For no one crosses…
For no one crosses the sea except on wood, or this world except on the Cross.
–Saint Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)
Don’t recall to mind…
Don’t recall to your memory anything your neighbor may have said in a moment of acrimony, whether he insulted you to your face, or spoke evil of you to another and that person has come and reported it to you. If you let yourself become angry, it is but a short step from anger to hatred.
–Saint Maximos the Confessor (580-662)
If we find animosity
If we look inside our hearts and find there even a trace of animosity toward others for the wrongs they have done to us, then we should realize that we are still far removed from the love of God. The love of God absolutely precludes us from hating any human being.
–Saint Maximos the Confessor (580-662)
Recollection of an injury..
The recollection of an injury is itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin, and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul. It puts all virtue to flight. It is like a worm in the mind: it confuses our speech and tears to shreds our petitions to God. It is foreign to charity: it remains planted in the soul like a nail. It is wickedness that never sleeps, sin that never fails. It is indeed a daily death.
–Saint Francis of Paola (1416-1507)
To be a saint…
To be a saint, neither intellectual culture nor great exterior activity is a requisite; it suffices that we live profoundly by God.
–Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (1877–1964)
Silent love knows…
Silent love knows much in effortless pleasure. How little the body knows what love does in stillness!
–Mechthild of Magdeburg (Thirteenth Century)
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