Quote for the Night

[Shin]

'What we do for ourselves during life is more certain than all the good we expect others to do for us after death.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

[Shin]

'Wait upon God with loving and pure attentiveness, working no violence on yourself lest you disturb the soul's peace and tranquility. God will feed your soul with heavenly food since you put no obstacle in His way. The soul in this state must remember that if it is not conscious of making progress, it is making much more than when it was walking on foot, because God Himself is bearing it in His arms. Although outwardly it is doing nothing, it is in reality doing more than if it were working, since God is doing the work within it. And it is not remarkable that the soul does not see this, for our senses cannot perceive what God does in the soul. . . if the soul stays in God's care it will certainly make progress.'

St. John of the Cross

[Shin]

'Let us keep ourselves humble until God Himself will raise us up. Oh, when God wishes to raise up a soul, what gentle violence He uses! I say gentle, but it is so strong that the soul cannot resist it.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'We must submit to the Will of God and kiss the hand that strikes us, for we know it is better to suffer in this life than in the next, since one moment of suffering willingly accepted for the love of God, is worth an eternity of happiness.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'Many human activities, good in themselves, are not good because of the motive for which they are done. For example, fasting and vigils, prayer and psalmody, acts of charity and hospitality are by nature good, but when performed for the sake of self-esteem they are not good.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

[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]

'The errors of others, the portion left our poor humanity, should serve to keep us from adding any of ours to them.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Shin]

'People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is they love more than the truth. They love truth when it shines warmly on them, and hate it when it rebukes them.'

St. Augustine

[Shin]

'The only true riches are those that make us rich in virtue. Therefore, if you want to be rich, beloved, love true riches. If you aspire to the heights of real honor, strive to reach the kingdom of Heaven. If you value rank and renown, hasten to be enrolled in the heavenly court of the Angels.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

[Shin]

'Blessed the one who has become long-suffering and compassionate and not become the slave of the barbarian, I mean anger and evil wrath, for such a one will be exalted by the Lord.'

St. Ephrem of Syria

[Shin]

'There is an anger which is engendered of evil, and there is an anger engendered of good. Hastiness of temper is the cause of the evil, divine principle is the cause of the good, such as that which Phinees felt when he allayed God's anger by the use of his own sword.'

Pope St. Gregory the Great

[Shin]

'The dissolute man is sold to many masters and lives his life in whatever way they lead him. Such a man will treat you as a friend in the time of peace, but in the time of trial he will fight you as an enemy. When his passions are quiescent, he will lay down his life for you; when they are roused, he will take it back again.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'She was without the taste of devotion to such an extent that everything seemed beyond her, and many years passed before she could recover the taste for prayer.'

St. Catherine of Bologna

[Shin]

'Neither did I care to read newspapers, for I should prefer to read a chapter of the Holy Bible wherein I know for sure that what I read is true. In newspapers, as a general rule, one finds only a great deal of lies and useless reading.'

St. Anthony Mary Claret

[Shin]

'Lord, if thou knowest that I shall find, on leaving the house, even through obedience, an occasion of offending Thee, I conjure thee to take away my life here, where Thou art really present, for Thou soley art my life, and I prefer a thousand deaths to causing Thee the slightest displeasure.'

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

[Shin]

'There are many things which seem to us misfortunes and which we call such; but if we understood the designs of God we would call them graces.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori