Quote for the Day

[Shin]

'The first among all evils is ignorance; next comes lack of faith.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'In the difficulties which are placed before me, why should I not act like a donkey? When one speaks ill of him - the donkey says nothing. When he is mistreated - he says nothing. When he is forgotten - he says nothing. When no food is given him - he says nothing. When he is made to advance - he says nothing. When he is despised - he says nothing. When he is overburdened - he says nothing. The true servant of God must do likewise, and say with David: "Before Thee I have become like a beast of burden."'

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

[Shin]

'Acts of kindness and generosity are spoilt by self-esteem, meanness and pleasure, unless these have first been destroyed by fear of God.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'Undistracted prayer is a sign of love for God; but careless or distracted prayer is a sign of love for pleasure.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'The laws and maxims of Jesus are very mild and holy and reasonable. The standards of the world are laws and maxims of hell, and are diabolical, tyrannical, and finally unbearable.'

St. Jean Eudes

[Shin]

'Some people with possessions possess them dispassionately, and so when deprived of them they are not dismayed but are like those who accepted the seizure of their goods with joy (cf. Heb. 10:34). Others possess with passion, so that when they are in danger of being dispossessed they become utterly dejected, like the rich man in the Gospel who went away full of sorrow (cf. Matt. 19:22); and if they actually are dispossessed, they remain dejected until they die. Dispossession, then, reveals whether a man's inner state is dispassionate or dominated by passion.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

[Shin]

'We should carefully beware of giving ourselves so completely to any employment as to forget to have recourse to God from time to time.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'Examine from time to time what are the dominant passions of your soul, and having ascertained this, mold your life, so that in thought, word and deed you may as far as possible counteract them.'

St. Francis de Sales

[Shin]

'Jacob made for Joseph a coat of many colors (cf. Gen. 37:3), and the Lord gives knowledge of truth to the gentle; as it is written, "He will teach the gentle His ways" (Ps. 25:9. LXX).'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'So great a love on the part of Mary deserves our gratitude, and that gratitude should be shown by at least meditating upon and pitying her in her sorrow. But she complained to Saint Bridget that very few did so, and that the greater part of the world lived in forgetfulness of them: "I look around at all who are on earth, to see if by chance there are any who pity me, and meditate upon my sorrows; and I find that there are very few. Therefore, my daughter, though I am forgotten by many, at least do thou not forget me; consider my anguish, and imitate, as far as thou canst, my grief."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'Awake, my soul, awake! show thy spirit, arouse thy senses, shake off the sluggishness of that deadly heaviness that is upon thee, begin to take care for thy salvation. Let the idleness of vain imaginations be put to flight, let go of sloth, hold fast to diligence. Be instant in holy meditations, cleave to the good things which are of God: leaving that which is temporal, give heed to that which is eternal. Now in this godly employment of thy mind, to what canst thou turn thy thoughts more wholesomely and profitably than to the sweet contemplations of thy Creator’s immeasurable benefits toward thee.'

St. Anselm of Canterbury

[Shin]

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

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'Do thou, therefore, apply thyself unweariedly to the pursuit of holiness, lest thou cease to be the temple of God.'

St. Anselm of Canterbury

[Shin]

'Others say, "If I neglect mental prayer, I do not mis-spend my time; I employ it in study." But the Apostle said to Timothy: "Take heed to thyself and to doctrine;" Attend first to thyself, that is, to prayer, and then to doctrine, that is, to study, in order to procure the salvation of others.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'So great is the goodness of God in your regard, that when you ask through ignorance for that which is not beneficial, He does not grant your prayer in this matter, but gives you something better instead.'

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

[Shin]

'The self-indulgent are distressed by criticism and hardship; those who love God by praise and luxury.'

St. Mark the Ascetic