Quote for the Night

[Shin]

'One man speaks the truth and is hated for it by the foolish; another speaks hypocritically and for this reason is loved. But in both cases their reward is not long delayed, for at the appropriate moment the Lord renders to each his due.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'If a man reads this or any other work not to gain spiritual benefit but to track down matter with which to abuse the author, so that in his conceit he can show himself to be the more learned, nothing profitable will ever be revealed to him in anything.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

[Shin]

'I have noticed that all persons who have true devotion to St. Joseph and tender him special honor, are very much advanced in virtue, for he takes great care of souls who recommend themselves to him; and I have never asked of him anything which he did not obtain for me.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'Pay no attention to sensible consolations; make of them a sacrifice to God, and never set your heart on them.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'We should honor God in His saints, and beseech Him to make us partakers of the graces He poured so abundantly upon them.'

St. Vincent de Paul

[Shin]

'These persons, I say, make their first attack against the beasts that they have noticed are stronger and fiercer, and when these have been killed they more easily destroy the ones that are left, which are less terrible and less aggressive. Likewise, it is always the case that when the more powerful vices have been overthrown and are succeeded by weaker ones we shall obtain a perfect victory without any hardship.'

St. John Cassian

[Shin]

'. . . let us hold fast to love of him, hating and rightly turning away from the devil. For as our benefactor is loved and cherished in proportion to his benefactions, so the wicked one should be hated and rejected for his ways in equal proportion. For he is the destroyer of our life. In the words of the Master, he is a murderer from the beginning [John 8:44]. He is the one who has divided our race into ten thousand opinions, wounding it with many darts of sin and seeking to swallow down the inhabited world. If we do not hate him, there will be no escaping the punishment that will be meted out to us, because we joined to our foe and murderer. But, my brothers, let us fly from him! Let us fly most certainly. What is flight? The avoidance of wicked actions and thoughts, and also affinity with God, the assumption of good works.'

St. Theodore the Studite

[Shin]

'Be assured that one great means to find favor when we appear before God is to have pardoned the injuries we have received here below.'

Ven. Louis de Granada

[Shin]

'The Abbot must take the utmost pains, and strive with all prudence and zeal, that none of the flock entrusted to him perish. For the Abbot must know that he has taken upon himself the care of infirm souls, not a despotism over the strong; and let him fear the threat of the Prophet wherein the Lord saith: "What ye saw to be fat, that ye took to yourselves, and what was diseased you threw away" (Ezek. 34:3-4). And let him follow the loving example of the Good Shepherd, who, leaving the ninety-nine sheep on the mountains, went to seek the one that had gone astray, on whose weakness He had such pity, that He was pleased to lay it on His sacred shoulders and thus carry it back to the fold (cf Lk 15:5).'

St. Benedict

[Shin]

'The solitary life is indeed a school of heavenly learning, a training in divine arts. There all that we learn is God; He is the way by which we proceed and through which we come to a knowledge of the highest truth.'

St. Peter Damian

[Shin]

'May He teach you what He desires of you, and may He give you the strength to accomplish it perfectly! If I am not mistaken this, in a few words, is what I think He chiefly requires of you: He wishes that you should learn to live without support--without a friend--and without satisfaction. In proportion as you ponder over these words, He will help you to understand them.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'As a fiery light shone in the night's darkness upon those wandering in the desert, so those who dwell in the spiritual monasteries are often lightened by the rays of a supernal light, which dispels the darkness of fleshly passions and bathes them in the brilliance of inward contemplation.'

St. Peter Damian

[Shin]

'It is so natural for people to seek pleasure in eating and drinking that Saint Paul, teaching early Christians to perform all their actions for the love and glory of God, is obliged to mention eating and drinking specifically, for it is difficult to eat without offending God. Most people eat like animals to satisfy their appetite.'

St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle

[Shin]

'Try to convince yourself that there is no crime-laden sinner but would have served God better than you. . . if he had received the same graces.'

St. Vincent Ferrer

[Shin]

'This fair and pure Virgin-Mother renders all her servants chaste and pure.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'Words of truth converted the "progeny of vipers" and warned them "to flee from the anger to come" (Matt. 3:7).'

St. Mark the Ascetic