Quote for the Night

[Shin]

'Look at that clever calumniator! He begins by fetching a deep sigh, he affects to be humble, and puts on a modest look, and with a voice choking with sobs tries to gloss over the slander which is on the tip of his tongue. One would fancy that he expressly assumed a calm and easy demeanor; for when he speaks against his brother, it is in a tender and compassionate tone. I am really hurt, says he, to find that our brother has fallen into such a sin; you all know how much I love him, and how often I have tried to correct him. It is not today that I have noticed his failing; for I should always be on my guard to speak of others, but others have spoken of it too. It would be in vain to disguise the fact; it is only too true, and with tears in my eyes I tell it to you. This poor unfortunate brother has talent, but it must be confessed that he is very guilty, and however great may be our friendship for him, it is impossible to excuse him.'

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

[Shin]

'There is more value in a little study of humility and in a single act of it than in all the knowledge in the world.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'Anyone who does not give up all he has, cannot be my disciple.'

Luke 14:33

[Shin]

'The dispassion taught by the God of truth is a noble quality; through it He fulfils the aspirations of the devout soul.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'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

[Shin]

'We are not the masters of our bodies; God is; therefore we cannot all practice corporal mortification in the same degree.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Shin]

'It is better to pray devoutly for your neighbor than to rebuke him every time he sins.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'When in His compassion for man the Logos became flesh, He changed neither what He was nor what He became.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'But the Lord had given her such a living faith that when she heard some person saying they would have liked to have lived at the time Christ our Good walked in the world, she used to laugh to herself. She wondered what more they wanted since in the most Blessed Sacrament they had Him just as truly present as He was then.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'What dost thou fear, since I have answered for thee and made Myself thy surety?'

The Lord, to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'My trials are great! However, "although God should kill me, I will trust in Him." (Job xiii. 15.) What ought a poor shipwrecked person do when in the midst of furious billows and on the point of being engulfed? I have no other resource left but to turn my eyes to the Lord.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Let us have no further reserve with Him; let us abandon to Him all that we are, without anxiety about the future, not reflecting on ourselves and our incapacity.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'The dogmas of the fathers are despised; apostolical traditions are set at nought; the discoveries of innovators hold sway in the Churches. Men have learned to be speculatists instead of theologians. The wisdom of the world has the place of honour, having dispossed the glorying in the Cross. The pastors are driven away, grievous wolves are brought in instead, and plunder the flock of Christ. Houses of prayer are destitute of preachers; the deserts are full of mourners: the aged sorrow, comparing what is with what was; more pitiable the young, as not knowing what they are deprived of.

What has been said is sufficient to kindle the sympathy of those who are taught in the love of Christ, yet, compared with the facts, it is far from reaching their gravity.'

St. Basil the Great

[Shin]

'It is impossible, to the human mind, to comprehend that infinite, eternal, immense Being; all that we can understand of Him in this life is nothing in comparison to the reality.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'The Egypt of the spirit is the darkness of the passions; no one goes down to Egypt unless he is overtaken by famine.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'Let him who is in desolation consider how the Lord has left him in trial in his natural powers, in order to resist the different agitations and temptations of the enemy; since he can with the Divine help, which always remains to him, though he does not clearly perceive it: because the Lord has taken from him his great fervor, great love and intense grace, leaving him, however, grace enough for eternal salvation.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola, 'Spiritual Exercises'