We must certainly be extraordinarily blind because when all is said and done, there is not a single person who could say that he is ready to appear before Jesus Christ. Yet in spite of the fact that we are quite aware of this, there is still not one among us who will take a single step nearer to God.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)
Alas, my friend. We cannot be together in Heaven unless we have begun to live so in this world. Death makes no change in that. As the tree falls, so shall it lie… My dear friend, there are not two ways of serving Jesus Christ. There is only one good way, and that is to serve Him as He Himself desires to be served.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)
Confession is the oral avowal of one’s sins which lie heavy upon the conscience. Repentance cleanses the soul and makes it ready to receive the Holy Spirit, but confession, so to speak, only empties the soul of sins
–Saint Innocent of Alaska (1797-1879)
What does a true and correct confession consist of?
…Before everything else it is necessary to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and firmly hope that He is ready to forgive all sins, no matter of what magnitude, if only the sinner repents open-heartedly; it is necessary to believe and hope that the God of all wants and seeks our return.
…It is necessary to have a broken heart.
…It is necessary to forgive all our enemies and offenders all the harmful and offensive things they have done to us.
…likewise it is indispensable to ask also forgiveness of those people whom we have offended.
…It is necessary to reveal your sins properly and without any concealment.
…Finally, it is necessary to set forth a firm intention to live prudently in the future.
–Saint Innocent of Alaska (1797-1879)
All through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey his voice or not, he graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, he calls us to repent; if we are striving to fulfill our calling, he calls us on from grace to grace, and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us. Abraham was called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office, Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat; we are all in course of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no resting-place, but mounting towards our eternal rest, and obeying one command only to have another put upon us. He calls us again and again, in order to justify us again and again,—and again and again, and more and more, to sanctify and glorify us.
–Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
I will be kind to everybody, particularly to those whom I find troublesome.
–Saint Anthony Claret (1807-1870)
