The devil strains…
The devil strains every nerve to secure the souls which belong to Christ. We should not grudge our toil in wresting them from Satan and giving them back to God.
–Saint Sebastian (Third Century)
Kingdom of heaven…
There is only one way leading upwards for all who see, lightened with heavenly light. But many and dark and contrary are the ways of those who see not. This way leads to the Kingdom of heaven, uniting man to God: but those ways bring down to death, separating man from God. Therefore it is necessary for you and for all who care for their own salvation to make your course unswerving, firm, and sure by means of faith.
–Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (late Second Century)
One mortal sin…
If all the calamities which have existed in the world since the creation and all the sufferings of hell were put into one side of a scale, and put one mortal sin into the other, it would outweigh all these evils, for it is incomparably greater.
–Blessed Louis de Granada (1505-1588)
We refuse to weep for our sins…
Therefore we must always dread the final day, which we can never foresee. This very day is a day of truce, a day for conversion. And yet we refuse to cry over the evil we have done! Not only do we not weep for the sins we have committed, we even add to them.
–Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604)
Raise up your heart…
Raise up your heart after a fall, sweetly and gently, humbling yourself before God in the knowledge of your misery, and do not be astonished at your weakness, since it is not surprising that weakness should be weak, infirmity infirm, and frailty frail.
–Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Bad company is…
Bad company is like a nail driven into a post, which, after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with little difficulty; but being once driven up to the head, the pincers cannot take hold to draw it out, but which can only be done by the destruction of the wood.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)
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