Quote for the Day

[Shin]

'Perfection cannot be attained without the greatest toil.'

St. Philip Neri

[Shin]

'There is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is good because it is God's.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'Also, it is not less necessary to keep a close guard on thoughts of the mind, since the devil sometimes puts good and holy thoughts in the mind to deceive it under the appearance of virtue, and after that, in order to show what it is, tries and assaults one strongly with the vice which is contrary to this virtue. This the enemy does in order to be able to entice the person into the ditch of desperation.'

St. Catherine of Bologna

[Shin]

'We cannot entertain a passion in our mind unless we have a love for its cause.

For what man, who cares nothing about being put to shame, entertains thoughts of self-esteem? Or who welcomes contempt and yet is disturbed by dishonour? And who has 'a broken and contrite heart' (Ps. 51:17) and yet indulges in carnal pleasure? Or who puts his trust in Christ and yet worries or quarrels about transitory things?'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'My dear ones, time is always so short. It is a great grace to take care of this sick friar. I must stay with him in his cell. I am glad to do it. I am in excellent health. I am very happy. I perform my religious duties and my work here is not as hard as it was at home. I wish you all the best. We are living in times when every devout soul must shudder. It looks as if the powers of hell were loosed and trying to ruin all that is good and religious. But the Lord is kind and merciful. . . '

St. Conrad of Parzham

[Shin]

'You ought to make every effort to free yourselves even from venial sin, and to do what is most perfect.'

St. Teresa of Jesus

[Shin]

'Directly that your worldly friends perceive that you aim at leading a devout life, they will let loose endless shafts of mockery and misrepresentation upon you; the more malicious will attribute your change to hypocrisy, designing, or bigotry; they will affirm that the world having looked coldly upon you, failing its favour you turn to God; while your friends will make a series of what, from their point of view, are prudent and charitable remonstrances. They will tell you that you are growing morbid; that you will lose your worldly credit, and will make yourself unacceptable to the world; they will prognosticate your premature old age, the ruin of your material prosperity; they will tell you that in the world you must live as the world does; that you can be saved without all this fuss; and much more of the like nature.

My daughter, all this is vain and foolish talk: these people have no real regard either for your bodily health or your material prosperity. "If ye were of the world," the Saviour has said, "the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."'

St. Francis de Sales

[Shin]

'Since then the only-begotten Son of God has been sent from the Father as propitiation for the world, may we, the blind, see again, we captives be freed, we oppressed be forgiven. Who is blind? One short-sighted through attachment to the passions. Who is captive? One led away by unseemly thoughts. Who is oppressed? One broken by sins. The Lord heals them; for he is a physician of souls as well as bodies. . . Let no one then remain unenlightened and unhealed, but let them draw near with faith and they will receive blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God their Saviour [Ps. 23:5].'

St. Theodore the Studite

[Shin]

'You have not yet acquired perfect love if your regard for people is still swayed by their characters - for example, if, for some particular reason, you love one person and hate another, or if for the same reason you sometimes love and sometimes hate the same person.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

[Shin]

'Do not rebuke a forceful man for arrogance, but point out to him the danger of dishonor; if he has any sense he will accept this kind of rebuke.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'We should not be quick at correcting others, but rather to think of ourselves first.'

St. Philip Neri

[Shin]

'The kingdom of God is within you. Reanimate your faith often when you study, work, or eat; when you retire to rest, or rise in the morning. Make some loving aspirations to God, such as: "O Infinite Goodness!" or other prayer, and let your soul be penetrated by these pious sentiments as by a precious balm. This great God is nearer to you, so to speak, than you are to yourself.'

St. Paul of the Cross

[Shin]

'He only asks of you abandonment and perfect submission. Nothing displeases Him so much as your uneasiness and despondency. What do you fear? Is He not powerful enough to support you? Why, then, are you so reserved with Him? Let Him act!'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'He is perfect in the school of Christ who despises being despised, rejoices in self-contempt, and accounts himself to be very nothingness.'

St. Philip Neri

[Shin]

'More and more did the love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so that in a day -- from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like number; besides I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.'

St. Patrick

[Shin]

'We ought to hope for and love the glory of God by means of a good life.'

St. Philip Neri