That little ship offers us a figure of the church, for she is tossed by sea (that is, the world) and by the waves (that is, persecutions and temptations), with the Lord patiently sleeping, as it were, until awakened by the prayers of the saints, he checks the world and restores tranquility to his own.
–Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD)
The Lord does not say that the proof of his disciples’ faithfulness will be the working of wondrous miracles . . . What does He tell them? “You shall be known as my disciples if you love one another.”
–Saint Basil the Great (330-379)
The whole course of Christianity from the first… is but one series of troubles and disorders. Every century is like every other, and to those who live in it seems worse than all times.
–Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Live with your heart raised up in God, and do not allow yourself to be crushed by sadness. Be sure that one day you will see the warm sun that will scatter these clouds.
–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)
