Let us not esteem worldly prosperity or adversity as things real or of any moment, but let us live elsewhere, and raise all our attention to Heaven; esteeming sin as the only true evil, and nothing truly good, but virtue which unites us to God.
–Saint Gregory Nazianzen (329-c. 391)
Let us visit Christ wherever we may be. Let us care for him, feed him, clothe him, welcome him, honor him – not only at a meal, as some have done, or by anointing him, as Mary did, not only by lending him a tomb, like Joseph of Arimathea did, or by arranging for his burial, like Nicodemus, not only by giving him gold, frankincense and myrrh, like the Magi did before all the others. The Lord of all asks for mercy and sacrifice, and mercy is greater… Let us then show him mercy in the persons of the poor and those who today are lying on the ground, so that when we come to leave this world, we may be received into an everlasting dwelling place, by Christ our Lord. Amen
–Saint Gregory Nazianzen (329-c. 391)
A fault that might easily be overcome at its first appearance becomes unconquerable through passing of time and habitual giving way.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
If you want to know what God requires of you, you must first of all put aside all affection and preference for one thing rather than another.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Realize that illness and other temporal setbacks often come to us from the hand of God our Lord, and are sent to help us know ourselves better, to free ourselves of the love of created things, and to reflect on the brevity of this life and, thus, to prepare ourselves for the life which is without end.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God’s purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
