Words of Wisdom & Encouragement
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Repent sincerely…
Blessed the one who continually remembers the fear of Gehenna and hastens with tears and groans to repent sincerely in the Lord, for he will be delivered from the great tribulation.
–Saint Ephrem of Syria (c. 306-373)
Grieve over sins…
Not to sin is truly blessed; but those who sin should not despair, but grieve over the sins they have committed, so that, through grief they may again attain blessedness.
–Saint Ephrem of Syria (c. 306 – 373)
Ask, seek, and knock…
Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience. For thus he who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
–Saint John Climacus (c. 525-606)
Be completely simple…
Let your prayer be completely simple. For both the publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase.
–Saint John Climacus (c. 525-606)
Christ’s holy name…
The more rain falls on the earth, the softer it makes it. Similarly, Christ’s holy name gladdens the earth of our heart the more we call upon it.
–Saint Hesychius of Jerusalem (Fifth Century)
Prayer ought to be…
Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration of divine grace.
–Saint Benedict (480-547)
Cast out every sinful thought…
Since prayer is an association of the mind with God, then in what state must the mind possibly be, in order to be able, without turning elsewhere, to approach its Lord and converse with Him without the mediation of something else? If Moses in his attempt to approach the burning bush was hindered until he had removed the sandals from his feet, then shouldn’t you who desires to see God and converse with Him, remove and cast out of you every sinful thought?
–Saint Nilus of Sinai (d. 430)
Render your mind…
Strive to render your mind deaf and dumb at the time or prayer and then you will be able to pray.
–The Desert Fathers (and Mothers)
In knowing God…
Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God. The more we know Him, the more we will desire to know Him. As love increases with knowledge, the more we know God, the more we will truly love Him. We will learn to love Him equally in times of distress or in times of great joy.
–Brother Lawrence (1614-1691)
Laying aside some devotion…
It is, however, necessary to put our whole trust in God, laying aside all other cares, and even some particular forms of devotion, though very good in themselves, yet such as one often engages in unreasonably: because those devotions are only means to attain to the end; so when by this exercise of the presence of God we are with Him who is our end, it is then useless to return to the means; but we may continue with Him our commerce of love, persevering in His holy presence: one while by an act of praise, of adoration, or of desire; one while by an act of resignation, or thanksgiving; and in all the manner which our spirit can invent.
–Brother Lawrence (1614-1691)
Have to traverse it ourselves…
The spiritual father only shows to way, like a signpost, but we have to traverse it ourselves. If the spiritual father shows the way and the disciple doesn’t move himself, then he won’t get anywhere, and will rot near the signpost.
–Saint Nikon of Optina (1888-1931)
Trials and temptations…
For our love for God is demonstrated above all by the way we endure trials and temptations.
–Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359)
Never despair of God’s mercy…
A sinner cannot outrage the Deity more than by despairing of divine mercy on account of the number and enormity of his crimes; for God’s clemency is far greater than the iniquity and guilt of an entire world . . . Of God’s mercy never despair.
–Venerable Blosius (1506-1566)
Why pray to saints…
You say you see no reason why we should pray to the Saints since God can hear us and help us just as well, and will do so gladly, as any Saint in Heaven. Well, then, what need, I ask, do you have to ask any physician to help your fever, or to ask and pay any surgeon to heal your sore leg? For God can both hear you and help you as well as the best of doctors. He loves you more than they do, and He can help you sooner. Besides—–His poultices are cheaper and He will give you more for your words alone than they will for your money!
–Saint Thomas More (1478-1535)
Cure your soul…
If you want cure your soul, you need four things.
- The first is to forgive your enemies.
- The second is to confess thoroughly.
- The third is to blame yourself.
- The fourth is to resolve to sin no more.
–Saint Kosmas Airolos (c. 1714 – 1779)
Voluntary suffering is…
Fire cannot last long in water, nor can a shameful thought in a heart that loves God. For every man who loves God suffers gladly, and voluntary suffering is by nature the enemy of sensual pleasure.
–Saint Kosmas Aitolos (c.1714 – 1779)
Be united with God…
First of all it must be understood that it is the duty of all Christians – especially of those whose calling dedicates them to the spiritual life – to strive always and in every way to be united with God, their creator, lover, benefactor, and their supreme good, by Whom and for Whom they were created. This is because the center and the final purpose of the soul, which God created, must be God Himself alone, and nothing else – God whom Whom the soul has received its life and its nature, and for Whom it must eternally live.
–Saint Dimitry of Rostov (1651-1709)
Go courageously…
Go courageously to God, along the way He has traced out for you, steadfastly embracing the means He offers you.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647- 1690)
God can’t come, if…
God, whose love and joy are present everywhere,
can’t come to visit you unless you aren’t there.
–Angelus Silesius (1624-1677)
When reckoning comes…
The path is plain…
Never give up prayer…
The least of all…
Love gives all for all…
In God’s service…
Use and experience teach that it is not the lazy and listless, but the ardent and eager, who enjoy calm and peace of mind in God’s service.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Change of life…
Change of climate does not involve change of life. The imperfect man will be much the same wherever he is, until he has forsaken himself.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Love the abandoned…
Love even the most abandoned: love whatever faith in Christ remains in them: if they have lost this, love their virtues; if these have gone, love the holy likeness they bear, love the blood of Christ through which you trust they are redeemed.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Riches are only lent…
Who could count all those who have had wealth, power, honor? But their glory, their riches were only lent to them, and they wore themselves out in preserving and increasing that which they were forced to abandon one day.
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
Love of our…
One of the things which we must be very firm about, if we are to please our Lord, is to cast far from us everything that could remove us from the love of our brethren. We should make every effort to love them with a tender charity, for Supreme Truth has said: “This is how all will know you are my disciples, etc.” (John 13:35)
–Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
In judging others…
Imitate Christ’s life…
We have nothing…
God throws our sins…
Grow in the spiritual life…
There is no need for peculiar conditions in order to grow in the spiritual life, for the pressure of God’s Spirit is present everywhere and at all times. Our environment itself, our home and our job, is the medium through which we experience His moulding action and His besetting love.
–Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)
Being reduced to nothing…
Being reduced to nothing is the most powerful means we have of uniting ourselves to Jesus and of doing good to others.
–Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916)
Deeply rooted weaknesses, passions, and defects…
We have within us deeply rooted weaknesses, passions, and defects. This can not all be cut out with one sharp motion, but patience, persistence, care and attention. The path leading to perfection is long. Pray to God so that he will strengthen you. Patiently accept your falls and, having stood up, immediately run to God, not remaining in that place where you have fallen. Do not despair if you keep falling into your old sins. Many of them are strong because they have received the force of habit. Only with the passage of time and with fervor will they be conquered. Don’t let anything deprive you of hope.
–Saint Nektarios of Aegina (1846-1920)
Human nature is weak…
Human nature is weak and the devil is always most active after a conversion. We can never have too much pity for those who have fallen.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)
Spiritual things…
Why is it that we have so little liking for spiritual things? This is because we love Jesus Crucified so little.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)
Silence where the Lord dwell…
God does not give Himself to a chattering soul which, like a drone in a beehive, buzzes around but gathers no honey. A talkative soul is empty inside. It lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God. A deeper interior life, one of gentle peace and of that silence where the Lord dwells, is quite out of the question. A soul that has never tasted the sweetness of inner silence is a restless spirit which disturbs the silence of others.
–Saint Faustina (1905-1938)
Who desires peace…
She who desires peace must see, suffer and be silent.
–Saint Teresa Margaret (1747-1770)
She who is silent…
She who is silent everywhere finds peace.
–Saint Teresa Margaret (1747-1770)
Interior silence consists…
God is our true Friend, who always gives us the counsel and comfort we need. Our danger lies in resisting Him; so it is essential that we acquire the habit of hearkening to His voice, of keeping silence within, and listening so as to lose nothing of what He says to us. We know well enough how to keep outward silence, and to hush our spoken words, but we know little of interior silence. It consists in hushing our idle, restless, wandering imagination, in quieting the promptings of our worldly minds, and in suppressing the crowd of unprofitable thoughts which excite and disturb the soul.
–François Fénelon (1651-1715)
Turn to God and be converted…
Turn to God quickly and completely. Be converted to him. Do not keep procrastinating… It is a common mistake to think that the mercy of God is so great that there will be no punishment.
–Richard Rolle (c. 1300-1349)
Occupied with what is holy…
If you put something fragrant on to burning coals, you motivate those who approach to come back again and to stay near, but if instead you put on something with an unpleasant, oppressive smell, you repel them and drive them away. It is the same with the mind. If your attention is occupied with what is holy, you make yourself worthy of being visited by God, since this is the sweet savour which God catches scent of. On the other hand, if you nurture evil, foul and earthly thoughts within you, you remove yourself from God’s supervision and unfortunately make yourself worthy of His aversion.
–Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359)
No standing still…
In the way of virtue, there is no standing still; anyone who does not daily advance, loses ground. To remain at a standstill is impossible; he that gains not, loses; he that ascends not, descends. If one does not ascend the ladder, one must descend; if one does not conquer, one will be conquered.
–Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274)
Go from all things to God…
A fish in water does not drown. A bird in the air does not plummet. Gold in fire does not perish. Rather, it gets its purity and its radiant color there. God has created all creatures to live according to their nature. How, then, am I to resist my nature? I must go from all things to God, Who is my Father by nature, My brother by His humanity, My bridegroom by love, And I His bride from all eternity.
–Mechthild of Magdeburg (1208-1282)
The love of God…
The love of God is born in us by grace, fed with the milk of reading, nourished with the food of meditation, strengthened and enlightened by prayer.
–William of Saint-Thierry (1085-1148)
All receive equally…
We all receive God’s blessings equally. But some of us, receiving God’s fire, that is, His word, become soft like beeswax, while the others like clay become hard as stone. And if we do not want Him, He does not force any of us, but like the sun He sends His rays and illuminates the whole world, and he who wants to see Him, sees Him, whereas the one who does not want to see Him, is not forced by Him. And no one is responsible for this privation of light except the one who does not want to have it.
–Saint Peter of Damascus (d. 750)
Give not your heart…
Give not your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.
–Saint Poeman (c. 340 – c. 450) (a Desert Father)
Keep our eyes on Jesus Christ…
Let us keep our eyes on Jesus Christ to contemplate Him, our mouth employed to praise Him, our whole heart intent on nothing less than to please Him without limits.
–Saint Francis de Sales, (1567-1622)
Begin again daily…
It is right that you should begin again every day. There is no better way to complete the spiritual life than to be ever beginning it over again.
–Saint Francis de Sales, (1567-1622)
We can all love…
Not all of us can fast, or undertake arduous journeys in God’s service, or give generous alms, but we can all love. All it takes is the sincere desire to do so.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)
Through confession purify…
Be brave and try to detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, endeavor to purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith, which is essential to understand and achieve piety.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)
We will be judged by…
At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Faith is a gift….
Faith is a gift of God. Without it there would be no life. And our work, to be fruitful, and to be all for God, and to be beautiful, has to be built on faith – faith in Christ, who has said, “I was hungry, I was naked, I was sick and I was homeless, and you ministered to Me.” On these words of His all our work is based.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament…
The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven, and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Family that prays together…
Where does this love begin? In our own home. How does it begin? By loving one another. But we cannot love one another unless we pray for prayer gives a clean heart. Prayer – family that prays together, stays together and if you stay together, you will love one another as God loves you. And the fruit of that prayer is love, joy, peace. The fruit of prayer is deepening of faith and the fruit of faith is love and the fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace.
–Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Progress everyday in…
Progress everyday in love and in the virtues; if you stop, you will go backwards… Work without ceasing and often examine at what point you have reached: the means of knowing whether you are progressing in the love of God and in all virtues, consists in seeing whether you are growing in love of your neighbor and in humility… If you are growing in these two things, it is certain proof that you are also growing in all perfection.
–Blessed Charles De Foucauld (1858-1916)
God descends to the humble…
God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys.
— Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)
Watch your heart…
Watch your heart during all your life—examine it, listen to it, and see what prevents its union with the most blessed Lord. Let this be for you the science of all sciences, and with God’s help you will easily observe what estranges you from God, and what draws you towards Him and unites you to Him.
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)
Woe to us who…
What answer shall we give to our immortal King, Christ our God, Who shall come again in the glory of His Father to judge both the quick and the dead, to declare the secret thoughts of all hearts, and receive from us our answer for every word and deed. O, woe, woe, woe to us who bear the name of Christ, but have none of the spirit of Christ in us; who bear the name of Christ, but do not follow the teaching of the Gospel! Woe to us who ‘neglect so great salvation’! Woe to us who love the present fleeting, deceptive life, and neglect the inheritance of the life that follows after the death of our corruptible body beyond this carnal veil!
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)
Any thought expressed…
Any thought expressed in the Holy Scriptures can become a ‘burning coal’ that will touch the heart as it touched the lips of Isaiah. That is why we should always study the word of God and have it dwelling richly in our heart, as St. Paul says (cf. Col.3:16).
–Zacharias Zacharou (20-21st centuries)
Opportunity to repent…
God wanted all his beloved ones to have the opportunity to repent and he confirmed this desire by his own almighty will. That is why we should obey his sovereign and glorious will and prayerfully entreat his mercy and kindness. We should be suppliant before him and turn to his compassion, rejecting empty works and quarreling and jealousy which only lead to death.
–Saint Clement of Rome (First Century)
Goods are called good because…
The Lord ate from a common bowl, and asked the disciples to sit on the grass. He washed their feet, with a towel wrapped around His waist — He, who is the Lord of the universe! He drank water from a jug of earthenware, with the Samaritan woman. Christ made use His aim, not extravagance… We are not to throw away those things which can benefit our neighbor. Goods are called good because they can be used for good: they are instruments for good, in the hands of those who use them properly.
–Saint Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)
Begin with prayer…
Do nothing at all unless you begin with prayer.
–Saint Ephrem of Syria (c. 306-373)
God will not hear, unless we
God will not hear our prayers unless we acknowledge ourselves to be sinners. We do this when we ponder on our own sins alone, and not on those of our neighbor.
–Abba Moses (330-405)
If God is love, then hatred…
As God illumines all people equally with the light of the sun, so do those who desire to imitate God let shine an equal ray of love on all people. For wherever love disappears, hatred immediately appears in its place. And if God is love, then hatred is the devil. Therefore as one who has love has God within himself, so he who has hatred within himself nurtures the devil within himself.
–Saint Basil the Great (329-379)
A sincere heart and a meek soul…
Wherever you may be, you can pray anywhere. Only show good will, and neither place nor time will be a hindrance for you. And although you might not be bending your knees nor beating your breast, or raising your arms to heaven, but have merely displayed a fervent soul, by this you will have fulfilled everything necessary for prayer…God does not regard the place. He desires only a sincere heart and a meek soul.
–Saint Basil the Great (330-379)
Works of mercy…
The works of mercy are innumerable. Their very variety brings this advantage to those who are true Christians, that in the matter of almsgiving not only the rich and affluent but also those of average means and the poor are able to play their part. Those who are unequal in their capacity to give can be equal in the love within their hearts.
–Saint Leo the Great (c. 400-461)
Do not seek earthly glory…
Do not seek earthly glory in any matter, for it is extinguished for him who loves it. In its time it blows on a man like a strong wind, and then quickly, taking from him the fruits of his good works, it goes away from him, laughing at his foolishness.
–Saint Gennadius of Constantinople (Fifth Century)
Self-justification and humility…
As water and fire oppose one another when combined, so are self-justification and humility opposed to one another.
–Saint Mark the Ascetic (Fifth Century)
A person is humble…
A person is humble when he knows that his very being that is on loan to him.
–Saint Maximos the Confessor (580-662)
Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.
–Saint John Climacus (c. 525-606)
As a handful of sand…
As a handful of sand thrown into the ocean, so are the sins of all flesh as compared with the mind of God.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
If God is slow in answering…
If God is slow in answering your request, and you ask but do not promptly receive anything, do not be upset, for you are not wiser than God. When you remain as you were before, without anything happening, it is either because your behavior is not worthy of your request, or because the paths in which your heart was traveling were far removed from the aim of your prayer, or because your interior condition is far too childish, when compared with the magnitude of the thing for which you have asked.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century
True penance consists…
True penance consists in regretting without ceasing the faults of the past, and in firmly resolving to never again commit that which is so deplorable.
–Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
When God loves…
Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of similar return however unequal though it be. For when God loves, all He desires is to be loved in return. The sole purpose of His love is to be loved, in the knowledge that those who love Him are made happy by their love of Him.
–Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153
Recognize own significance…
Furthermore the more a person recognises his own insignificance, the more he fully and the more clearly he becomes aware to the divine majesty, and the more a person is low in his own eyes for the sake of God, the truth and justice, the more precious he is in the eyes of God.
–Saint Albert the Great (c. 1206-1280)
Without humility…
Without humility of heart all the other virtues by which one runs toward God seem — and are — absolutely worthless.
–Saint Angela of Foligno (1248-1309)
Achieve true prayer…
If we really want to achieve true prayer, we must turn our backs upon everything temporal, everything external, everything that is not divine.
–Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)
Pray inwardly…
Pray inwardly, even if you do not enjoy it. It does good, though you feel nothing. Yes, even though you think you are doing nothing.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)
Pray with full confidence…
Our customary practice of prayer was brought to mind: how through our ignorance and inexperience in the ways of love we spend so much time on petition. I saw that it is indeed more worthy of God and more truly pleasing to him that through his goodness we should pray with full confidence, and by his grace cling to him with real understanding and unshakeable love, than that we should go on making as many petitions as our souls are capable of.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)
In prayer there is…
In prayer there is nothing to be afraid of, but everything to hope for.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Saying prayers, but not praying…
Anyone who has the habit of speaking before God’s majesty as if he were speaking to a slave, careless about how he is speaking, and saying whatever comes into his head and whatever he’s learned from saying prayers at other times, in my opinion is not praying. Please, God, may no Christian pray in this way.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
In suffering, love…
In suffering, love, and in loving, suffer!
–Blessed Maria Lopez of Jesus (1560-1640)
The holy Church…
All is love’s, and in love, for love, and of love, in the holy Church.
— Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Perfection of life…
Perfection of life is the perfection of love. For love is the life of the soul.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Learn to love by loving…
You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Speak heart to heart…
Recall yourself sometimes to the interior solitude of your heart, and there, removed from all creatures, treat of the affairs of your salvation and your perfection with God, as a friend would speak heart to heart with another.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Pray, talk, and listen…
If we are able to speak to our Lord, let us do so; let us praise Him, pray to Him, listen to Him. If we are unable to speak because our voice fails us, let us, nevertheless, stay in the hall of the King and bow down before Him; He will see us there, will graciously accept our patience, and look with favor on our silence… So when you come before the Lord, talk to Him if you can; if you can’t, just stay there, let yourself be seen, and don’t try too hard to do anything else.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Love our neighbor…
We must love our neighbor as being made in the image of God and as an object of His love.
–Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
Have great charity…
Our Lord wishes us to have great charity for our neighbor, for whom we should pray as for ourselves; it is one of the characteristic effects of this devotion to reconcile hearts and to bring peace to souls.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
We must love…
We must love our fellows, without expecting friendship from them; they leave us and return, they go and come; let them do as they will; it is but a feather, the sport of the wind. See God only in them; it is He that afflicts or consoles us, by means of them, according as we have need.
–François Fénèlon (1651-1715)
God does not…
God does not disregard the prayers of the faithful. Yet He sometimes does not fulfill their desires, only in order to better arrange everything according to His Divine purpose.
–Saint Leo of Optina (1768-1822)
Humility is the…
Humility is the salt of virtue. As salt gives flavor to food, so humility gives perfection to virtue. Without salt, food goes bad easily, and without humility, virtue is easily spoiled by pride, vainglory, impatience – and it perishes. There is a humility which a man gains by his own struggles: knowing his own insufficiency, accusing himself for his failings, not allowing himself to judge others. And there is a humility into which God leads a man through the things that happen to him: allowing him to experience afflictions, humiliations, and deprivations.
–Saint Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867)
Love our enemies…
Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love our enemies in such way that we pity their souls as if they were our own children.
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)
We must be compassionate…
The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone… we must be compassionate!
–Saint Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947)
Miss no opportunity…
Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest thing right and doing it all for love…Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.
–Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)
Great deeds are forbidden me…
Great deeds are forbidden me. I cannot preach the Gospel nor shed my blood – but what does it matter? Others toil instead of me, and I, a little child, keep close by the throne of God and I love for those who fight. Love proves itself in deeds. I will scatter flowers, perfuming the Divine Throne, and I will sweetly sing my hymn of love. These flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least of actions for love.
–Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)
Choosing our Lord…
We can prove we love our Lord only by choosing Him in preference to anything else.
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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