Quotes

Three simple instructions…

I will give here three very simple instructions:
1. always begin praying with at least a little preparation;
2. do not pray carelessly, but with attention and feeling; and
3. do not go on to ordinary work immediately after prayer.
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

Prayerful zeal…

However, one does not have to do many prayers. It is better to perform a small number of prayers properly than to hurry through a large number of prayers, because it is difficult to maintain the heat of prayerful zeal when they are performed to excess.
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

First in all prayers…

What must come first in all prayers, however varied they may be, and what gives them real value is the love with which they are made.
–Blessed Charles De Foucauld (1858-1916)

Every true prayer is…

Every true prayer is a prayer of the Church; by means of that prayer the Church prays, since it is the Holy Spirit living in the Church, Who in every single soul “prays in us with unspeakable groanings.”
–Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)

Love makes the soul…

A single act of love makes the soul return to life.
–Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941)

Prayer is the…

Prayer is the sum of our relationship with God. We are what we pray. The degree of our faith is the degree of our prayer. The strength of our hope is the strength of our prayer. The warmth of our charity is the warmth of our prayer. No more, no less.
–Carlo Carretto (1910-1988)

Prayer is an…

Prayer is an encounter and a relationship, a relationship which is deep, and this relationship cannot be forced either on us or on God. The fact that God can make Himself present or can leave us with the sense of His absence is part of this live and real relationship
–Anthony Bloom (1914-2003)

Have I prayed well today?

Theophan the Recluse says: ‘You ask yourself, “Have I prayed well today?” Do not try to find out how deep your emotions were, or how much deeper you understand things divine; ask yourself: “Am I doing God’s will better than I did before?” If you are, prayer has brought its fruits, if you are not, it has not, whatever amount of understanding or feeling you may have derived from the time spent in the presence of God.’
–Anthony Bloom (1914-2003)

Grace and mercy…

No one is strong in his own strength, but he is safe by the grace and mercy of God.
–Saint Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258)

By way of teaching…

As it is impossible to verbally describe the sweetness of honey to one who has never tasted honey, so the goodness of God cannot be clearly communicated by way of teaching if we ourselves are not able to penetrate into the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.
–Saint Basil the Great (329-379)

If priests sin…

If priests sin, all the people are led to sin. Hence every one must render an account of his own sins; but the priests are also responsible for the sins of others.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Renounces this world…

So also the more perfectly a man renounces things of this world, and the more completely he dies to himself through contempt of self, the more quickly this great grace comes to him, the more plentifully it enters in, and the higher it uplifts the free heart.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Take up the cross…

Whoever from deep within her noble and zealous heart wishes to take up the cross, let her first take up the arms necessary for such battles; first is diligence; second, distrust of self; third, confidence in God; fourth, memory of his Passion; fifth, memory of one’s own death; sixth, memory of the glory of God; seventh and last, the authority of Holy Scripture following the example of Christ Jesus in the desert.
–Saint Catharine of Bologna (1413-1463)

Seeking the eternal…

Take care lest the children of this world spend more care and attention on transitory things than you do on seeking those that are eternal.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

The wood of the Cross…

There is no better wood for feeding the fire of God’s love than the wood of the Cross.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Follow your vocation…

Blessed will you be if you persevere in the exercise you have chosen and follow your vocation, not wandering to and fro and changing your mind. If you fluctuate too much you will be like a plant that does not thrive because it is often transplanted. Do not be negligent or renounce what you have begun; then you will abide in your calling as the Apostle advises, not passing from house to house, but remaining in one, as our Lord bade his disciples.
–Francisco de Osuna (1497-1541)

From heaven…

From heaven even the most miserable life will look like one bad night at an inconvenient hotel.
–Saint Theresa of Avila (1515-1582)

The graces of prayer…

Remind yourself that the graces and benefits of prayer are not like water welling up from the earth, but more like water coming down from heaven; therefore, all our efforts cannot produce them, though it is true that we must ready ourselves to receive them with great care, yet humbly and peacefully. We must keep our hearts open and wait for the heavenly dew to fall.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

When you pray…

But when you pray let your words and affections, whether interior or exterior, all tend to love and trust in God. “O God of Mercy, most Loving Lord, Sweet Savior, Lord of my heart, my Joy, my Hope, my Beloved, my Bridegroom.” Vigorously resist all tendencies to melancholy, and although all you do may seem to be done coldly, wearily and indifferently, do not give in.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Thoughts and hopes…

Nothing so hinders us in what we are doing as to be longing after something else; in so doing, we leave off tilling our own ﬁeld, to drive the plough through our neighbor’s land, where we must not look to reap a harvest; and this is mere waste of time. If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible for us to set our faces steadily towards the work required of us.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

When one seeks…

One is not entirely for God when one seeks something that is not God.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

You will die a saint…

If you embrace all things in this life as coming from the hands of God, and even embrace death to fulfill His holy will, assuredly you will die a saint.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Grieve not for ourselves…

If we have any natural defect, either in mind or body, let us not grieve and feel sorry for ourselves. Who can tell whether, if we had been given a larger share of ability or stronger health, or greater wealth, we would have possessed them to the destruction of our soul!
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

To enrich us, Jesus became poor…

In order to enrich us with true riches, Jesus Christ chose to be a poor man, as the Apostle writes, ‘For your sakes He became poor, that by His poverty ye might become rich.’ He chose to be poor in order to teach us by his example to despise earthly blessings; and thus to enrich us with heavenly blessings, which are infinitely more precious, and which last forever. Wherefore he declared that whoever did not renounce every species of attachment to this earth could not be his true disciple.
— Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

We must detach ourselves…

We must detach ourselves from everything, and especially from ourselves, by continually thwarting our self-love. For example, a certain thing pleases us; we must leave it for the very reason that it pleases us. A certain person has injured us; we must do him good for this very reason. In a word, we must desire and not desire, exactly as God desires or does not desire, without inclination to any one thing; because we do not know that what we ourselves wish is the will of God.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Through the cross…

Our Lord who saved the world through the Cross will only work for the good of souls through the Cross.
–Saint Madeline Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

Public prayer is…

Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Nothing but crosses…

We ought to run after crosses as the miser runs after money. . . Nothing but crosses will reassure us at the Day of Judgment When that day shall come, we shall be happy in our misfortunes, proud of our humiliations, and rich in our sacrifices!
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Pain and trouble…

You must make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain measure of pain and trouble in your passage through life.
–Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Take things as…

Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not… We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them.
–Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

In God’s hands…

Life and death are in God’s Hands, He disposes of them as He sees fit.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Complete self-forgetfulness…

True love is found only in complete self-forgetfulness, and it is only after we have detached ourselves from every creature that we find Jesus.
–Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897)

Temple of God…

Remember that our soul is the temple of God, and as such, we must keep it pure and spotless before God and His angels.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Always in the presence of God…

Consider that we are always in the presence of God to whom we have to give account for our every action, both good and bad.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Why should you worry…

Why should you worry whether God wants you to reach the heavenly home by way of the desert or by the fields, when by the one as well as by the other one arrives all the same at a Blessed Eternity? Keep far from you excessive preoccupation which arises from the trials which the good God wishes to visit upon you.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Radiate God’s love…

Each time people come into contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God’s love.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Overwhelmed by God’s generosity…

Someone filled with resentment and unhappiness, bitter that life is not as it should be, will be deeply disillusioned. On the other hand, people who are glad for what they have received, and thank God for what befalls them will receive still more, until finally being overwhelmed by God’s generosity.
–Jacques Philippe (1947-

A divine inspiration cannot…

A divine inspiration cannot ask us to do something that contradicts what the Word of God teaches and asks of us. This means not the Word of God as compiled by each individual’s fantasy and interpretation, but Holy Scripture as transmitted and explained by the teaching authority of the Church. For example, a divine inspiration cannot ask me to commit acts that the Church considers immoral. In the same way, true inspirations always go in the direction of a spirit of obedience to the Church.
–Jacques Philippe (1947-

Happy is the spirit…

Happy is the spirit that attains to the perfect formlessness at the time of prayer. Happy is the spirit which, praying with distraction, goes on increasing its desire for God. Happy is the spirit that becomes free of all matter and is stripped of all at the time of prayer. Happy is the spirit that attains to complete unconsciousness of all sensible experience at the time of prayer.
–Evagrius Ponticus (345-399)

No retired apostles…

There are no retired apostles, only apostles who may change their means of working to suit their changing strength and ability.
–Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002)

The discussion of prayer…

The discussion of prayer is so great that it requires the Father to reveal it, His firstborn Word to teach it, and the Spirit to enable us to think and speak rightly of so great a subject.
–Origen (c. 184-254)

Offer fervent prayer while…

It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop…while buying or selling…or even while cooking.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

In praising God…

Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Prayer is the…

Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.
–Saint John Damascene (c. 676-750)

A pilgrim in this world…

Keep yourself as a pilgrim and a stranger here in this world, as one to whom the world’s business counts by little. Keep your heart free, and always lift it up to God.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

See yourself as God sees…

If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of your own self-importance.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Some people are tempted…

Some people are tempted most strongly at the beginning of their spiritual life, others near the end. Some are troubled all their lives. Still others receive only light temptation. Such things are decided by God, and we can trust his wisdom.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Grace prepares you…

Bring to God a clean and open heart, if you wish to see how sweet the Lord is; though truly you will never attain this happiness unless His grace prepares you and draws you on so that you may forsake all things to be united with Jesus alone.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Be thankful for…

Be thankful for the smallest blessing and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

When you talk to God…

You will find it very helpful if you can get an image or a picture of this Lord — one that you like — not to wear round your neck and never look at but to use regularly whenever you talk to Him, and He will tell you what to say. If words do not fail you when you talk to people on earth, why should they do so when you talk to God?
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

The Lord who has called us…

We must also be ﬁrmly convinced from the start that, if we ﬁght courageously and do not allow ourselves to be beaten, we shall get what we want, and there is no doubt that, however small our gains may be, they will make us very rich. Do not be afraid that the Lord Who has called us to drink of this spring will allow you to die of thirst.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

The beginning of prayer…

God has created us to love and to be loved, and this is the beginning of prayer -to know that God loves me, that I have been created for greater things.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Sought God in silence…

The contemplatives and ascetics of all ages and religions have sought God in the silence and solitude of the desert, forest, and mountains. Jesus himself spent forty days in the desert and the mountains, communing for long hours with the Father in the silence of the night.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Withdraw into deeper silence…

We too are called to withdraw at certain intervals into deeper silence… to be alone with Him …to dwell lovingly in His presence, silent, empty, expectant, and motionless. We cannot find God in noise or agitation.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Silence is necessary…

In nature we find silence — the trees, flowers, and grass grow in silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun move in silence. Silence of the heart is necessary so you can hear God.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Paradise is around us…

Here is an unspeakable secret: paradise is all around us and we do not understand.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Let prayer pray…

The best way to pray is: stop. Let prayer pray within you, whether you know it or not.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

To enter into contemplation…

To enter into the realm of contemplation, one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance into a higher life. It is a death for the sake of life, which leaves behind all that we can know or treasure as life, as thought, as experience as joy, as being. [Every form of intuition and experience] die to be born again on a higher level of life.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

On the threshold of despair…

Only the man who has had to face despair is really convinced that he needs mercy. Those who do not want mercy never seek it. It is better to find God on the threshold of despair than to risk our lives in a complacency that has never felt the need of forgiveness. A life that is without problems may literally be more hopeless than one that always verges on despair.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

We are the Body of Christ…

Our glory and our hope— We are the Body of Christ. Christ loves us and espouses us as His own flesh. Isn’t that enough for us? But we do not really believe it. No! Be content, be content. We are the Body of Christ. We have found Him, He has found us. We are in Him, He is in us. There is nothing further to look for, except for the deepening of this life we already possess. Be content.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

No two saints are exactly alike…

No two saints are alike, just as no two stars in the sky are alike. Yet, all the saints are alike in one regard: they each reflect some aspect of the life of Jesus.
–Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002)

Jesus should be everything…

Jesus should be everything to you: the object of all your desires, the reason behind all of your decisions, the motivation of all your emotions, and the model for all your actions.
–Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002)

Seek God early…

If we do not actively seek God early in the morning,
it will be very unlikely that we meet him later in the day.
–Brother Andrew [Anne van der Bijl] (1928-

Life before death…

Is there life before death? – that is the question.
–Anthony de Mello (1931-1987)

It isn’t falling…

It isn’t falling in that causes you to drown, it’s staying in.
–Anthony de Mello (1931-1987)

You see things…

You see persons and things not as they are but as you are.
–Anthony de Mello (1931-1987)

Holier-than-thou people…

Holier-than-thou people usually end up holier than nobody
–Richard Rohr (1943-

Truth sets you free…

Before the truth sets you free, it tends to make you miserable.
–Richard Rohr (1943-

Prayer is being willing…

Prayer is not about changing God, but being willing to let God change us.
–Richard Rohr (1943-

To undergo conversion…

Everything that happens to us is in some way or other is a call from God — to grow, to change, to see things differently, and to undergo conversion.
–Jacques Philippe (1947-

The life of prayer…

The life of prayer is not static. It develops in stages and makes progress — progress that is not always in a straight line but sometimes even seems to fall back.
–Jacques Philippe (1947-

To become a saint…

I realized that to become a saint one must suffer a great deal, always seek what is best, and forget oneself.
–Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897)

Confidence works miracles…

When we do not give up praying, confidence works miracles.
–Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897)

Confidence is the soul…

Confidence is the very soul of prayer.
–Blessed Solanus Casey (1870-1957)

Our days are numbered…

Our days are numbered. Every stroke of the clock reminds us to seek Him Who created time and Himself stands above the measure of time. He alone is able to pluck us out from the ravaging torrent of time… Every stroke of the clock tells us: Be watchful! You now have one hour less until you must cross the threshold into life after death which knows neither days nor hours. Do not be seduced by the momentary sweetness of sin which vanishes like a dream, leaving the soul empty, ailing, anguishing; it steals away precious time and ruins it forever. Do not waste time in useless occupations or idleness. Every one of you has a God-given talent to put to use.
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Your Lord is…

Your Lord is Love:
love Him and in Him all men,
as His children in Christ.

Your Lord is a fire:
do not let your heart be cold,
but burn with faith and love.

Your Lord is light:
do not walk in darkness of mind,
without reasoning or understanding, or without faith.

Your Lord is a God of mercy and bountifulness:
be a source of mercy and bountifulness to your neighbors.

If you will be such, you will find salvation yourself with everlasting glory.
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Thank God every day…

Thank God every day with your whole heart for having given to you life according to His image and likeness – an intelligently free and immortal life…Thank Him also for again daily bestowing life upon you, who have fallen an innumerable multitude of times, by your own free will, through sins, from life unto death, and that He does so as soon as you only say from your whole heart: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee!’ (Luke 15:18).
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Prayer is the…

Prayer itself is the piercing of our hearts by pious feelings towards God, one after another – feelings of humility, submission, gratitude, doxology, forgiveness, heart-felt prostration, brokenness, conformity to the will of God, etc…. When these feelings are present, our praying is prayer, and when they are absent, it is not yet prayer.
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894

Be with the Lord…

Whatever you are doing, with whomever you are speaking, whether you are going somewhere or sitting, let your mind be with the Lord. You will forget yourself, and stray from this path; but again turn to the Lord and rebuke yourself with sorrow. This is the discipline of spiritual attentiveness.
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

Everywhere present God…

Make the habit to remember God, not only during your prayers, but at every hour and minute of the day, for He is everywhere present.
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

The essence of prayer…

The essence of prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God
–Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

We must suffer…

If someone said to you, “I would like to become rich; what must I do?” you would answer him, “You must labor.” Well, in order to get to Heaven, we must suffer.
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Come to church…

As for ourselves, how often do we come to church without thinking what we are going to do or for what we are going to ask. And yet, when we go to call upon someone, we have no difficulty in remembering why it was we came. Some appear as if they were about to say to God: ‘I am just going to say a couple of words, so I can get away quickly.’
–Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

One loses, one gains…

With God, the more one seems to lose the more one gains. The more He strikes off of what is natural, the more He gives of what is supernatural. He is loved at first for His gifts, but when these are no longer perceptible He is at last loved for Himself. It is by the apparent withdrawal of these sensible gifts that He prepares the way for that great gift which is the most precious and the most extensive of all, since it embraces all others.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

To their detachment…

When God lives in the soul it ought to abandon itself entirely to His providence… In souls abandoned to God everything is efficacious, everything is a sermon and apostolic. God imparts to their silence, to their repose, to their detachment, to their words, gestures, etc., a certain virtue which, unknown to them, works in the hearts of those around them.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

The state of abandonment…

The state of abandonment is a certain mixture of faith, hope, and charity in one single act, which unites the soul to God and to His action. United, these three virtues together form but one in a single act, the raising of the heart to God, and abandonment to His action.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Preaching a sermon…

What end should a person have in view when preaching a sermon? The aim and intention should be to do what our Lord told us when he came into this world to do: ‘I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.’ The preacher’s object, then, is that sinners who are dead through sin may come to life again with a life that looks toward right doing and that the good – who possess spiritual life within them – may have it yet more abundantly, may become more and more perfect…So the preacher should say to himself when he is in the pulpit: “I have come so that these people here may have life, and have it more abundantly.”
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Continue to walk…

Don’t philosophize about your trouble – don’t argue with it. Quite simply, continue to walk straight on. God would not allow you to be lost while you live according to your resolutions so as not to lose him. If the whole world turns topsy-turvy, if all around is darkness and smoke and din, yet God is still with us. So, if we know that God lives in the darkness and on Mount Sinai which is full of smoke and surrounded with the roar of thunder and lightning, shall not all be well with us as long as we remain close to him? So, live wholly in God, and do not fear. Jesus in his goodness is all ours; let us be all his. Let us cling to him with courage
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Charity and kindness…

There is nothing which edifies others so much as charity and kindness, by which, as by the oil in our lamp, the flame of good example is kept alive.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Belong entirely to God…

So now, since you want to belong entirely to God, why should you be afraid of your weakness – on which, in any case, you shouldn’t be relying.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Fear of being lost…

Spiritual persons suffer great trials from the fear of being lost on the road and that God has abandoned them. Their soul was taking pleasure in being in that quietness and ease, instead of working with its faculties.
–Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)

Idleness is…

Idleness is hell’s fishhook for catching souls.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Long for the Blessed Sacrament…

Spiritually good people, pure in heart, who long for the Blessed Sacrament but cannot receive at the time, can receive spiritually… even a hundred times a day, in sickness and in health, with immeasurable grace and profit.
–Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)

God will refuse mercy…

Mercy is born of that love which we ought to exercise towards each other. If we do not, God will require it of us at the Judgement Day; and, where He findeth not the requisite mercy, He will refuse mercy, as He Himself has said.
–Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)

Renunciation of self…

This becoming one with the Eternal Goodness cannot come to pass but by an absolute renunciation of our self, and all that is ours, natural or spiritual; for in the same measure that a man comes out from himself, in that measure does God enter in with His divine grace, and he who loses his life shall find it.
–Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)

Live gladly…

The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

To blame God…

So how unjust it would be for me to blame God for allowing my sin when he does not blame me for falling into it.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Preach the truth…

Preach the Truth as if you had a million voices. It is silence that kills the world. –Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Who receives unworthily…

Do you know the condition of the soul who receives unworthily? She is like a candle on which water has fallen, which can do nothing but crackle when brought near the flame, for no sooner has the ﬁre touched it, than it is extinguished, and nothing remains but smoke.
–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Penance must be used…

Penance to be sure must be used as a tool, in due times and places, as need may be. If the flesh, being too strong, kicks against the spirit, penance takes the rod of discipline, and fast, and the cilice of many buds, and mighty vigils; and places burdens enough on the flesh, that it may be more subdued. But if the body is weak, fallen into illness, the rule of discretion does not approve of such a method.
–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

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