Quotes

Words of Wisdom & Encouragement

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Union by contemplation…

Souls who aspire to a sublime union with God by contemplation usually suffer interior purgations in one way or another.
–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

The presence of God…

The presence of God calms the soul, and gives it quiet and repose.
–François Fénèlon (1651-1715)

Capable of contemplative prayer…

Everyone is capable of inward contemplative prayer, and it is a terrible shame that almost all people have it in their heads not to do it. We are all called to this prayer as we are all called to eternal life. Contemplative prayer is nothing more than heartfelt affection and love. What is necessary is to love God and to focus on him.
–Jean Guyon (1648-1717)

An inexhaustible fountain…

The Sacred Heart of Christ is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

Let nothing trouble you…

Keep your heart in peace and let nothing trouble you, not even your faults. You must humble yourself and amend them peacefully, without being discouraged or cast down, for God’s dwelling is in peace.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

Faithfully, joyfully, willingly…

You know what you have to do. Correspond faithfully, joyfully and willingly to the lights He gives you.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647- 1690)

Three kinds of people…

There are three kinds of people: those who have sought God and found him, and these are reasonable and happy; those who seek God and have not yet found him, and these are reasonable and unhappy; and those who neither seek God nor find him, and these are unreasonable and unhappy.
–Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

To be a servant of God…

To be a servant of God means to be charitable towards one’s neighbors, to have an unshakeable determination in the superior part of your soul to obey the will of God, to trust in God with a very humble humility and simplicity, and to lift oneself up as often as one falls, to endure with all your abjections and to quietly put up with others in their imperfections.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Judged by our charity…

At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity.
–Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)

We shall all be saints…

Let the young man look after the flesh, and the old man after avarice, and we shall all be saints together.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

One who desires anything but…

He who desires anything but God deceives himself, and he who loves anything but God errs miserably.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

The soul is capable…

The soul is capable of much more than we can imagine.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

To avoid distress…

The way to avoid distress and affliction of mind in this world is to strive to conform our will wholly to God’s.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Noticing others failings…

The sharper you are at noticing other people’s failings, the more apt will you be to overlook your own.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Penitence should include…

Penitence should include contrition of heart, confession of the lips, and satisfaction in act.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Knowledge without fear…

Every man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

The visitation of God…

When comfort is withdrawn, do not be cast down, but humbly and patiently await the visitation of God. He is able and powerful to give you more grace and more spiritual comfort than you first had.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

A life without purpose…

A life without purpose is a languid, drifting thing; Every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves: This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught!
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

The Holy Church…

And you may be certain of this–unless you really are more ignorant than anyone — that the arm of holy Church, though it may well be weak, is not broken. From its weakness this arm always emerges strengthened, as do those who stay close to it.
–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

We have been called…

We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.
–Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)

The elderly have…

The elderly have a rich storehouse of memories, and inner landscape to explore: times lost in idleness, opportunities well used, a fulfilling career, children grown up and suffering gone through with dignity and courage.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Our desire be exercised…

God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what He is prepared to give.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

We count on God…

We count on God’s mercy for our past mistakes, on God’s love for our present needs, on God’s sovereignty for our future.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Fastened to the Cross…

All those who belong to Jesus Christ are fastened with Him to the cross.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

We need a Savior…

In our sickness we need a savior, in our wanderings a guide, in our blindness someone to show us the light, in our thirst the fountain of living water which quenches for ever the thirst of those who drink from it. We dead people need life, we sheep need a shepherd, we children need a teacher, the whole world needs Jesus!
–Saint Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)

Preserve the unity…

Let us, then, preserve the unity of the body that we form in Christ Jesus, and let everyone give his neighbor the deference to which his particular gifts entitle him. Let the strong care for the weak and the weak respect the strong. Let the wealthy assist the poor and the poor man thank God for giving him someone to supply his needs. The wise man should show his wisdom not by his eloquence but by good works; the humble man should not proclaim his own humility, but leave others to do so; nor must the man who preserves his chastity ever boast of it, but recognize that the ability to control his desires has been given him by another.
–Saint Clement (First Century)

Live simply…

Live simply, honestly, always remember that God sees everything, and as for the rest, do not pay attention!
–Elder Anatoly Potapov of Optina (20th Century)

Performed with charity…

An external deed done without charity is without value, but when performed with charity – no matter how small or insignificant the action be – it becomes meritorious. God notes the love that impels the action and not the number of works done.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Never murmur…

Whoever has known the love of God loves the whole world and never murmurs against his fate, for the burden of sorrow for the sake of God gains eternal joy.
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

One who is humbled…

Some suffer much from poverty and sickness, but are not humbled, and so they suffer without profit. But one who is humbled will be happy in all circumstances, because the Lord is his riches and joy, and all people will wonder at the beauty of his soul.
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

How saints are made…

Let us live with God as with a Friend. Let us make our faith a living thing, so as to remain in communion with Him through everything. That is how saints are made. We carry our heaven within us, since He who completely satisfies every longing of the glorified souls in the light of the Beatific Vision, is giving Himself to us in faith and mystery. It is the same thing. It seems to me I have found my heaven on earth, since heaven is God and God is in my soul. The day I understood that, everything became clear to me, and I wish I could whisper this secret to those I love in order that they also might cling closely to God through everything.
–Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)

Detach ourselves from all…

We must detach ourselves from all, for the all who is Jesus Christ, and we must trust him alone.
–Saint John of God (1495-1550)

The detached soul…

The more detached and solitary a soul becomes, the better fitted it grows to seek and find its Creator.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

One right ambition…

There is but one right kind of ambition: to love God, and as the reward of loving him, to love him more.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Peace is…

Peace is the simplicity of heart, serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, the bond of love.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

We are truly humble…

The Lord is willing to do great things, but on condition that we are truly humble.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Prayer is the key…

Prayer is the best weapon we possess. It is the key that opens the heart of God.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

Difficult times…

Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.
–Isak Denison (1883-1962)

Build the kingdom…

If we want to build the kingdom of God, we must stop being self-centered and start becoming Christ-centered.
–Father Raniero Cantalamessa (1936-

Encounter with God…

We are not heading for an eternal void and an eternal silence but we are on our way to an encounter, an encounter with Him who created us and loves us more than mother and father.
–Father Raniero Cantalamessa (1936-

Indifference is the biggest sin…

The biggest sin against the poor and the hungry is perhaps indifference, making believe we do not see, passing by on the other side of the street.
–Father Raniero Cantalamessa (1936-

Know and walk with Jesus…

Know Jesus with the mind – the study of the Catechism: know Jesus with the heart – in prayer, in dialogue with Him. This helps us a good bit, but it is not enough. There is a third way to know Jesus: it is by following Him. Go with Him, walk with Him.
–Pope Francis (1937-

Walk in the presence…

We must always walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, always trying to live in an irreprehensible way.
–Pope Francis (1936-

When God comes…

When God comes, he always calls us out of our house. We are visited so that we can visit others; we are encountered so as to encounter others; we receive love in order to give love.
–Pope Francis (1936-

Life is a journey…

Life is a journey, along different roads, different paths, which leave their mark on us. We know in faith that Jesus seeks us out. He wants to heal our wounds, to soothe our feet which hurt from traveling alone, to wash each of us clean of the dust from our journey.
–Pope Francis (1936-

Seek God in every human life…

I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else – God is in this person’s life. You can – you must – try to seek God in every human life.
–Pope Francis (1936-

Be free or slave…

This is the struggle of every person: be free or be a slave.
–Pope Francis (1936-

Christ in his heart…

That person does not have Christ who only has Him on his tongue. Neither does that person have Christ who has Him only on paper. Neither does that person have Christ who has Him only on the wall. Neither does that person have Christ that has Him in the museum of the past. That person, in truth, has Christ who has Him in his heart. For Christ is Love and the throne of love is the heart.
–Saint Nicholas Velimirovic (1880-1956)

God can dwell…

The heart apparently is a narrow organ, but God can dwell in it. When God dwells in it, then it is filled and overly filled and nothing else can position itself in it. If, however, the whole world were to settle in it, it remains empty without God.
–Saint Nicholas Velimirovic (1880-1956)

The longer from communion…

The longer you stay away from Communion, the more your soul will be weak, and in the end you will become dangerously indifferent.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Be eager to go to Mass…

Be eager to go to Mass on weekdays also, even if it costs a sacrifice. Our Lord will reward you with His Blessings and make you succeed in your undertakings.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

So Holy Communion…

Just as the manna was the daily nourishment of the Hebrews in the desert, so Holy Communion should be our support and our daily nourishment.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Instituted this Sacrament…

Jesus Christ instituted this Sacrament to give us a sign of the great love He has for us and to give us adequate nourishment for our souls.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

God is in love with us…

God is in love with us and keeps using you and me to light the light of love in the world. Let His light of truth be in your life so that God can continue loving the world through you and me. Put your heart into being a bright light.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Look upon Jesus…

Each time we look upon Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, He raises us up into deeper union with Himself, opens up the floodgates of His merciful love to the whole world, and brings us closer to the day of His final victory ‘where every knee will bend and proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.’ The reign of God is already in your midst. The coming of Jesus to us in the Eucharist is assurance of His promise of final victory: “Behold, I come to make all things new.”
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Our duty as Christians…

Our principle duty as Christians is to prepare others to live holy lives in today’s unholy world.
–John Hardon (1914-2000)

A heretic doesn’t live…

People usually say that a heretic is someone who holds false and wrong views, but also I say a heretic is someone who doesn’t live what they preach. So let us examine ourselves. Why is it that people who meet us never notice that we are limbs of the risen Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit? Why? Each of us has got to give his own reply to this question. Let us, each of us, examine ourselves and be ready to answer before our own conscience, and do what is necessary to change our lives in such a way that people meeting us may look at us and say: ‘Such people we have never seen. There is something about them that we have never seen in anyone. What is it?’ And we could answer: ‘It is the life of Christ in us. We are His limbs. This is the life of the spirit in us. We are His temple.’
–Anthony Bloom (1914-2003)

Adore the Sacrament…

United with the angels and saints of the heavenly Church, let us adore the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Prostrate, we adore this great mystery that contains God’s new and definitive covenant with humankind in Christ.
–Saint John Paul (1920-2005)

The road of sanctity…

The road of sanctity is not a road of honors, but rather a road of misunderstandings and humiliations. When you encounter difficulties, don’t discourage yourself too quickly. Run without delay to the tabernacle to sigh with Jesus, telling him: ‘Jesus, I have only the thought of abandoning you. Deign to change my will. I’m very sad, and all I can do is ask you to accept my sadness. I can’t find peace… I can’t stop myself from crying… accept my tears with gentleness.’
–Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002)

Be profoundly prayerful…

The kind of person God wants you to be, the kind of grace and prayer he is offering to you and desires so much to give you, is to enable you to be a profoundly prayerful person, a genuine contemplative all day long, no less in manual work or in suffering than during the Divine Office or at the Sacrifice of the Mass. Private prayer is essential to this.
–Armand M. Nigro, S.J. (1928-

The story of Jesus…

The story of Jesus is to be proclaimed and celebrated. Some will hear and rejoice, some will remain indifferent, some will become hostile. The story of Jesus will not always be accepted, but it must be told.
–Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)

There is no formula…

There is no “formula” for the truly God-pleasing life; anything outward can become counterfeit; everything depends on the state of the soul, which must be trembling before God, having the law of God before it in every area of life, every moment keeping what is God’s in honor, in the first place in life.
–Blessed Seraphim of Platina (1934-1982)

Accept afflictions with patience…

Accept afflictions with patience. Silently endure cold and heat, wind and rain, fatigue and all the other discomforts that God may deign to send you.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Sin and forgiveness…

Sin and forgiveness and falling and getting back up and losing the pearl of great price in the couch cushions but then finding it again, and again, and again? Those are the stumbling steps to becoming Real, the only script that’s really worth following in this world or the one that’s coming.
–Brennan Manning (1934-2013)

Stifle the conscience…

Man bears within himself a witness of all his faults, which he must acknowledge with sorrow either here or before God’s judgment seat, for as the sage says, ‘our conscience knows we have said and even done what harmed others, and knows it, not in order to conceal it, but to bear witness against us. Yet with all this, there are men who stop God’s voice and stifle the remonstrance of conscience, not permitting it to speak.
–Francisco de Osuna (1497-1541)

Many choose other ways…

Hence many people choose other ways, following their own reason or opinions or appetites; they seek some other paths, and even without seeking them, find many that lead to hell and are so smooth and pleasant that they forget what a terrible reception they will meet with in the end. They only think of the pleasant way and fresh air and companions and that, whichever road they take, they are sure of society.
–Francisco de Osuna (1497-1541)

Many steps before sanctity…

I see that we have to take many steps before arriving at sanctity. We think every step we take a be the last, and then we find that we have done nothing, we have hardly begun.
–Saint Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)

Visits to the Blessed Sacrament…

Do you want Our Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit him seldom. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament are powerful and indispensable means of overcoming the attacks of the devil. Make frequent visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the devil will be powerless against you.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Jesus in our Tabernacle…

We envy the shepherds who went to visit the grotto of Bethlehem to see Him, kissed His little hand, and offered Him their gifts. “Lucky shepherds!” we exclaim. And yet there is no reason to envy them, for their fortune is ours, too. The same Jesus they visited in the grotto is in our tabernacle. The only difference is that the shepherds saw Him with the eyes of the body, whereas we see Him with the eyes of faith. Nothing will please Him more than our frequent visits to Him.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

To labor hard…

We will have to labor hard, to sweat, to die: but the thought that one sweats and dies for love of Jesus Christ and the salvation of the most abandoned souls in the world, is far too sweet for us to desist from this great enterprise.
–Saint Daniel Comboni (1831-1881)

Christianity has been…

The problem is not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting, but rather that it’s been found difficult and never tried.
–GK Chesterton (1874-1936)

Come to church…

Let every one of you have the Holy Scripture and read from it, since these are God’s words, they teach us how to live and prepare ourselves for the future life. Pray at home daily, and on Sundays and holidays, come to church, to this holy place which is devoted to service to God, where God’s angels abide and pray together with you.
–Saint John Maximovich (1896-1966)

Christ is with us…

When we have spiritual reading at meals, when we have the rosary at night, when we have study groups, forums, when we go out to distribute literature at meetings, or sell it on the street corners, Christ is there with us.
–Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

You go to pray…

You go to pray; to become a bonfire, a living flame, giving light and heat.
–Saint Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975)

To the Cross…

It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master:
no path of redemption can make a detour around it.
–Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

Look at the crucifix…

When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

The love of the Cross…

The love of the Cross in no way contradicts being a joyful child of God. Helping Christ carry His Cross fills one with a strong and pure joy, and those who may and can do so, the builders of God’s kingdom, are the most authentic children of God.
–Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)

Leave it to God…

God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night looks back and you see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it to Him – really rest – and start the next day as a new life.
–Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)

In receiving God…

Once you have surrendered yourself, you make yourself receptive. In receiving from God, you are perfected
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Waking up in the morning…

There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, “Good morning, God,” and the other is to say, “Good God, morning!”
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Accept joy or suffering…

I accept joy or suffering, praise or humiliation with the same disposition. I remember that one and the other are passing. What does it matter to me what people say about me: I have long ago given up everything that concerns my person.
–Saint Faustina (1905-1938)

Sailing to the moon…

What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we cannot cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Where no one will disturb…

There should be at least a room or some corner where no one will find you and disturb you or notice you.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Found his vocation…

A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

To heal and liberate…

We are called to heal and to liberate. This healing power in us will not come from our capacities and our riches, but in and through our poverty. We are called to discover that God can bring peace, compassion, and love through our wounds.
–Jean Vanier (1928-

Seek the grace of devotion…

You must seek earnestly the grace of devotion, ask for it fervently, await it patiently and hopefully, receive it gratefully, guard it humbly, cooperate with it carefully and leave to God, when it comes, the length and manner of the heavenly visitation.
–Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Believe in truth…

You must believe in truth that whatever God gives or permits is for your salvation.
–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Be not angry…

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
–Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471)

Prayer is our…

Prayer is our personal response to God’s presence. We approach the Lord reverently with a listening heart. God speaks first. In prayer, we acknowledge the Divine presence and in gratitude respond to God in love. The focus is always on God and on what God does.
–Jacqueline Syrup Bergan and Marie Schwan (1983)

Sharpen the blade…

There was an exhausted woodcutter who kept wasting time and energy chopping wood with a blunt ax because he did not have the time, he said, to stop and sharpen the blade.
–Anthony de Mello (1931-1987)

Repentance brings…

Repentance brings an intense desire for God, deep gratitude, and a growth in self-awareness that increases our freedom to love.
–Anthony de Mello (1931-1987)

Wisdom tends to grow…

Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance.
–Anthony de Mello (1931-1987)

Spontaneous intimacy…

Formerly, I had never heard anyone speak to me of a totally spontaneous intimacy in relations with God. However, at the bottom of my heart I thought that a soul can be intimate with God by using all ways to express its love for him; that it can converse with him by using no matter what sort of ordinary words, according to its needs and circumstances. Of course it is not a waste of time to recite prayers; however, it might be that it is not so profitable as a conversation of the soul conversing gently with God in terms which spring spontaneously from the heart.
–Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002)

Pray with…

Pray with words, pray with your sighs, pray with your desires. Of these three ways of praying, you will be able to use the latter two more easily.
–Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân (1928-2002)

Prayer finds its source…

Prayer finds its source in God’s holiness and it is at the same time our response to this holiness.
–Saint John Paul (1920-2005)

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