Quotes

Begin to seek…

We may begin to seek Him in desolation, feeling nothing but His absence. But the mere fact that we seek Him proves that we have already found Him.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

The most precious crown is reserved in heaven for those who do all that they do as zealously as possible: for to do good deeds in not enough by itself; we must do them well.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

The spirit of faith…

It is not the actual physical exertion that counts toward a man’s progress, nor the nature of the task, but the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.
–Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

Self-denial and mortification…

There is more security in self-denial, mortification, and other like virtues, than in an abundance of tears.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Look at a crucifix…

If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he says the ‘Our Father’, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

The wisdom of the world…

The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. The soul has to proceed rather by unknowing rather than knowing.
–Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)

The more one mortifies…

The more one mortifies his natural inclinations, the more he renders himself capable of receiving divine inspirations and of progressing in virtue.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Meeekness consists in…

The highest degree of meekness consists in seeing, serving, honoring, and treating amiably, on occasion, those who are not to our taste, and who show themselves unfriendly, ungrateful, and troublesome to us.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Mercy belongs to God…

The Church teaches us that mercy belongs to God. Let us implore Him to bestow on us the spirit of mercy and compassion, so that we are filled with it and may never lose it. Only consider how much we ourselves are in need of mercy.
–Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Practice constant recollection…

There is a practice that is most powerful in keeping us united with God. That practice is the constant recollection of His presence.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Become saved and saints…

If we should be saved and become saints, we ought always to stand at the gates of the divine mercy to beg and pray for, as an alms, all that we need.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Seek what suffices…

Seek what suffices, seek what is enough, and don’t desire more. Whatever goes beyond that produces anxiety not relief: it will weigh you down instead of lifting you up.

–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Holy indifference is….

Holy indifference is a ceasing of either to desire or to will, except in cooperation with the divine leading. Its desires for itself, as it has greater light, are more completely and permanently merged in the one higher and more absorbing desire of God’s glory and the fulfillment of his will.

–François Fénelon (1651-1715)

Commit yourself to God…

Commit yourself then to God! He will be your guide. He Himself will travel with you, as we are told He did with the Israelites, to bring them step by step across the desert to the promised land. Ah! what will be your blessedness, if you will but surrender yourself into the hands of God, permitting Him to do whatever He will, not according to your desires, but according to His own good pleasure?

–François Fénèlon (1651-1715)

Peace springs from….

Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul; we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence to, not in an exemption from, suffering.

–François Fénèlon (1651-1715)

The more you say…

The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.

–François Fénèlon (1651-1715)

Worry is the…

Worry is the cross which we make for ourselves by over anxiety.

–François Fénèlon (1651-1715)

Carrying the cross…

No other grace can be compared with that of carrying the cross out of love for our Lord.

–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647- 1690)

To love Jesus only when…

What a weakness it is to love Jesus Christ only when He caresses us, and to be cold immediately once He afflicts us. This is not true love. Those who love thus, love themselves too much to love God with all their heart.

— Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647- 1690)

Offer ourselves to God…

We must offer ourselves to God like a clean, smooth canvas and not worry ourselves about what God may choose to paint on it, but at each moment, feel only the stroke of His brush.

–Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

God’s will produces…

At every moment God’s will produces what is needful for the task in hand, and the simple soul, instructed by faith, finds everything as it should be and wants neither more nor less than what it has.

–Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Faith is our light…

Faith is our light in this life. By it we know the truth without seeing it, we are put in touch with what we cannot feel, recognize what we cannot see, and view the world stripped of all its outer shell. Faith unlocks God’s treasury. It is the key to all the vastness of His wisdom.The emptiness of all created things is disclosed by faith, and it is by faith that God reveals Himself

–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

In the spiritual life…

The designs of God, the good pleasure of God, the will of God, the operation of God and the gift of His grace are all one and the same thing in the spiritual life. It is God working in the soul to make it like unto Himself. Perfection is neither more nor less than the faithful co-operation of the soul with this work of God, and is begun, grows, and is consummated in the soul unperceived and in secret.

–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Happy the soul…

Happy the soul that is detached from self-satisfaction, from her own will, from her own sentiments!

–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

Love speaks little…

Love speaks little. The language of divine love is a burning heart; no words can express its ardors; they make of the loving soul a victim of love, a holocaust, consumed and reduced to ashes in the divine fire of charity.

–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

Often contemplate heaven…

From this valley of tears, turn your gaze continually to God, ever awaiting the moment when you will be united to Him in heaven. Often contemplate heaven, and fervently exclaim: What a beautiful abode there is above! It is destined for us! Sigh longingly after its possession. Sometimes say, while your eyes are moist with tears: Nothing in this world pleases me; I no longer care for anything but my God. Yes, I hope, yes, I wish to possess Him, and I hope this of the mercy of God, through the merits of my Savior’s Passion and the dolors of my good Mother Mary.

–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

To receive worthily…

To receive the Blessed Sacrament worthily, one must have a great desire for union with Jesus Christ.

–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

The Holy Spirit rests…

The Holy Spirit rests in the soul of the just like the dove in her nest, hatching good desires in a pure soul, as the dove hatches her young. –

–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Saints have been tempted…

And even more, since the time of Adam, you will not find a saint who has not been tempted — some in one way, some in another — and the greatest saints are those who have been tempted the most. If Our Lord was tempted, it was in order to show us that we must be also. It follows, therefore, that we must expect temptation.

–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Everyone has his cross…

On this earth everyone has his cross. But we must act in such a way that we be not the bad, but good thief.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Have the courage…

If you have the courage to imitate Mary Magdalene in her sins, have the courage to imitate her penance!
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Let your humility grow…

As gifts increase in you, let your humility grow, for you must consider that everything is given to you on loan.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Teach them to yearn…

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
–Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1890-1944)

Lay all your cares trustingly…

Lay all your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands, and let yourself be guided by the Lord just like a little child.
–Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)

Seek and serve truth…

No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it.
–Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941)

Suffer from our indifference…

I wonder maybe if our Lord does not suffer more from our indifference, than He did from the crucifixion.
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Too many children?

How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

In loving and serving…

In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is Love and when we love we are like God.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Living each present day…

Living intensely each present day means letting Christ dwell within you. His words are so clear: Today I would like to enter your home.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

The joy of Jesus…

The joy of Jesus will be my strength – it will be in my heart. Every person I meet will see it in my work; my walk, my prayer – in everything.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Scruples and temptations…

Scruples, temptations, and fears, and cutting perplexities of the heart, are often the lot of the most excellent persons.

–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Fortitude and perseverance…

And although many conflicts of diverse kinds should abound in prayer, and darkness of mind with much confusion, the devil making the soul feel that her prayer was not pleasing to God, nevertheless, she ought not to give up on account of those conflicts and shadows, but to abide firm in fortitude and long perseverance, considering that the devil so does to draw her away from prayer the mother, and God permits it to test the fortitude and constancy of that soul.

–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

How God wants our soul to be…

You know…that to join two things together there must be nothing between them or there cannot be a perfect fusion. Now realize that this is how God wants our soul to be, without any selfish love of ourselves or of others in between, just as God loves us without anything in between.

–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Makes all things well…

And so our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts which I could raise, saying most comfortingly: I may make all things well, and I shall make all things well, and I will make all things well; and you will see yourself that every kind of thing will be well.

–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

God is all love…

Some of us believe that God is all-powerful and may do everything; and that is all wise and can do everything; but as for believing he is all love and will do everything, there we hold back. In my view nothing hinders God’s lovers more than the failure to understand this.

–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Love sinners, but hate…

Love sinners, but hate their deeds, and do not disdain sinners for their failings, so that you yourself do not fall into the temptation in which they abide… Do not foster hatred for the sinner, for we are all guilty… Hate his sins, and pray for him, so that you may be made like unto Christ, who had no dislike for sinners, but prayed for them.

–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)

The poison of temptations…

There is no man who will not be grieved at the time of his chastisement; and there is not man who will not endure a bitter time, when he must drink the poison of temptations. Without them, it is not possible to obtain a strong will. When he has often experienced the help of God in temptations, a man also obtains strong faith.

–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)

Mary is more blessed…

Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ.

–Saint Augustine (354-430)

To forgive someone….

To forgive someone who is looking for forgiveness is the same thing as giving alms. It is an act of mercy.

–Saint Augustine (354-439)

Idolatry is worshipping…

Idolatry is worshipping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that is meant to be worshipped.

–Saint Augustine (354-430)

God is our strength…

When God is our strength, it is strength indeed; when our strength is our own, it is only weakness.

–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Nothing but our salvation…

The Divine nature knows no want. And wherefore then would He have us praise and glorify Him? It is that our love towards Him may be kindled more fervently within us. He desires nothing we can render; not our service, not our praise, nor anything else, nothing but our salvation; this is His object in everything He does.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Alert as you pray…

For if you spin out your words to any length you are often inattentive, and so give the devil freedom to approach and trip you up and divert your mind from what you are saying. But if you pray continuously and frequently, repeating your prayer at brief intervals, you can easily remain recollected and fully alert as you pray.

–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Practice charity, humility, and patience…

The Lord has called us from different nations, but we must be united with one heart and one soul. In the divine Heart of Jesus we will always meet one another, and there we seek our strength to face the difficulties of life. May we be strengthened to practice the beautiful virtues of charity, humility, and patience. Then our religious life will be the antechamber to Heaven.
–Saint Maria Elisabetta Hesselblad (1870-1957)

Love for God and neighbor…

We must nourish a great love for God and our neighbors; a strong love, an ardent love, a love that burns away imperfections, a love that gently bears an act of impatience, or a bitter word, a love that lets an inadvertence or act of neglect pass without comment, a love that lends itself readily to an act of charity.
–Saint Maria Elisabetta Hesselblad (1870-1957)

The Way of the Cross…

For me the way of the Cross has been the most beautiful of all because on this path I have met and known my Lord and Savior.
–Saint Maria Elisabetta Hesselblad (1870-1957)

God condescends to…

God condescends to use our powers if we don’t spoil His plans by ours.
–Blessed Solanus Casey (1870-1957)

Each must be accepted…

[M]ay you continue to be well and happy–the way God wants you to be. Joys and sufferings constantly follow one after another in this life and each must be accepted by us in whatever manner God sends them.
–Blessed Luisitia Josefa (1866-1937)

Given over to God’s will…

The Lord has given the Holy Spirit upon the earth, and in whomsoever He dwells, that one feels paradise within himself. You might say: why hasn’t this happened to me? Because you have not given yourself over to the will of God, but you live according to yourself. Look at the one who loves his own will. He never has peace in himself and is always displeased with something. But whoever has given himself over to God’s will perfectly has pure prayer. His soul loves the Lord, and everything is acceptable and good to him.
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

The will of God…

It is a great good to be given over to the will of God. Then the Lord alone is in the soul, and no other thought, and she prays to God with a pure mind. When the soul is entirely given over to the will of God, then the Lord Himself begins to guide her, and the soul learns directly from God .
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

Be filled with confidence…

Don’t worry about anything that’s going on in this world. Concern yourself with the next. In all of your difficulties and fears, turn to your good Jesus. He will help you and inspire you as to what you should do. He will give you strength and all the other virtues you need as well. Therefore, be happy and filled with confidence wherever Our Lord places you and however He wants you.
–Blessed Luisitia Josefa (1866-1937)

All confidence in God…

Let’s place all our confidence in God, always and for everything.
–Blessed Luisitia Josefa (1866-1937)

God knows and does…

Still, God our Lord knows what He is doing. He never errs and does everything for our own good, for our sanctification. All we have to do is to respect His designs and be submissive.
–Blessed Luisitia Josefa (1866-1937)

When working for a Master…

Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him.
–Saint Dominic Savio (1842-1857)

The humble soul…

The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water: it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire: it dries up, it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat thrown into the earth: it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies; but to revive in heaven.
–Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified (1846-1878)

Pray without tiring…

We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone.
–Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Truly believe with…

Truly believe, with the faith which knows that nothing is impossible, which makes words like worry, danger or fear, lose all meaning.
–Blessed Charles De Foucauld (1858-1916)

To serve others…

To serve others, I need gentleness, humility, abjection, and charity. In every sick person I should see, not a human being, but Jesus, and so should show him respect, love, compassion, joy, and gratitude at being able to serve him, zeal and gentleness. I should serve the sick as I do the poor, making myself do the lowliest services for them all, as Jesus washed the apostles’ feet. I must tolerate the presence of evil people, as long as their wickedness is not corrupting others — as Jesus tolerated Judas.
–Blessed Charles De Foucauld (1858-1916)

Be a saint…

Keep well and be what you are supposed to be– a saint.
–Blessed Luisitia Josefa (1866-1937)

The psalms have…

The psalms have also a wonderful power to awaken in our hearts the desire for every virtue. Athanasius says: ‘Though all Scripture, both old and new, is divinely inspired and has its use in teaching, as we read in Scripture itself, yet the Book of Psalms, like a garden enclosing the fruits of all the other books, produces its fruits in song, and in the process of singing brings forth its own special fruits to take their place beside them.’ In the same place Athanasius rightly adds: ‘The psalms seem to me to be like a mirror, in which the person using them can see himself, and the stirrings of his own heart; he can recite them against the background of his own emotions.’
–Saint Pius X (1835-1914)

Add to our existence…

For what purpose does the Lord add day after day, year after year, to our existence? In order that we may gradually put away, cast aside, evil from our souls, each one his own, and acquire blessed simplicity; in order that we may become, for instance, gentle as lambs, simple as infants; in order that we may learn not to have the least attachment to earthly things, but like loving, simple children, may cling with all our hearts to God alone, and love Him with all our hearts, all our souls, all our strength, and all our thoughts, and our neighbor as ourselves.
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Advance on the road to Heaven…

[E]very tree each summer unfailingly puts forth at least one shoot of considerable size, and unfailingly grows in height and dimension. It seems as though every tree tries each year to advance by the strength that God has given it; therefore, say to yourself, ‘I, too, must each day, each year, absolutely grow higher and higher morally, better and better, more and more perfect; must advance on the road to the Kingdom of Heaven, or to the Father which is in Heaven, through the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit dwelling and working within me.’
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Sin is deadly…

What darkness, what madness, what sickness, what a terrible, deadly power is sin!
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Temptation is…

The principal characteristic of this present, temporal life is temptation.
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

They do not remember God…

Why is it, you ask, that one can pray for so many years with a prayer book, and still not have prayer in his heart? I think the reason is that people only spend a little time lifting themselves up to God when they complete their prayer rule, and in other times, they do not remember God. For example, they finish their morning prayers, and think that their relation to God is fulfilled by them; then the whole day passes in work, and such a person does not attend to God.
— Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

Seek with all your…

Whatever you may be seeking, seek it with all your strength, but do not expect your own search and efforts to bear fruit of themselves. Put your trust in the Lord, ascribing nothing to yourself, and He will give you your heart’s desire.
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

When you are tempted…

What I recommend most earnestly is not to lose heart when you are tempted. Do you wish to succeed? The best way is to reveal the temptations to your spiritual director immediately. The devil loves darkness. He always operates in the dark because he knows that if he is discovered he is beaten.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

The Devil’s favorite bait…

Remember that the devil’s favorite bait for leading one into sin is, ‘Oh that is nothing to worry about.’
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Good example and words…

Good example is the most efficacious apostolate. You must be as lighted lanterns and shine like brilliant chandeliers. By your good example and your words, animate others to know and love God.
–Saint Mary Joseph Rosello (1811-1880)

Hands and heart…

The hands should be at work, the heart with God.
–Saint Mary Joseph Rosello (1811-1880)

The state of grace…

The state of grace is nothing other than purity, and it gives heaven to those who clothe themselves in it. Holiness, therefore, is simply the state of grace purified, illuminated, beautified by the most perfect purity, exempt not only from mortal sin but also from the smallest faults; purity will make saints of you! Everything lies in this!
–Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)

The Eucharist is…

The Eucharist is the life of the people. The Eucharist gives them a center of life. All can come together without the barriers of race or language in order to celebrate the feast days of the Church. It gives them a law of life, that of charity, of which it is the source; thus it forges between them a common bond, a Christian kinship
–Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)

Speak simply and candidly…

Speak simply and candidly to our Lord as with another self, as with your sister. Be a child who is full of love and surrendered to her good maker. Let it be an interior conversation with God more than a work of the mind… because it will express all the thoughts and needs of your heart.
–Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)

A type of prayer…

As for meditation, I would like you to be a disciple of prayer, because without prayer there is no habitual union with God. You need a type of prayer which is suited to your temperament, your situation, your inner inclination, consequently, your heart.
–Saint Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)

A true Christian goes against…

A fish that is alive swims against the flow of water. One that is dead floats down with the water. A true Christian goes against the current of sinful age. A false one is swept away by its swiftness.
–Saint Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867)

We seek holiness…

We seek holiness by the wrong means: sermons, books on mysticism, conversations with spiritual directors who have a great reputation for sanctity . . . we don’t need all that! Meditate on the words: “Leave all and you will find all.” What is this all? It is God.
–Saint Madeline Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

Change our character…

We cannot change our character, it is true, as easily as we change our clothes. It is the work of a lifetime. It is achieved with the grace of God and constant effort.
–Saint Madeline Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

Gratefully accept both…

Shouldn’t we gratefully accept both good and bad as coming from the hand of God, for both are inclined to our advantage if we know how to profit from them.
–Saint Madeline Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

More important to love…

Let your heart be more attentive than your head, for the Holy Spirit is love, and to take hold, it is more important to love than to understand.
–Saint Madeline Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

Balanced upon the word of God…

All creatures are balanced upon the creative word of God, as if upon a bridge of diamond; above them is the abyss of the divine infinitude, below them that of their own nothingness.
–Saint Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867)

To become holy…

Every Christian should find for himself the imperative and incentive to become holy. If you live without struggle and without hope of becoming holy, then you are Christians only in name and not in essence. But without holiness, no one shall see the Lord, that is to say they will not attain eternal blessedness. It is a trustworthy saying that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). But we deceive ourselves if we think that we are saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves those sinners by giving them the means to become saints.
–Saint Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867)

Pray for the faithful departed…

We must say many prayers for the souls of the faithful departed, for one must be so pure to enter heaven.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

The soul hungers…

The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food for our souls.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Before the Blessed Sacrament…

When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to him; He will come to us… It will be like a breath from one to the Other.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Purgatory for those…

What years of Purgatory will there be for those Christians who have no difficulty at all in deferring their prayers to another time on the excuse of having to do some pressing work! If we really desired the happiness of possessing God, we should avoid the little faults as well as the big ones, since separation from God is so frightful a torment to all these poor souls!
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

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