts disturb my concentration. It is so much that at one point I almost despaired of praying; then I realized this is a spiritual fight. Now I try not to panic but turn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Yes I have the same difficulty odhiambo. Do not despair! With work and grace one can still pray. Bear it for the Lord's sake!

I will try to post some saints' quotes on this subject, besides those just posted. Keep in good spirits! Bear it for the Lord's sake!

And pray short vocal prayers!

'When the devil suggests discouraging thoughts, we must seek help in the remembrance of the blessings, without number, that we have received from God.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

'Just as I will not save myself by the good works of the angels, likewise I will not be condemned for the bad and wicked thoughts which the bad angels, the world, and the flesh present to me.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Shin, you have no idea what a relief this post is to me! The Lord has just used you to help me.
Thanks!
What would we do without our blessed saints?

 :D

'There is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer.'

St. Philip Neri

Prayer
A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat.
In whatever state the soul may be, it ought to pray.
A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty;
a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it;
 a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again;
a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again.
There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.
St. Faustina

'Satan. . . tries to introduce impurity by almost insensible degrees.'

St. Francis de Sales

"We are all frail but see you think no one more frail than yourself"

The Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a Kempis

'If the criminal will not keep his gains for ever and his victim will not always suffer want, "surely man passes like a shadow and troubles himself in vain" (Ps. 39:6. LXX).'

St. Mark the Ascetic

" Open not your heart to every man"
Sirach 8: 19

Prudence!

'The good pleasure of God, if we truly love it, ought to be preferred by us to the acquisition of all riches, of the loftiest glory, of all the delights of earth, and even of Paradise itself; for it is certain that all the blessed, if they were to know that it would please God more that they should burn in hell, one and all, even the Mother of God among them, would cast themselves into that abyss of flames, and suffer eternally in order to give greater pleasure to God.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'They who are engaged with the salvation of their neighbor, will gain more by an humble modesty than by an authoritative manner, and will gain victory sooner in retreat than in combat.'

- St. Ignatius of Loyola

"I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him"

Saint Teresa of Avila

I am happy I came across this quote of Saint Teresa of Avila
We are not to fear the devil. We fight him by talking of and with God.

Deo gratias et Mariae Semper Virgini! :D

'Your soul needs a brief winter. The winter purifies the air and the earth of foul vapors; it even invigorates the human body. If it strips the trees of their leaves, it is only to the end that they take deeper roots. The spring comes afterwards, and clothes them again with verdure and blossoms.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'A woman does not acquire a man's dignity by having her head uncovered but rather loses her own. Her shame and reproach thus derive from her desire to be like a man as well as from her actions.'

St. John Chrysostom

He who enters into the secret place of his own soul passes beyond himself and does in very truth ascend to God.
                                                       
~ St. Albert the Great

A very inspiring quote! Thank you my friend!  :D

'Let us think, if we only got to heaven, what a sweet and easy thing it will be there to be always saying with the angels and the saints, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.'

St. Philip Neri

'All vices must first be eradicated by the practice of good works in the active life, so that, the mind's eye being purified, one may advance to the contemplation of God in the contemplative life.'

St. Isidore of Seville

If you think deeply for a minute you'll find he is speaking of contemplation.

“Son, if you want peace, you must first rid your heart of the devil.”
St. John Bosco

How could one have peace otherwise?

Many are so misguided as to think they can  :(

'I cannot sufficiently be astonished that such is the insanity of some men, such the impiety of their blinded understanding, such, finally, their lust after error, that they will not be content with the rule of faith delivered once and for all from antiquity, but must daily seek after something new, and even newer still, and are always longing to add something to religion, or to change it, or to subtract from it!'

St. Vincent of Lerins

'The passions lying hidden in the soul provide the demons with the means of arousing impassioned thoughts in us. Then, fighting the intellect through these thoughts, they force it to give its assent to sin. When it has been overcome, they lead it to sin in the mind; and when this has been done they induce it, captive as it is, to commit the sin in action. Having thus desolated the soul by means of these thoughts, the demons then retreat, taking the thoughts with them, and only the specter or idol of sin remains in the intellect. Referring to this our Lord says, "When you see the abominable idol of desolation standing in the holy place (let him who reads understand) . . . " (Matt. 24:15). For man's intellect is a holy place and a temple of God in which the demons, having desolated the soul by means of impassioned thoughts, set up the idol of sin. That these things have already taken place in history no one, I think, who has read Josephus will doubt; though some say that they will also come to pass in the time of the Antichrist.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

 "Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast."
St. Philip Neri

An encouraging quote!

'It is God's custom to interweave human life with a trouble and a consolation, at least, of an interior sort, alternately.'

St. Philip Neri

'Any tempest which assails us and which we did not bring on ourselves through any fault of ours, foretells a consolation soon to follow it.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

'When a sinful soul does not accept the afflictions that come to it, the angels say: "We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed" (Jer. 51:9)'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'He who accepts present afflictions in the expectation of future blessings has found knowledge of the truth; and he will easily be freed from anger and remorse.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Let him who is in consolation think how he will be in the desolation which will come after, taking new strength for then.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

'But you see before you the mountain of Christian perfection, which is very high, and you exclaim in fearfulness that you can never ascend it. Be of good cheer, my child. When the young bees first begin to live they are mere grubs, unable to hover over flowers, or to fly to the mountains, or even to the little hills where they might gather honey; but they are fed for a time with the honey laid up by their predecessors, and by degrees the grubs put forth their wings and grow strong, until they fly abroad and gather their harvest from all the country round. Now we are yet but as grubs in devotion, unable to fly at will, and attain the desired aim of Christian perfection; but if we begin to take shape through our desires and resolutions, our wings will gradually grow, and we may hope one day to become spiritual bees, able to fly. Meanwhile let us feed upon the honey left us in the teaching of so many holy men of old, praying God that He would grant us doves' wings, so that we may not only fly during this life, but find an abiding resting-place in Eternity.'

St. Francis de Sales

'If you share secretly in the joy of someone you envy, you will be freed from your jealousy; and you will also be freed from your jealousy if you keep silent about the person you envy.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

THAT, is a quote to remember and put into practice. How often we silently say, "I wish I had that".



:littlepigeons:

Yes isn't it great! It's a cure, the precise medicine for the trouble! :D

'Zealous anger troubles the eye of reason, whereas sinful anger blinds it.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

'The intellect that has shut out the senses, and has achieved a balance in the body's temperament has to fight only against its memories.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'It is your self love which makes you resent not being able to do what others can do or having so much dismay on finding that you have need of the help of others; if you were dead to self, you would not be so unhappy.'

The Lord, to St. Gemma Galgani

'And JESUS saith to him, the foxes have holes, and the fowls of the air nests: but the son of man hath nowhere to lay his head.'

Matthew 8:20

'A true Catholic is he who loves the truth revealed by God, who loves the Church, the Body of Christ, who esteems religion, the Catholic faith, higher than any human authority, talents, eloquence, and philosophy; all this he holds in contempt, and remains firm and unshaken in the faith which, he knows, has always from the beginning been held by the Catholic Church; and if he notices that any one, no, matter who he may be, interprets a dogma in a manner different from that of the Fathers of the Church, he understands that God permits such an interpretation to be made, not for the good of religion, but as a temptation, according to the words of St. Paul: "For there must be also heresies; that they also, who are reproved, may be made manifest among you." (I Cor. xi. 19) "And indeed, no sooner are novel opinions proclaimed, than it becomes manifest what kind of a Catholic a man is;"'

St. Vincent of Lerins

'Evils reinforce each other; so do virtues, thus encouraging us to still greater efforts.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Humility, which Christ recommended to us both by word and example, ought to include three conditions. First, we are to consider ourselves, in all sincerity, worthy of the contempt of men; secondly, to be glad that others should see what is imperfect in us and what might cause them to despise us; thirdly, when the Lord works any good in us or by our means, to conceal it, if possible, at the sight of our baseness, and if this cannot be done, to ascribe it to the Divine Mercy, and to the merits of others. Whoever shall attain to this humility, happy is he! And to him who shall not attain it, griefs will never be wanting.'

St. Vincent de Paul

'Everything may be done by the help of God, provided we have a sincere goodwill.'

St. Benedict Joseph Labre

'The rewards for the toils of virtue are dispassion and spiritual knowledge.

For these are mediators of the kingdom of heaven, just as passions and ignorance are mediators of eternal punishment.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

'This sect [the Free-masons], will cause evil not only to the Church, but also to kingdoms and sovereigns. Kings will recognize their fatal significance when too late. The Free-masons act against God now, but they will soon attack kings.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'And they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice: and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation.'

Daniel 11:31

'An intellect in control of itself is the temple of the Holy Spirit, but that of a glutton is like a nest of crows.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'The doctrines of Godliness are overturned; the rules of the Church are in confusion; the ambition of the unprincipled seizes upon places of authority; and the chief seat is now openly proposed as a reward for impiety; so that he whose blasphemies are the more shocking, is more eligible for the oversight of the people.

Priestly gravity has perished; there are none left to feed the Lord's flock with knowledge; ambitious men are ever spending, in purposes of self-indulgence and bribery, possessions which they hold in trust for the poor. The accurate observation of the canons are no more; there is no restraint upon sin.

Unbelievers laugh at what they see, and the weak are unsettled; faith is doubtful, ignorance is poured over their souls, because the adulterators of the word in wickedness imitate the truth. Religious people keep silence, but every blaspheming tongue is let loose. Sacred things are profaned; those of the laity who are sound in faith avoid the places of worship, as schools of impiety, and raise their hands in solitude with groans and tears to the Lord in heaven.'

St. Basil the Great

 He finds man in his corrupt affections become like the beasts that perish,
 and therefore He is laid in the manger, in the place of food,
 that we changing the life of beasts, might be brought to the knowledge that befits man, partaking not of hay, but of the heavenly bread, the life-giving body.
Saint Cyril

'He who lives in sin takes up the habits and the appearance of the beasts. The beast, which has not reason, knows nothing but its appetites. So the man who makes himself like the beasts loses his reason, and lets himself be guided by the inclinations of his body. He takes his pleasure in good eating and drinking, and in enjoying the vanities of the world, which pass away like the wind. I pity the poor wretches who run after that wind; they gain very little, they give a great deal for very little profit -- they give their eternity for the miserable smoke of the world.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'Many go under the name of good men according to the standard of the world, and observe in some sort the commandments of the Law, who yet are not Christians. And these generally boast of themselves, as the Pharisees did; Are we blind also? But inasmuch as all that they do they do foolishly, without knowing to what end it tends, our Lord saith of them, Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. [John 10:1]

Let the Pagans then, the Jews, the Heretics, say, "We lead a good life;" if they enter not by the door, what availeth it? A good life only profiteth, as leading to life eternal. Indeed those cannot be said to lead a good life, who are either blindly ignorant of, or wilfully despise, the end of good living.

No one can hope for eternal life, who knows not Christ, who is the life, and by that door enters into the fold.'

St. Augustine

'Both the man and the woman disobeyed the command, but for different reasons. The woman was deceived, the man was not. Yet in both man and woman there occurred a disruption of order in all their powers, from the highest to the lowest: first in their intellect, then in their senses, and finally in their actions. Both fell into disobedience and succumbed to greed because both had risen in pride. In the woman, it was out of avidity and desire for what she had not; in man, out of excessive love and concern for what he had. The woman believed that if she ate, she would be exalted; Adam, relying on his own greatness and God's love, did not expect a heavy punishment: never yet had he experienced the rigor of God's severity.'

St. Bonaventure

'Our true worth does not consist in what human beings think of us. What we really are consists in what God knows us to be.'

St. John Berchmans

'Long illnesses are the greatest favors that God confers on souls whom He loves most. . . Repose peacefully in the arms of your heavenly Spouse, Who loves you much; hold yourself on the cross of sickness as tranquilly and silently as is possible. If the cause of your illness be the wound of divine love which embalms your soul, it is well if you die under such a stroke: yours will be a death more precious than life.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'If, we be not in fault, God will assuredly, by his all-powerful aid, enable us to become saints.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

'Sisters, the disputes that you have with your husbands do not arise from their imperfections so much as from yours. You answer and rejoin, and thus exasperate their minds; and so you are always in trouble. When I see my husband in a passion I do not speak; I bear with him, and pray to God for him; and thus I live in peace. Do you the same, and you too shall have peace.'

St. Monica

That makes you ponder and take a long look at yourself.  :Eeek:








:teaandcoffee: :littlepigeons:

It's good to sit back and think over! :D

'He who believes in the blessings of the world to come abstains of his own accord from the pleasures of this present world. But he who lacks such faith becomes pleasure-loving and insensitive.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

St.Monica pray for me! :popeyes:

'He who repents rightly does not imagine that it is his own effort which cancels his former sins; but through this effort he makes his peace with God.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

Amen.

'Do you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst? Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbour. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!'

St. John Chrysostom

 :D

'Oh, what a sweet hermitage for a soul that has faith in the stable of Bethlehem!'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'Man does not love me, would God seem to say, because he does not see me. I wish to make myself seen by him and to converse with him, and so make myself loved: "He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'No one, putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'

Luke 9:62

'My father, do not ask me to give hostages to this body of mine. I cannot afford it. Between me and my body there must needs be a struggle until death.'

St. Margaret of Cortona

'When rain falls upon the earth, it gives life to the quality inherent in each plant: sweetness in the sweet, astringency in the astringent; similarly, when grace falls upon the hearts of the faithful, it gives to each the energies appropriate to the different virtues without itself changing.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'All souls in hell are there because they did not pray. All the saints sanctified themselves by prayer.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

"A servant who follows his master, if he be asked where he goes, might reply that he does not go, that he only follows: because it is his master's will and not his, which determines the place to which he walks."
St. Francis de Sales

"Feed upon the will of God, and drink the chalice of Jesus with your eyes shut, so that you may not see what is inside; let it be enough for you to know that it is the cup of your sweet Jesus. Above all, form to yourself a constant habit of resignation by making frequently such acts as these: O beloved Will! O Most Holy Will of God, I love Thee!....The food of my Jesus was to do the will of His Father, mine shall be the same."
St. Paul of the Cross

The happiness of knowing we are embracing the will of our Benevolent and All Good God.

The prayer of the sick person is his patience and his acceptance of his sickness for the love of Jesus Christ. Make sickness itself a prayer, for there is none more powerful, save martyrdom.
St. Francis de Sales

'If it be the duty of a Christian to pray to God before meals, he is not less bound to thank him after having made use of the gifts which came from his bountiful hand. It is, therefore, necessary to make, after every meal, a short but fervent act of thanksgiving.'

St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle

We thank thee, almighty God,for the gifts we have received from thy bounty.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen!
 :crucifix: :crucifix: :crucifix:

Amen!

'Wisdom is not only to perceive the natural consequence of things, but also to accept as our due the malice of those who wrong us. People who go no further than the first kind of wisdom become proud, whereas those who attain the second become humble.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

"When trees are much loaded with fruit, the quantity weighs down, nay, sometimes breaks the branches; whereas, those which are not so laden remain straight; and when the ears of corn are full, they hang down, so that the stalk seems ready to break; but when they stand up, it is a sign there is little in them. Just so it is as to spiritual things. They who bear no fruit continually shoot upward, but they who are laden with the fruit of grace and good works are always hanging down their heads in a humble posture; they make the favors they have received from God a subject of further humiliation and fear."
St. Dorotheus

Saint Dorotheus please pray for us that we persevere in humility and gratitude.

A beautiful quote George. I love it.

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
St. Thomas Aquinas

The whole science of the saints consists in knowing and following the will of God; because then only can a man be perfect indeed, when, raising himself above all other things, he subjects himself to eternal truth and justice, for, since man was made after the image and likeness of God, who is eternal truth and justice, he cannot expect to attain either perfection or happiness except by conformity to his divine original. On the other hand , the most dangerous of all temptations are those which lead us to follow the suggestions of our own hearts and thoughts, instead of the will of God. The pleasure which a man seeks in the gratification of his own inclinations is quickly changed into bitterness, and leaves nothing behind but the regret of having been ignorant of the secret of true beatitude and of the way of the saints."
St. Isidore

O, Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there thy cheerful beams.
St. Augustine

Amen. :D

'One who trusts in the leadership of Christ renounces the Enemy and his angels, that is to say, all manner of magical superstition which depends on the emissaries of Satan. Moreoever, the Christian renounces all the Devil's works -- cults, idols, omens, auguries, pomps and shows, robberies and fraud, sins of the flesh and drunkenness, dancing and lying. Such things -- not to mention much else -- separated you from the Lord and allied you with the devil. They are the chains of the Serpent, loaded on the souls of men to lead them to the prison of hell.

Only when a man has rid himself of these evils, and cast off the chains from his back and thrown them, so to speak, in the face of the Enemy, can he proclaim his act of faith with sincerity.'

St. Niceta of Remesiana

Amen.

That's a good meditation  O:)

Ask the animals, and they will teach you;
The birds of the air, and they will teach you;
Or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
And the fish of the sea, will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:7-10

I saw our Lord sitting upon an high throne
and elevated: and those things that were under him filled the temple.

Seraphims stood upon the same: six wings to one, and six wings to the other:
with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet,
and with two they flew.

And they cried one to another, and said: holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of
hosts, all the earth is full of his Glory.

Isaias 6:1-3

'. . . he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever: But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting.'

John 4:13-14

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4 23-24

Amen amen.

Trials and tribulation offer us a chance to make reparation for our past faults and sins. On such occasions the Lord comes to us like a physician to heal the wounds left by our sins. Tribulation is the divine medicine.
St. Augustine

That's a truly splendid one!

'If you are in grace, love vigils, so that by your vigils you may guard your treasure and keep yourself in holiness. If you are in sin, hurry to be cleansed by watching and praying.'

St. Niceta of Remesiana

'Rather ought every one to submit to death, than to receive the sacrament of communion from the hand of a heretic.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

"If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert for fear that they would collapse on the way, it was to teach us that it is dangerous to try to get to Heaven without the bread of Heaven."
Saint Jerome

'I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me: because they are thine: And all my things are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.'

John 17:9-10

'For what is the ascetic life but mastery of the passions, control of thoughts and unrelenting wrestling against invisible foes? And how should these things not afflict the flesh? But this slight momentary affliction of ours, as it is written, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory, beyond all measure, because our aim is not what can be seen but what cannot be seen.'

St. Theodore the Studite

'How can you, by love, make your own the sufferings of our sweet Jesus? God will teach you how when it pleases Him, for He alone can do so. The soul inflamed with the love of God, without distraction, in pure and simple faith, suddenly finds herself, when God pleases, penetrated with the sufferings of Jesus; in a glance of faith she sees them all, without understanding; for the Passion of Our Saviour is a labor of love, and the soul thus lost in God, Who is all charity, all love, makes of herself a fount of love and sorrow.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'It is therefore an indispensable obligation for all Catholics who are eager to prove that they are true sons of Holy Mother the Church to adhere to the holy faith of the Fathers, to preserve it, to die for it, and, on the other hand, to detest the profane novelties of profane men, to dread them, to harass them, and to attack them.'

St. Vincent of Lerins

Amen, my brother! :angryred: :swordfight: :swordfight: :swordfight: :+: :+: :principalities: :principalities:

Hahaha! Fighting the good fight!

'St Francis of Assisi, on seeing a lamb, would begin to weep, saying, "My Lord like a lamb was led to death for me."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'I advise you to have recourse to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, if you want to conquer your enemies and obtain the strength and consolation you need; He will not refuse you this help, if you ask it of Him.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Love alone harmoniously joins all created things with God and with each other.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

'I cannot sufficiently be astonished that such is the insanity of some men, such the impiety of their blinded understanding, such, finally, their lust after error, that they will not be content with the rule of faith delivered once and for all from antiquity, but must daily seek after something new, and even newer still, and are always longing to add something to religion, or to change it, or to subtract from it!'

St. Vincent of Lerins

"For one pain endured with joy, we shall love the good God more forever."

--St. Therese of Lisieux

"How could I bear a crown of gold when the Lord bears a crown of thorns? And bears it for me!"

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

How wonderful penance is!

 :crucifix:

And how necessary!  We would all perish without it.

I can't wait for lent to begin.  This will be my second lent as a Catholic.
 I used to be a short order cook for a local cafe where I fed the same 15-30
Farmers every day. It was really nice to put together a Lenten salad bar
For the Catholics. And their witness through their sacrifice of meat was one of the things that
Started to draw me in to the Church.  These guys normally  ate an enormous noon meal with lots of meat.
because they would be out in the field until 8 or 9 at night then have a late small supper.  During lent I served lots of grilled
Cheese sandwiches. One of the owners did not care for Catholicism so I was not able to cook any fish for them.
I did put tuna salad, hard boiled eggs and celery with peanut butter on their salad bar, though ;D
She didn't catch on to that part. 

Actually my third Lent! Or the fourth if you could count the year when I was on the outside looking in to the church.
I was contemplating joining but too scared to tell anyone!

Ah that's wonderful to read of. If only we had more inspired cooks to help folks to eat properly on penitential days in Lent and throughout the year.

We have to do all we can to help folks to observe the end of the week penance properly.  :crucifix:

"The best way not to find the bed too cold is to go to bed colder than the bed is."

St. Charles Borromeo

"When you feel the assaults of passion and anger, then is the time to be silent as Jesus was silent in the midst of His ignominies and sufferings."

St. Paul of the Cross

'When elated by praise, be sure disgrace will follow; for it is said: "Whoever exalts himself will be abased" (Luke 14:11).'

St. Mark the Ascetic

That St. Charles quote reminds me of one of St. Bernardine's about straw beds being plenty warm enough.  :D

Yes, the saints confirm each other.

Yes that's the path to follow! :D

'The most extraordinary gift of the scapular from the Mother of God to St. Simon Stock brings its great usefulness not only to the Carmelite Family of Mary but also to all the rest of the Faithful who wish, affiliated to that Family, to follow Mary with a very special devotion.'

Pope Bl. Pius IX

'Certain things stop the movement of the passions and do not allow them to grow; others subdue them and make them diminish. For instance, where desire is concerned, fasting, labor and vigils do not allow it to grow, while withdrawal, contemplation, prayer and intense longing for God subdue it and make it disappear. The same is true with regard to anger. Forbearance, freedom from rancor, gentleness, for example, all arrest it and prevent it from growing, while love, acts of charity, kindness and compassion make it diminish.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

'Nothing but sin can separate us from God. You do not wish to sin; therefore preserve your heart in peace, and have it constantly turned towards heaven.'

St. Paul of the Cross

Wow, how insightful!  Lately, I have been cutting out visits to my friend, as I have been very much occupied with spiritual things that need to get done.  I think it is better this way, in light of the quote above.  However, I think it is prudent that I allow myself breaks for friendly visits from time to time; after all, even monks have an hour of recreation daily.  Tomorrow I must visit my father in the hospital.  God bless you!

Yes, with charity, the love of God and the love of neighbor for God, we will progress spiritually in leaps and bounds! 

I must keep my heart fixed on God and turned away from all that is not God, even when dealing with creatures.

Pride goeth before destruction: and the spirit is lifted up before a fall.  (Prov. 16:18)

I will pray for him particularly!

Yes such sounds like a good course!

Yes that quote is one that especially helps point the way!

Thank you so much!  God bless you!

Definitely!  Now I'm off to do some mental prayer! 

'St. Bernard says that poverty was not to be found in heaven, it existed only on earth; but that man, not knowing its value, did not seek after it. Therefore the Son of God came down from heaven to this earth, and chose it for his companion throughout his whole life, that by his example he might also render it precious and desirable to us: "Poverty was not found in heaven, but she was well known on earth, and men knew not her excellence. So the Son of God loved her, and came down from heaven to take her to himself, that we might learn to value her when we see how he regards her."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Our Lord turns the Cross and Poverty into something most excellent.  I never look down on poverty because our Lord had chosen it for himself, and so had Blessed Mary and St. Joseph as husband and wife.  How blessed are the poor who are poor in spirit!

'It can happen that someone may in appearance be fulfilling a commandment but is in reality serving a passion, and through evil thoughts he destroys the goodness of the action.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'It is almost certain that excess in eating is the cause of almost all the diseases of the body, but its effects on the soul are even more disastrous.'  

St. Alphonsus Liguori


'Never rise from the table without having given due thanks to the Lord. If we act in this way, we need have no fear of the wretched sin of gluttony.'
  
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

'Our Apostolic Mandate requires from Us that We watch over the purity of the Faith and the integrity of Catholic discipline. It requires from Us that We protect the faithful from evil and error; especially so when evil and error are presented in dynamic language which, concealing vague notions and ambiguous expressions with emotional and high-sounding words, is likely to set ablaze the hearts of men in pursuit of ideals which, whilst attractive, are nonetheless nefarious.'

Pope St. Pius X

The Holy Office had always been the same in this regard up until Vatican II, carefully protecting the flock from dangerous wolves, imposing excommunications for heresy as frequently as necessary.  Then with John XXIII and the other Conciliariasts occupying the Chair of Peter things changed a whole lot and things harmful to the faithful such as heretical and immoral books went unchecked, with few excommunications being imposed, and most of them to traditionalists who were merely trying to remain faithful to the true Faith of the Saints.  In the 1960's under Paul VI  the "Index of Forbidden Books" (established in 1559) was abolished and books harmful to the faithful were being read without censure, and disciplines harmful to the faithful (Holy Communion in the hand, etc.) were introduced, causing irreverence to the Blessed Sacrament, and a loss in belief in the Blessed Sacrament for not merely a few people. 

'It is your self love which makes you resent not being able to do what others can do or having so much dismay on finding that you have need of the help of others; if you were dead to self, you would not be so unhappy.'

The Lord, to St. Gemma Galgani

'Good works are of no use unless we also bear the cross as well, nor do sufferings profit us unless we lead a Christian life.'

Bl. John of Avila

'O what then! I merit not in caring for my husband and my child, who are God's creatures? No, for thou dost merit naught, if thou intend not above all the pleasing of God. If thy intention be towards God so that thou dost that which thou doest to his praise and glory, then everything doth profit thee. And hence thou mayest ever merit if thou thyself care for thy household, and thy children, and thy house; having above all intention towards God and that what thou dost may be to his honour and glory, straightway thou dost merit.'

St. Bernardine of Siena

'In Baptism He instills the virtues of faith, hope and charity, and with these other virtues, by which the creature is to co-operate and exert itself toward the pursuit of Good, not only preserving within itself those received in the sacraments, but acquiring others by its own merits and exertions.  This will be the greatest happiness and blessedness of men, that they correspond to the love, which the Creator and Redeemer shows them, adorning their soul and, by the infused habits, familiarizing themselves with the virtuous exercise of their own will.  But the failure to correspond to those inestimable benefits brings on their greatest misfortune, because in this disloyalty consists the first great victory of the demon over man.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, p. 375
(Bk. II, #486)

'The best advice that I can give you is this. Church traditions -- especially when they do not run counter to the Faith -- are to be observed in the form in which previous generations have handed them down.'

St. Jerome, Epistulae, lxxi.6

'Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.'

1 John 2:15

If anyone should say that the true Church is not one body in itself, but consists of varied and diverse societies of Christian name, and is spread out among them, or that various societies disagreeing among themselves in profession of faith and separated by communion, constitute, as members or parts, the one and universal Church of Christ, let him be anathema.

- Vatican Council (1870), Canon IV

'See ye that I alone am, and there is no other God beside Me: I will kill and I will make to live: I will strike and I will heal, and there is none that can deliver out of My Hand.'

Deuteronomy 32:39

'The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary to one another.

And they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with its vices and concupiscences.'

Galatians 5:17,24

Latinis potius literis erudiantur, quam ut facultas concedatur, adhibendi in Missae celebratione vulgarem linguam [Let them rather learn Latin letters, than that the faculty be conceded of using the vulgar tongue in the celebration of Mass].

- Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758), De Missa Sacrificio, 1.2, c. 2. n. 14

Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems.

- Saint Anthony (ca. 251-356)

Justice forbids and reason itself forbids that the State should be godless, or that it should adopt a line of action which would end in godlessness -- namely, to treat the various religions (as they call them) alike, and to bestlow upon them promiscuously equal rights and privileges.... Yet, with the discernment of a true mother, the Church weighs the great burden of human weakness, and well knows the course down which the minds and actions of men in this are being borne. For this reason, while not conceding any right to anything save what is true and honest, she does not forbid public authority to tolerate what is at variance with truth and justice, for the sake of avoiding greater ills.... But to judge aright, we must acknowledge that the more a State is driven to tolerate evil, the further it is from perfection.

- Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), Encyclical Libertas Praestantissimum, June 1888

To use the words of the fathers of the Council of Trent, it is certain that the Church "was instructed by Jesus Christ and His Apostles and that all truth was daily taught by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost." Therefore, it is obviously absurd and injurious to propose a certain "restoration and regeneration" for her as though necessary for her safety and growth, as if she could be considered subject to defect or obscuration or other misfortune. Indeed these authors of novelties consider that a "foundation may be laid of a new human institution," and what St. Cyprian detested may come to pass, that what was a divine thing "may become a human church."

- Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846), Mirari Vos, "On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism," August 15, 1832

The fort is betrayed even of them that should have defended it.

- St. John Fisher, 16th-century English bishop

'To be removed from things of the senses is to contemplate things of the spirit.'

St. John Climacus

'We do not acquire virtue by taking our ease and seeking our comfort.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

Very true, but when we are very sick it would be most imprudent not to attend to the needs of our body.

Just so, you have to think of the long term!

'Nothing will draw down on you as many of God's blessings as fidelity in small matters.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

'Let us now return to our orchard, or flower-garden, and behold now how the trees begin to fill with sap for the bringing forth of the blossoms, and then of the fruit -- the flowers and the plants, also, their fragrance. This illustration pleases me; for very often, when I was beginning -- and our Lord grant that I have really begun to serve His Majesty -- I mean, begun in relation to what I have to say of my life, -- it was to me a great joy to consider my soul as a garden, and our Lord as walking in it. I used to beseech Him to increase the fragrance of the little flowers of virtues -- which were beginning, as it seemed to bud -- and preserve them, that they might be to His glory; for I desired nothing for myself. I prayed Him to cut those He liked, because I already knew that they would grow the better.'

St. Teresa of Avila

'Our sweet Christ, the Word Incarnate, has given Himself to us for everything that was necessary for us, even to the hard and ignominious death upon the cross.'

St. Philip Neri

'Do whatever your flesh can endure; neither force it beyond measure nor on the other hand abandon it to slackness; for if you load a ship beyond its usual burden, it will readily be sunk by its weight, but if on the contrary you leave it too light, it is easily overturned by the winds. By the grace of God, brother, I understand my natural capacity and know how to regulate my food.'

St. Daniel the Stylite

'Jesus expires on the cross! He is dead that we may have life. All creation mourns: the sun darkens, the earth trembles, the rocks burst, and the veil of the temple is rent in twain; my heart alone remains harder than a rock!'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Jews, heretics or heathens, belong not to God's friendship but to this world's peace. But the peace of the spiritual and of Catholics coming down from above and leading upwards refuses to hold communion with the lovers of the world, resists all obstacles and flies from pernicious pleasures to true joys, as the Lord says: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:21)."'

Pope St. Leo the Great

The Church is the only one, the Roman Catholic! And if there were left upon earth but one Catholic, he would be the one, universal Church, the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail.

- Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)

The judgment of God may be compared to a mirror. It is not the mirror's fault if the face it reflects is hideous.

- Saint Jerome

Matters have come to this pass: the people have left their houses of prayer and assembled in the deserts, -- a pitiable sight; women and children, old men, and men otherwise inform, wretchedly faring in the open air, amid most profuse rains and snow-storms and winds and frosts of winter; and again in summer under a scorching sun. To this they submit because they will have no part of the wicked Arian leaven.

- St. Basil the Great (ca. 330-ca. 379), Epistulae 242 (in 376)

We have to look at the reality -- what we really are!

Yes, and we can not blame anyone but ourselves when we see our ugliness in the mirror.  It is not God's or anyone else's fault that we do not appear in the mirror as beautiful, patient, docile saints.  Nobody--not even the devil--can cause us to sin or to be unfaithful and uncharitable; we ourselves are the cause.  God bless you.

'There is no doubt that, if man could perceive the many difficulties thrown by self-love in the way of his own good, he would no longer allow himself to be deceived by it; and its malignity is the more to be dreaded because it is so powerful that were but one grain of it in the world would be sufficient to corrupt all mankind. Wherefore I conclude that self-love is the root of all evils which exist in this world and in the other. Behold Lucifer, whose present state is the result of following the suggestions of his self-love; and in ourselves it seems to me even worse. Our father Adam has so contaminated us that to my eyes the evil appears almost incurable, for it so penetrates our veins, our nerves, our bones, that we can neither say nor think nor do anything which is not full of the poison of this love - not even those thoughts and deeds which are directed toward the purification of the spirit.'

St. Catherine of Genoa

'Even the holiest desires, whether they refer to the salvation of souls or the needs of the Church, which are very great, should be consumed in the fire of the love of God, whence they proceed, and await God's time for their fulfilment. Meanwhile cultivate one only desire, the most perfect of all; that is, to please God more and more, and to nourish yourself with His will.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'Behold the King of heaven, who, hanging on that gibbet, is now on the point of giving up the ghost. Let us, too, ask of him, with the prophet: What are those wounds in the middle of Thy hands? Tell me, O my Jesus, what are these wounds in the middle of Thy hands? The Abbot Rupert makes answer for Jesus: "They are the memorials of charity, the price of redemption." They are tokens, says the Redeemer, of the great love which I bear towards you; they are the payment by which I set you free from the hands of your enemies, and from eternal death.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

'The earth under the ancient curse brought forth thorns and thistles; but now the Church beholds it laughing with flowers and restored by the grace of a new benediction. Mindful of the verse, "My heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise Him", she refreshes herself with the fruits of His Passion which she gathers from the Tree of the Cross, and with the flowers of His Resurrection whose fragrance invites the frequent visits of her Spouse.'

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

'Brethren and fathers, at Christ's resurrection creation too, putting away its winter gloom, like a deadness puts out fresh shoots and as it were comes to life again. And yes, we see the earth wearing green, the plants flourishing, the animals skipping around, the sea tamed and everything being changed for the better.

But I must explain why I have said this. If inanimate and irrational creatures are made radiant and lovely by the resplendent resurrection, how much more ought we, who have been honoured with reason and the image of God, make ourselves bright by our life and give off sweet fragrance by the spirit. For one who strives after virtue is truly the sweet fragrance of Christ, and the Apostle bears witness to this when he says, For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ for God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing, for the latter a scent of death leading to death, for the former an scent of life leading to life [2 Cor. 2,15-16].'

St. Theodore the Studite (A.D. 759 - 826)

'According to the degree to which the intellect is stripped of the passions, the Holy Spirit initiates the intellect into the mysteries of the age to be.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

I wonder if, before before Christ rose from the dead, spring was perceived by us descendants of Abraham,as beautiful as we see it now, or if Christ rose from the dead in spring because it is such a beautiful time of the year?

It makes me think of the hope and anticipation of the faithful few, the portion of the people who understood to a degree the prophecies predicting Our Lord and Saviour.  Anticipating a Saviour from their sins.. A new Spring a new life..

'My dearest Saviour, Thou art the King of Heaven, the King of kings, the Son of God; and how is it, then, that I see Thee in this cave, forsaken by all? I see no one assisting Thee but Joseph and Thy holy Mother.
I desire to unite myself also to them in keeping Thee company.'
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

How one wishes to keep such holy company in such solitude!

'Unless a man acquires, through the grace of Christ, knowledge of the truth and fear of God, he is gravely wounded not only by the passions but also by the things that happen to him.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'If you say, "Show me your God," I will say to you, "Show me what kind of person you are, and I will show you my God." Show me then whether the eyes of your mind can see, and the ears of your heart hear.

It is like this. Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect. The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind in their capacity to hear or see God.

God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the light of the sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds.

A person's soul should be clean, like a mirror reflecting light. If there is rust on the mirror his face cannot be seen in it. In the same way, no one who has sin within him can see God.'

St. Theophilus of Antioch

           In The Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 1 Verse 7 states:     
           Of the angels he says;     
           He makes his angels winds     
           and his ministers a fiery flame.   
 
            :tinyangel: :littlewings: :thrones: :angelblue: :angelyellow: :cherubim: :seraphim: :littlewings: :thrones: :angelblue:

Inspiring to think of!  :angelyellow: :cherubim: :seraphim: :cherubim: :angelyellow:

Beautiful!

"Lord, shed upon our darkened souls the brilliant light of your wisdom so that we may be enlightened, and serve you with renewed purity."
St. Ephraim

A beautiful quote my friend! A prayer to keep ahold of!

'Yes, the priest stands at the altar, the priest stands there and makes a long supplication, not in order that fire from heaven may consume the things that lie to open view, but that grace, lighting on the Sacrifice, may thereby in flame the souls of all, and show them brighter than silver purified in the fire. Art thou ignorant that the soul of man could never bear this fire of the Sacrifice, but that all would be utterly consumed, were not the aid of the grace of God abundant? For if one would but consider how great a thing it is for a mortal, and one still clothed with flesh and blood, to be enabled to be nigh to that blessed and immortal nature, he would then see how great an honor the grace of the Spirit has vouchsafed to priests.'

St. John Chrysostom

We should never lose sight that the priest represents our Lord Jesus Christ and deserves much respect and honor from us.  To me there is no person on earth more beautiful and noble that a validly ordained priest who is faithful to God and to his vocation.  God bless you!  

There is nothing like the Holy Sacrifice of Our Lord.

Nothing at all!

"...t is not allowable for anyone to produce another faith, that is, to write or to compose or to consider or to teach others; those who dare to compose another faith, or to support or to teach or to hand on another creed to those who wish to turn to knowledge of the truth, whether from Hellenism or Judaism or indeed from any heresy whatsoever, or to introduce novelty of speech, that is, invention of terms, so as to overturn what has now been defined by us, such persons, if they are bishops or clerics, are deprived of their episcopacy or clerical rank, and if they are monks or layfolk they are excommunicated."
--Pope St. Leo II, Third Council of Constantinople (681)

"The declared enemies of God and His Church, heretics and schismatics, must be criticized as much as possible, as long as truth is not denied. It is a work of charity to shout: 'Here is the wolf!' when it enters the flock or anywhere else."
--St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 29

"In the Third Secret [of Fatima] it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top."
--Mario L. Ciappi, Novus Ordo cardinal and household theologian to John Paul II; quoted in The Devil's Final Battle, p. 33

"The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles to have expired. But, after this, she will be victoriously exalted in the sight of all doubters."
--St. Nicholas of Flue, in Catholic Prophecy, edited by Yves Dupont, p. 30

                 In The Book of Psalms, Psalm 36 Verse 8-9 states:   
                   
                 How precious is your love, O God!   
                 We take refuge in the shadow of your wings.     
                 We feast on the rich food of your house;   
                 from your delightful stream you give us drink.   
   
                  :angelyellow: :cherubim: :thrones: :angelyellow: :cherubim: :thrones: :angelblue: :angelblue:

A beautiful and refreshing verse to hear CyrilSebastian!


'HAVE no emulation toward the malignant: neither envy them that do iniquity.

Because they shall quickly wither as grass: and as the blossoms of herbs they shall soon fall.

Hope in our Lord and do good: and inhabit the land, and thou shalt be fed in the riches thereof.

Be delighted in our Lord: and he will give thee the petitions of thy heart.

Reveal thy way to our Lord, and hope in him: and he will do it.

And he will bring forth thy justice as light: and thy judgment as midday: be subject to our Lord, and pray him.

Psalm 36:1-7

[36 in the traditional numbering, the previous then 35]

              The Letter to the Colossians, Chapter 3 Verse 9-10 states:   
              Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices     
                and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.

'Holy Scripture tells us that whoever gives in to temptation will perish. Never fear temptation: it is useful and necessary to us. I must arm myself with prayer and have complete trust in Our Lord and great mistrust of myself. I must face every trial with profound humility and blind, simple, happy obedience.

Jesus crucified is my model. I must work tirelessly to be like him. I should not longer allow myself to be sad about anything other than offending him or having nothing to suffer for him, for love of him.'

St. Bernadette Soubirous

'For we are the children of the saints, and look for that life which God will give to those that never change their faith from him.'

Tobias 2:18

            In The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 29 Verse 5 states:   
   
             The man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net under his feet.

Amen amen.

'Your name will be written in this Sacred Heart in indelible characters.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'Let us hasten with joy and trepidation to the noble contest and with no fear of our enemies. They are themselves unseen but they can look at the appearance of our soul. If they are really to see our spirits bowed down by fear, then indeed they will make a harsher sally against us, knowing how much we tremble. Let us courageously arm ourselves against them. No one goes to battle against a plucky fighter.'

St. John Climacus

'It is characteristic of God and His angels to bring to the soul, when they occupy it, true happiness and spiritual joy; and to drive from it the sadness and trials which the enemy incites in it.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

'He who is not attracted by worldly things cherishes stillness. He who loves nothing merely human loves all men. And he who takes no offence at anyone either on account of their faults, or on account of his own suspicious thoughts, has knowledge of God and of things divine.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

             In The Book of Psalms, Psalm 23, Verse 3-4 state:   
             you restore my strength.     
             You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name.   
             Even when I walk through a dark valley,       
             I fear no harm for you are at my side;       
             Your rod and staff give me courage.   
 
               :swordfight: :swordfight: :swordfight: :swordfight: :swordfight: :swordfight: :swordfight:

A favorite psalm!

'What is meritorious is not that a man should be poor, but that, being poor, he should love poverty.'

St. Vincent Ferrer

'Blessed the one who has become fruitful in the Lord, that he may have the holy Angels as guardians, as a fruitful tree has its own husbandman as guardian.'

St. Ephrem of Syria

'The divine Heart of Jesus must be so entirely substituted for our own, that He alone may live and act in us and for us; His Will must so annihilate ours that it may have absolute freedom to act without any resistance on our part; in fact, His affections, thoughts and desires must take the place of ours: thus He will love Himself with His own love in us and for us.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was Ancient of Days took His seat; His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was like fiery flames, its wheels were like a burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.'

Daniel 7:9-10

              Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him;     
              It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord.     
 
             The Book of Lamentations: Chapter 3 Verse 25-26

Amen.

'In vain will our sacred discourses strike the external ear, unless God by a spiritual gift opens the hearing of the interior man.'

St. Fulgentius of Ruspe

" it is good to hope in silence for the saving help of The Lord"

Amen brother!

'The whole life of religious Orders depends upon the preservation of their first spirit.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

             He made me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.           
             He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me.     
   
             The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 49 Verse 2

'Who will give water to my head, and to mine eyes a fountain of tears? and I will weep day & night for the slain of the daughter of my people.'

Prophecy of Jeremie 9:1

'We must keep the eye of faith fixed on Jesus Christ who climbs the hill of Calvary loaded with his Cross, and as he toils painfully up the steep slope of Golgotha we should see him followed by an immense throng of souls carrying their own crosses and treading the same path. Oh, what a beautiful sight this is. Let us fix our mental gaze firmly on it. We see close behind Jesus our most holy Mother, who follows him perfectly, loaded with her own cross. Then comes the Apostles, Martyrs, Doctors, Virgins and Confessors. . . Jesus himself, despite all our unworthiness, has associated us with this beautiful company. We must make every effort to merge ourselves increasingly in these ranks and hasten with them along the road to Calvary. We should look to the end of the journey and not separate ourselves from this fine company; we must refuse to follow any other way than the one they tread.'

St. Padre Pio

A truly stirring quote!

'Say frequently and from your heart, "O holy will of God, I love thee; the food of my Jesus was to do the will of the eternal Father; it shall be my food also ever to do His will."'

St. Paul of the Cross

'So great is the goodness of God in your regard, that when you ask through ignorance for that which is not beneficial, He does not grant your prayer in this matter, but gives you something better instead.'

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

How infinitely great is the goodness of God!  :D

             Psalm 71, Verse 7 states:     
                       I have become a portent to many,   
                       but you are my strong refuge!

A refuge!

'We meet with contradictions everywhere. If only two persons are together they mutually afford each other opportunities of exercising patience, and even when one is alone there will still be a necessity for this virtue, so true it is that our miserable life is full of crosses.'

St. Vincent de Paul

'Be steadfast, Christian giver: give what you may receive, sow what you may reap, scatter what you may gather. Fear not to spend, sigh not over the doubtfulness of the gain. Your substance grows when it is wisely dispensed. Set your heart on the profits due to mercy, and traffic in eternal gains. Your Recompenser wishes you to be munificent, and He who gives that you may have, commands you to spend, saying, "Give, and it shall be given to you." You must thankfully embrace the conditions of this promise. For although you have nothing that you did not receive, yet you cannot fail to have what you give.'

Pope St. Leo the Great

                 So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;   
                 but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.     
 
                 The Second Letter to Timothy: Chapter 1, Verse 8

'I saw the Son of Man, and he said to me, "Have no fear! I am the First and the Last. I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld."'

Apocalypse 1:17-18

'No more of the world, no more of the world.'

St. Camillus de Lellis

'Model your hearts on that of the divine Infant, that He may vivify you, encourage you, inflame you, sanctify you, render you capable of doing great things for the glory of God; and may the holy Virgin keep you pure with the precious balm of her virtues! Amen.'

St. Paul of the Cross

Amen !
A good quote to read when you wake in the morning......

Let's stick to the saints my friend.

'The spirit of the world is restless and eager to do all things; leave that spirit alone.'

St. Vincent de Paul

'Each degree of prayer presupposes a purification.'

St. Paul of the Cross

'If thou remainest faithful to Me, I will never forsake thee. . . I forgive thy ignorance, because, as yet, thou dost not know Me; but, if thou art faithful to Me and followest Me, I will teach thee to know Me, and I will reveal Myself to thee.'

The Lord, to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'How earnestly do I desire, if I were able, to celebrate thee, O Patience, queen of all things!

But by my life and manners more than by my words. For thou restest in thy own action and council more than in discourses, and in perfecting rather than in multiplying virtues. Thou art the support of virginity, the secure harbor of widowhood, the guide and directress of the married state, the unanimity of friendship, the comfort and joy of slavery, to which thou art often liberty. By thee, poverty enjoys all, because, content with itself, it bears all. By thee, the prophets were advanced in virtue, and the apostles united to Christ. Thou art the daily crown and mother of the martyrs. Thou art the bulwark of faith, the fruit of hope, and the friend of charity. Thou conductest all the people and all divine virtues, and dishevelled hairs bound up into one knot, for ornament and honor. Happy, eternally happy, is he who shall always possess thee in his soul.'

St. Zeno

'If, as Scripture teaches, everything involuntary has its cause in what is voluntary, man has no greater enemy than himself.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

               Ephesians 1: 3 states:     
               Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ     
               with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the     
               formation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.

Thank you, that is one of my favorite quotes.  Wouldn't it be nice if we all opened our correspondences, emails, tweets, etc. with blessings and thanksgivings to God for all That He has given and continues to give us.

We need to make our ways of speaking and conversation Christian and toss off the dust of the world's method!  :D

'There are two cries in man, the cry of the angel and the cry of the beast. The cry of the angel is prayer; the cry of the beast is sin. Those who do not pray, stoop towards the earth, like a mole trying to make a hole to hide itself in. They are all earthly, all brutish, and think of nothing but temporal things, . . . like that miser who was receiving the last Sacraments the other day; when they gave him a silver crucifix to kiss, he said, "That cross weighs a full ten ounces." If. . . the poor lost souls, notwithstanding their sufferings, could worship, there would be no more Hell. Alas! they had a heart to love God with, a tongue to bless Him with; that was their destiny. And now they are condemned to curse Him through all eternity. . .'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'If we find nothing in the world to please us, we ought to be pleased by this very not finding anything to please us.'

St. Philip Neri

                  The Book of Hosea: Chapter 10 Verse 12         
   
                  "Sow for yourselves justice,     
                  reap the fruit of piety;     
                  Break up for yourselves a new field,     
                  for it is time to seek the Lord,     
                  till he come and rain down justice upon you."       
 
                   :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons:

'The proof that a man does not love God and His Christ lies in the fact that He does not keep His commandments.'

St. Basil the Great

'St. Augustin says heresies are embraced only by those who, had they persevered in the faith, would be lost by the irregularity of their lives.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Note -- Corrected the last quote.

This is a prayer instead of a quote:

St. Dominic


Beloved Father Dominic, you followed in the footsteps of the poor Christ as a humble "watchdog of the Lord" preaching by day and praying by night.  Like Jesus, you converted sinners, healed the sick and raised the dead to life.  To teach sound doctrine you founded an order of preachers and doctors.  To exemplify heroic charity and self-sacrifice you raided up an army of martyrs.  To perpetuate prayer in the Church you raised up a legion of cloistered nuns.  Gentle Father, obtain for me the grace to live and die a loyal, practicing Catholic and grant me the favor I now ask
(name petition).
 Good Father Dominic, help me!

St. Dominic, help us!  :crucifix:

'Even if the whole universe holds communion with the Patriarch, I will not communicate with him. For I know from the writings of the holy Apostle Paul: the Holy Spirit declares that even angels would be anathema (Galatians 1:8) if they should begin to preach another Gospel, introducing some new teaching.'

St. Maximus the Confessor

'Pray with great confidence, with confidence based upon the goodness and infinite generosity of God and upon the promises of Jesus Christ. God is a spring of living water which flows unceasingly into the hearts of those who pray.'

St. Louis Marie de Montfort

I have a question for folks.

What sort of confidence is good confidence and what sort is presumption?

Confidence based upon the goodness and infinite generosity of God and the promises of Jesus Christ is good confidence.  Confidence not based on these things but on what we are unworthy of or on what is not due to us is presumption.

Thank you Therese that answer is quite helpful to me!  :D

You are very welcome, Shin!  If we look up the word presumption, we might even come up with a more helpful answer than the one I gave you.  God bless you!

'When the intellect associates with evil and sordid thoughts it loses its intimate communion with God.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

'Every one should try to have his heart always occupied and filled with God, to love Him and think of Him only, and whether alone or with others never to be out of His presence.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

               In The Book of Sirach, Chapter 4 Verse 15 states:     
               He who obeys her judges nations;   
               he who hearkens to her dwells in her inmost chambers.     
 
               The her refers to Wisdom.

May the Lord grant us wisdom!

'Let us believe in our son, and let him be our father for heaven.'

St. Gladys, to St. Gwynllyw of their son St. Cadoc

Let us pray for our parents!

'I began gradually to like the good and holy conversation of this nun. How well she used to speak of God! for she was a person of great discretion and sanctity. I listened to her with delight. I think there never was a time when I was not glad to listen to her. She began by telling me how she came to be a nun through the mere reading of the words of the Gospel "Many are called, and few are chosen." She would speak of the reward which our Lord gives to those who forsake all things for His sake. This good companionship began to root out the habits which bad companionship had formed, and to bring my thoughts back to the desire of eternal things, as well as to banish in some measure the great dislike I had to be a nun, which had been very great; and if I saw any one weep in prayer, or devout in any other way, I envied her very much; for my heart was now so hard, that I could not shed a tear, even if I read the Passion through. This was a grief to me.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

                In The Book of Sirach, Chapter 42 Verse 21 states:     
                Perennial is his almighty wisdom;     
                he is from all eternity one and the same,     
                with nothing added, nothing taken away;   
                no need of a counselor for him!       
 :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons: :littlepigeons:   
   
                 
 

'If someone praises you hypocritically, be sure that in due course he will vilify you.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'Let every knee bend before Thee, O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host. May every heart love Thee, every spirit adore Thee and every will be subject to Thee.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'For all flesh is as grass; and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel hath been preached unto you.'

1 Peter 1:24-25

'Even when nothing is going wrong, be ready for affliction; and since you will have to give an account, do not make extortionate demands.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'O most merciful heart of my Jesus, accept each of my tears, every cry of pain, as a plea for those who suffer, for those who weep, for those who forget you.'

St. Bernadette Soubirous

'We fully realize that Our sacred duty is to labor unceasingly that Our beloved sons may preserve the Catholic teaching unadulterated and unimpaired, in no way allowing their Faith to be endangered.

If they are not in time urged to be on guard, they would obviously, gradually and inadvertently, fall into the danger of being satisfied with a vague and indefinite form of the Christian religion which has lately been designated as intercredal. This amounts to nothing more than an empty recommendation of a generalized Christianity. Obviously, nothing is more contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ.'

Pope St. Pius X

          The Letter of Saint James, Chapter 2 Verse 1 states:             
           My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, let us keep from partiality as we adhere to the faith and keep from human respect.    

'When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.'

St. Basil the Great