Quote for the Day

[Shin]

'Suppose that you had fallen into the river, and that a charitable person threw himself into the water to save you. What would you say to such kindness? Moreover, suppose that, hardly drawn from the water, you had been attacked by assassins, and that your rescuer again came to your assistance, and saved your life at the risk of his own. What would you do in return for such friendship? It is certain that you would do all in your power to heal the bruises he received on your account. So ought we to act towards Christ: we must contemplate Him engulfed in an ocean of sorrows to save us from the eternal abyss; consider Him all covered with wounds and bruises to purchase for us eternal life. Then let us make His pains our own, sympathize with His sorrows, and consecrate to Him all our affections.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Accept afflictions with patience. Silently endure cold and heat, wind and rain, fatigue and all the other discomforts that God may deign to send you.'

St. John Bosco

[Shin]

'It never was, is, or shall be lawful for Catholic Christians to teach any doctrine except that which they have received once and for all time; and it always was, is, and shall be their duty to condemn those who do.'

St. Vincent of Lerins

[Shin]

'When a man knows how to break down his own will and to deny his soul what it desires, he has got a good degree in virtue.'

St. Philip Neri

[Shin]

'The festival of the cross may be celebrated at every moment in the interior sanctuary of the true lovers of the crucifix. And how may it be celebrated? I will explain to you as best I can. We celebrate this feast spiritually by suffering in silence, without leaning on any creature; and as feasts are kept with joy, the festival of the cross ought to be kept by the lovers of the crucifix by suffering in silence, with a countenance happy and serene, in order that the pain may be hidden from the eyes of creatures and be known only to God. In this feast we feed at a delicious banquet, nourishing ourselves in the divine Will, in imitation of our crucified Love. Oh, what sweet food! It is composed of various elements: mental and physical sufferings, contradictions, calumnies, contempt, etc. Oh, how deliciously these things taste to the spiritual palate, if they be taken in pure faith and holy love, in silence and with confidence!'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Keep interior peace at every cost; pay no attention to fears or scruples. Experience will teach you that those vain fears of sin, etc., which I call veritable follies, ought to disappear in the fire of love.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'We may have freed ourselves from impassioned thoughts; but have we yet been granted pure and immaterial prayer?'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'Rain cannot fall without a cloud, and we cannot please God without a good conscience.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'He longs to give us a magnificent reward. He knows that suffering is the only means of preparing us to know Him as He knows Himself, and to become ourselves divine.'

St. Therese of Lisieux

[Shin]

'By only looking at a person, we know if he is pure. His eyes have an air of candor and modesty which leads you to the good God. Some people, on the contrary, look quite inflamed with passion. . . Satan places himself in their eyes to make others fall and to lead them to evil.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

[Shin]

'Jesus is the Christ, one of the Holy Trinity. You are destined to be His heir.'

St. Thalassios the Libyan

[Shin]

'They [religious] live more purely, they fall more rarely, they rise more speedily, they are aided more powerfully, they live more peacefully, they die more securely, and they are rewarded more abundantly.'

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

[Shin]

'. . . so we will have no dealings with rebel heretics, remembering the Lord's command, who says, "Give not that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." [Matthew 7:6] Surely it is altogether unworthy and unjust to admit to freedom of discussion men whom the Holy Spirit describes in the words of the prophet, "the sons of the stranger have lied unto me."'

Pope St. Leo the Great

[Shin]

'Poverty and tribulations are given us by God as trials of our fidelity and virtue, as well as to enrich us with more real and lasting riches in heaven.'

St. Philip Neri

[Shin]

'The bride saw the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of God, wearing a priceless and inestimable crown on her head, with her wonderfully beautiful hair hanging down over her shoulders, a golden tunic gleaming indescribably bright, and a mantle of the color of azure or of a calm sky. While the bride was all full of wonder at this lovely vision and in her wonderment was standing there as if caught up in helpless amazement with in herself, just then, Blessed John the Baptist appeared to her and said: "Pay close attention to what all this signifies. The crown signifies that she is the Queen and Lady and Mother of the King of angels. Her hair hanging down signifies that she is a pure and immaculate virgin; the sky-colored mantle that she was dead to temporal things. The golden tunic signifies that she was ardent and burning with the love of God both inwardly and outwardly. Her Son placed seven lilies in the crown, and between the lilies he placed seven gems. The first lily is her humility; the second, fear; the third, obedience; the fourth, patience; the fifth, steadfastness; the sixth, kindness, for she kindly gives to all who ask; the seventh is mercy in necessities, for in whatever necessity a person may find himself, if he invokes her with all his heart, he will be rescued.'

St. Bridget of Sweden

[Shin]

'All that God gives us and all that He permits in this world have no other end than to sanctify us in Him.'

St. Catherine of Siena