Quote for the Night

[Shin]

'Women and priests have to be as distant from each other as two opposite poles, if not in actual distance apart, at least in heart and will. Let women come to the church, to the confessional, if they have need of a priest; let them meet outside these places, if it is necessary; but let it be as rarely as possible and with proper precaution; for the rest, let them keep their own places and look after their own business; and when a necessity to speak occurs let the priest remember: Sermo brevis cum mulieribus et rigidus est habendus, and as Saint Bonaventure says: "let thy conversation be dignified and serious".'

St. Joseph Cafasso, 'The Priest, The Man Of God, His Dignity and Duties'

[Shin]

'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

[Shin]

'By assisting them we shall not only give great pleasure to God, but will acquire also great merit for ourselves. And, in return for our suffrages, these blessed souls will not neglect to obtain for us many graces from God, but particularly the grace of eternal life. I hold for certain that a soul delivered from Purgatory by the suffrages of a Christian, when she enters paradise, will not fail to say to God: "Lord, do not suffer to be lost that person who has liberated me from the prison of Purgatory, and has brought me to the enjoyment of Thy glory sooner than I have deserved."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'I had a father and mother, who were devout and feared God.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'I think He intends to try you like gold in the crucible, so as to number you amongst His most faithful servants. Therefore you must lovingly embrace all occasions of suffering, considering them as precious tokens of His love. To suffer in silence and without complaint is what He asks of you.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'In everything that we do God searches out our purpose to see whether we do it for Him or for some other motive.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

[Shin]

'Yet where I am, there you are too, and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.'

St. John Chrysostom

[Shin]

'Virtue and holiness of life are not only all-powerful, or at least very powerful with God, but also with men.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Shin]

'He who remains in sin and continues to anger God, and who shamelessly strives to understand Divine things and to acquire transubstantial prayer, should remember the warning of the Apostle that it is not without danger for him to pray with head uncovered. In the words of the Apostle, such a soul ought "to have power on her head because of the angels" [1 Corinthians 11:10], having clothed itself in modesty and suitable humility for the sake of those present.'

St. Nilus of Sinai

[Shin]

'O my dear parishioners, let us endeavor to get to heaven! There we shall see God. How happy we shall feel! If the parish is converted we shall go there in procession with the parish priest at the head. . . We must get to heaven! What a pity it would be if some of you were to find yourselves on the other side!'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

[Shin]

'From humility of heart proceed serenity of mind, gentleness of conduct, interior peace, and every good.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Trials come upon us because of our former sins, bringing what is appropriate to each offence.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'May you no longer have any liberty except to love Him. May no other light illumine your soul, no other aim absorb your heart than that of His pure love which keeps Him a prisoner in the Blessed Sacrament. You will ask Him, through the merits of this captivity, to set free His poor prisoners in Purgatory.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'Waste your body with fasting and vigils, and you will repulse the lethal thoughts of pleasure.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'The reading of spiritual works is as profitable as the reading of bad books is noxious. As the former has led to the conversion of many sinners, so the latter is every day the ruin of many young persons. The first author of pious books is the Spirit of God; but the author of pernicious writings is the devil, who often artfully conceals from certain persons the poison that such works contain, and makes these persons believe that the reading of such books is necessary in order to speak well, and to acquire a knowledge of the world for their own direction, or at least in order to pass the time agreeably.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

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

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori