Devotion to the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was, and still is, for me a source of patience, perseverance, refuge and consolation; literally, the very spring of my life. Without this mystery of our Savior’s love, which He has left for us in the Church, I would have perished long since.
–Saint Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907)
A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. In whatever state the soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul, which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.
–Saint Faustina (1905-1938)
One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end of the road without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And there numbers were so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings.
–Saint Faustina (1905-1938)
Wouldn’t it indeed be a failure of respect to neglect the divine Guest who awaits us in the tabernacle? He dwells there, really present, He who was present in the crib, at Nazareth, upon the mountains of Judea, at the Last Supper, upon the cross. He is there, the same Christ who healed the lepers, stilled the tempest, and promised to the good thief a place in His kingdom. We find there our Savior, our Friend, our elder Brother, in the fullness of His almighty power, in the ever-fruitful virtue of His mysteries, the infinite superabundance of His merits, and the ineffable mercy of His love.
–Blessed Columba Marmion (1858-1923)
When you are totally consumed by the Eucharistic fire, then you will be able more consciously to thank God, who has called you to become part of His family. Then you will enjoy the peace that those who are happy in this world have never experienced, because true happiness, oh young people, does not consist in the pleasures of this world, or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience, which we only have if we are pure of heart and mind.
–Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925)
Now is the time to be doing, now is the time to be stirring, now is the time to amend myself.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
