Quote for the Day

[Shin]

'In the persons who are going on intensely cleansing their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, it is the method contrary to that in the first Rule, for then it is the way of the evil spirit to bite, sadden and put obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, that one may not go on; and it is proper to the good to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing, and putting away all obstacles, that one may go on in well doing.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola, 'Spiritual Exercises'

[Shin]

'Of which kind of illusions it is well said in the Proverbs: "There are ways which seem to be right to a man, but their latter end will come into the depths of Hell," and again "An evil man is harmful when he attaches himself to a good man," i.e., the devil deceives when he is covered with an appearance of sanctity: "but he hates the sound of the watchman," i.e., the power of discretion which comes from the words and warnings of the fathers.'

St. Moses the Black Hermit

[Shin]

'Earth hath no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.'

St. Thomas More

[Shin]

'Blessed the one who has shone by the light of faith of the Lord, like a radiant lamp on a tall lampstand, and has enlightened souls that are darkened, for they followed the heresy of the faithless and impious.'

St. Ephrem of Syria

[Shin]

'The decree then being passed that the Divine Son should be made man, and so become the Redeemer of men, the Archangel Gabriel speeds on his way to Mary. Mary accepts him for her Son: And the Word was made flesh. And thus behold Jesus in the womb of Mary; having now made his entry into the world in all humility and obedience, he says: "Since, O my Father, men cannot make atonement to Thy offended justice by their works and sacrifices, behold me, Thy Son, now clothed in mortal flesh, behold me ready to give Thee in their stead satisfaction with my sufferings and with my death!"'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear.'

Luke 2:6-9

[Shin]

'Oh that I also could say to Thee, O holy Infant, with thy dear St. Francis, "My God and my All!" and with David, What have I in heaven? and besides Thee, what do I desire upon earth? . . . God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever; so that from this day forth I might desire no other riches but those of Thy love, and that my heart might be no more under the dominion of the vanities of the world, but that Thou alone, my love, mightest be its only Lord.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'Oh, what a sweet hermitage for a soul that has faith in the stable of Bethlehem!'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'Ah! the God of truth loves the truth. Now, he who knows his nothingness, and acknowledges it, knows the truth.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'Be generous, and remember that you ought to walk in the footsteps of your Redeemer.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'"In the company of the innocent, you will be innocent; in the company of the elect, you will be elect; and in a crooked man's company you will go wrong." [Ps. 18:26,27]

Let us, then, follow the innocent and the upright. They, it is, who are God's elect.'

Pope St. Clement I of Rome

[Shin]

'To obtain the love of God, I will call to mind the favors I have received from Him.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Shin]

'Be careful to keep yourself hidden from creatures, and visible to God only, by an earnest desire for His greater glory, by a profound contempt of yourself, by the practice of all virtues, especially humility, patience, gentleness, peace of heart, and by a perfect evenness of temper towards all persons with whom you come in contact.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'If you want spiritual health, listen to your conscience, do all it tells you, and you will benefit.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'Everything we say or do without prayer afterwards turns out to be unreliable or harmful, and so shows us up without our realizing it.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep one's self unstained from this world.'

James 1:27