Do not desire…

Do not desire to hear about the misfortunes of your enemies. For those who like listening to such things will themselves suffer what they wish for others.
— Saint Mark the Ascetic (Fifth Century)

Spiritual reading is…

Spiritual reading is a regular, essential part of the life of prayer, and particularly is it the support of adoring prayer. It is important to increase our sense of God’s richness and wonder by reading what his great lovers have said about him.
— Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

We deceive ourselves…

We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them, and let our thoughts now and then glance upon them: that knowledge which shows us heaven, will not bring us to the possession of it, and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak, and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation it must be concocted, digested, and turned into the nourishment of our affections, before it can be powerful and operative enough to change them, and produce the necessary fruit in our lives.
— Saint Appolinaris (453-520)

Attribute to God….

Attribute to God every good that you have received. If you take credit for something that does not belong to you, you will be guilty of theft.
— Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)