Quote for the Night

[Shin]

'Just as water falling a drop at a time onto the fire in the end puts it out, so tears of sincere sorrow damp down in us the flame of anger and contempt. Then gentleness arrives, a deep tranquility of soul, which is untroubled either by honors or by ridicule.'

St. John Climacus

[Shin]

'It seems to me that I am awaiting a thousand years the happiness of going to my God, my supreme good.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'As bread is food for the body and virtue is food for the soul, so spiritual prayer is food for the mind.'

St. Nilus of Sinai

[Shin]

'And as Adam opposed his own will to the divine will, so we must seek to have the will of God as our only object, and by it to have our own disposed and annihilated. And as we cannot by ourselves discover our own evil inclinations, and our secret self-love, nor possibly annihilate our own self-will, it is very useful to subject our will to that of some other creature, and to do its bidding for the love of God. And the more we so subject ourselves for that divine love, so much the more shall we emancipate ourselves from that evil plague of our self-will which is so subtle and hidden within us, and works in so many ways, and defends itself by so many pleas that it is like the very demon. What it cannot effect in one way, it does in another, and this under many disguises. . . It is an abyss, so deep and dangerous, that no one but God can save us from it.'

St. Catherine of Genoa

[Shin]

'When we compare our condition with that of our brethren in India, I cannot see that ours is a hard lot.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Shin]

'God the Logos, in becoming incarnate while remaining unchanged, was united through His flesh with the whole of creation.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'Let us submit to the orders of our Sovereign Master, and confess that -- in spite of all that seems harsh and distressing -- He is good and just in all He does and that He has a right at all times to our praise and love.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'The mark of dispassion is true discrimination; for one who has attained the state of dispassion does all things with discrimination and according to measure and rule.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'The things that we love tell us what we are.'

St. Thomas Aquinas

[Shin]

'Our enemy the devil, who fights with us in order to vanquish us, seeks to disunite us in our houses, and to breed quarrels, dislikes, contests, and rivalries, because while we are fighting with each other, he comes and conquers us, and makes us more securely his own.'

St. Philip Neri

[Shin]

'"Walk before Me and be perfect." (Gen. xvii. i.) Let everything recall to you the presence of God. If, for example, you go into the garden and see some flowers, ask one of them. What are you? It will not reply, I am a flower. No, but it will say to you, Ego vox - I am a preacher; I preach the power, the wisdom, the goodness, the beauty, the prudence of our great God. Imagine that the flower makes you this reply, and let it penetrate your heart and teach you a lesson of divine love.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Nothingness and Infinity: these two words comprise sublime perfection.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'The moment has come for you to keep yourself in interior solitude, and to repose peacefully on the bosom of God. There you will learn to become a saint.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Be diligent in serving the poor. Love the poor, honour them, my children, as you would honor Christ Himself.'

St. Louise de Marillac

[Shin]

'It is not so much good thoughts in the intelligence, as good acts of the will, or holy desires, that unite us to God; and such are the acts that we perform in meditation, acts of humility, confidence, self-sacrifice, resignation, and especially of love and of repentance for our sins. Acts of love, says St. Teresa, are those that keep the soul inflamed with holy love.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'My dear ones, time is always so short. It is a great grace to take care of this sick friar. I must stay with him in his cell. I am glad to do it. I am in excellent health. I am very happy. I perform my religious duties and my work here is not as hard as it was at home. I wish you all the best. We are living in times when every devout soul must shudder. It looks as if the powers of hell were loosed and trying to ruin all that is good and religious. But the Lord is kind and merciful. . . '

St. Conrad of Parzham