Quote for the Day

[Shin]

'Look upon the lowly path as the real one our Lord has traced out for us, and the surest to reach Him. Walk steadily therein in peace and thanksgiving.'

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

[Shin]

'Charity urges and impels me; it makes me run from town to town shouting, "Sinner, my son, look where you're heading; you are about to fall into hell. Stop! Don't take another step!" I often ask God, as St. Catherine of Siena did: "Lord, let me stand at the gates of hell and stop anyone from entering, by telling each of them, 'Where are you going, poor fool? Turn back! Make a good confession and save your soul. Don't come here, to be lost for all eternity!'"'

St. Anthony Mary Claret

[Shin]

'Go, and join a man who fears God, and live near him; he will teach you, too, to fear God.'

St. Poemen

[Shin]

'When you say to me, "Blessed art thou among women," I praise the mercy of God who has raised me to this exalted degree of happiness.'

Our Lady speaking of the Ave Maria to St. Mechtilde

[Shin]

'Behold the wise men, who immediately, without delay, set off upon their journey. The star accompanies them as far as the cavern where the holy Infant lies: on their arrival they enter; and what do they find? They found the child with Mary. They find a poor maiden and a poor Infant wrapped in poor swaddling-clothes, without any one to attend on him or assist him. But, lo! on entering into the little shed these holy pilgrims feel a joy which they had never felt before; they feel their hearts chained to the dear little Infant which they behold. The straw, the poverty, the cries of their little Saviour, oh, what darts of love! oh, what blessed flames are they to their enlightened hearts! The Infant looks upon them with a joyful countenance, and this is the mark of affection with which he accepts them amongst the first-fruits of his redemption.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[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]

I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart. There the divine Infant will speak, not to the ear, but to the heart, inviting the soul to love a God who hath loved her so much. When we see there the poverty of this wandering little hermit, who remains in that cold cave, without fire, with a manger for a crib, and a little straw for a bed; when we hear the cries, and behold the tears of this innocent Child, and consider that he is our God, how is it possible to think of anything but of loving him!

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'Oh, blessed is he that converses with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, in this holy solitude of the manger.'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[Shin]

'As for you, let that which you have heard from the beginning, abide in you. If that abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning, you also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father.'

1 John 2:24

[Shin]

'Since to those who have the will nothing is difficult, above all as regards that which they would do for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord, I beseech you, then, not to make plans only, but above all to will their execution and carry them out.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Shin]

'Christ died on account of our sins in accordance with the Scriptures' (1 Cor. 15:3); and to those who serve Him well He gives freedom. "Well done, good and faithful servant," He says, "you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. 25:21).'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'I absolutely must do this so that God may be more glorified, so that my vocation will be better fulfilled, so that His grace will not be wasted in me, so that I may atone for the past and assure the future. But increase how, and diminish how? For Jesus to increase, I must decrease. His presence increases in proportion to how much I decrease. If I do not, I prevent Him from increasing.'

St. Bernadette Soubirous

[Shin]

'We see some persons who lose themselves in prayer like a fish in the water, because they are all for God. There is no division in their heart. Oh, how I love those generous souls! St. Francis of Assisi and St. Colette saw Our Lord and spoke to Him as we talk to each other. While we, how often we come to church without knowing what we come for, or what we are going to ask! And yet, when we go to one's house, we know very well what we are going for. Some people seem to say to God, "I am going to say two words to You, and then I can get rid of You." I often think that when we come to adore Our Lord, we should obtain all we wish, if we would ask it with very lively faith, and a very pure heart. But, alas! we have no faith, no hope, no desire, no love!'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

[Shin]

'Do not refuse to learn, even though you may be very intelligent. For what God provides has more value than our own intelligence.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'He who relies on theoretical knowledge alone is not yet a faithful servant: a faithful servant is one who expresses his faith in Christ through obedience to His commandments.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

[Shin]

'In the spiritual life there are three degrees: the first may be called the animal life; this is the life of those who run after sensible devotion, which God generally gives to beginners, to allure them onwards by that sweetness to the spiritual life, just as an animal is drawn on by a sensible object.

The second degree may be called the human life; this is the life of those who do not experience any sensible sweetness, but by the help of virtue combat their own passions.

The third degree may be called the angelic life; this is the life which they come to, who, having been exercised for a long time in the taming of their own passions, receive from God a quiet, tranquil, and almost angelic life, even in this world, feeling no trouble or repugnance in anything. Of these three degrees it is well to persevere in the second, because the Lord will grant the third in His own good time.'

St. Philip Neri