Quotes

Communion with God…

The chief end of our life is to live in communion with God. To this end the Son of God became incarnate, in order to return us to this divine communion, which was lost by the fall into sin. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we enter into communion with the Father and thus attain our purpose.
–Saint Theophane the Recluse (1815-1894)

God shows us love….

God shows us His love for humanity not only when we do good, but also when we offend and displease Him. How patiently he endures our transgressions; and when He chastises, how mercifully He chastises!
–Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833)

The purpose of Christian life is…

Fasting, prayer, alms, and every other good Christian deed is good in itself, but the purpose of the Christian life consists not only in the fulfillment of one or another of them. The true purpose of our Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. But fasting, prayer, alms and every good deed done for the sake of Christ is a means to the attainment of the Holy Spirit. Note that only good deeds done for the sake of Christ bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Everything else that is not done for the sake of Christ, even if it is good, does not bring us a reward in the life to come, not does it bring the grace of God in this life.
–Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833)

By obedience a…

By obedience a man is guarded against pride. Prayer is given for the sake of obedience. The grace of the Holy Spirit is also given for obedience. This is why obedience is higher than prayer and fasting.
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

Obedience is necessary…

Obedience is necessary not only for monks, but for all people. Even the Lord was obedient. The proud and self-regarding do not allow grace to live in them, and therefore they never have spiritual peace, while in the obedient soul the grace of the Holy Spirit enters easily and gives joy and peace. Whoever bears even a little grace in himself joyfully submits himself to all direction. He knows that God directs even the heavens and the netherworld, and himself, and his business, and everything in the world, and therefore he is always at peace.
–Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

Mary is blessed…

Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Mother of God…

Is there anything nobler than the Mother of God? Anything more splendid than this woman chosen by Splendor itself? Anything more chaste than the one who conceived the physically untainted body?
–Saint Ambrose of Milan (339-397)

Never boast of what you know…

Never boast of what you know. The more one knows, the more he realizes how ignorant he is. Socrates used to say: Hoc unum scio me nihi scire. [I know only one thing: that I know nothing.] So be humble; first, by being convinced that you know nothing; secondly, by never using your knowledge for evil purposes; finally, by knowing what Jesus Christ teaches us – to forgive injuries received, to forgive our enemies.
–Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)

Jesus went down…

His whole life long he did nothing but go down. He went down in becoming flesh, he went down in becoming a baby, went down in obeying, went down in becoming poor, rejected, persecuted, crucified, in always taking the lowest place.
–Blessed Charles De Foucauld (1858-1916)

At the judgment…

At the Last Judgment I will not be asked whether I satisfactorily practised asceticism, nor how many bows I have made before the divine altar: I will be asked whether I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and the prisoner in his jail. That is all I will be asked.
–Saint Maria of Paris (1891-1945)

To know Jesus…

As for me, I began to know Jesus as soon as I accepted Jesus as the truth; I found true peace when I actively sought his friendship; and above all I experienced joy, true joy, that stands above the vicissitudes of life, as soon as I tasted and experienced for myself the gift he came to bestow on us: eternal life.
–Carlo Carretto (1910-1988)

Be a success…

I will be a success if when I stand at the beginning of eternity, God remembers my life on earth with a smile.
–Donald X. Burt (1929-2014)

God loves us, but…

We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior.
–Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)

God gives freedom…

God does not send us to heaven or hell depending on how often we obey or disobey. God is love and only love. In God there is no hatred, desire for revenge, or pleasure in seeing us punished. God wants to forgive, heal, restore, show us endless mercy, and see us come home. But just as the father of the prodigal son let his son make his own decision God gives us the freedom to move away from God’s love even at the risk of destroying ourselves.
–Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)

Our duty as Catholics…

Our duty as Catholics is to know the truth; to live the truth; to defend the truth; to share the truth with others; and to suffer for the truth.
–John Hardon (1914-2000)

Your gift to God…

What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.
–Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

The Christian will be a mystic…

The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all.
–Karl Rahner (1904-1984)

If you are a Christian at all…

If you are going to be a Christian at all, you might as well live entirely for God.
–Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi (1901–1964)

Temptation is necessary…

Temptation is necessary to make us realize that we are nothing in ourselves.
–Saint Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975)

Repent so you…

If you are sinful, repent so that you can communicate often. If you are imperfect, go often to Communion that you may amend your faults.
–Saint Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)

Crosses, contempt and…

Crosses, contempt, sorrows and afflictions are the real treasures of the lovers of Jesus Christ crucified.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

Shaken by the…

Look upon yourself as a tree planted beside the water, which bears its fruit in due season; the more it is shaken by the wind, the deeper it strikes its roots into the ground.
–Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647- 1690)

To worship God…

To worship God in truth is to recognize Him for being who He is, and to recognize ourselves for what we are.
–Brother Lawrence (1614-1691)

Tribulation will…

You are gold or iron: if gold, tribulation will purify you; if iron, it will rust you.
–Saint Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663)

Doing the will…

Man’s salvation and perfection consists of doing the will of God which he must have in view in all things, and at every moment of his life.
–Saint Peter Claver (1581-1654)

Child of God…

It is better to be the child of God than king of the whole world.
–Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

God keeps us…

God wants us to know that he keeps us safe through good and ill… We shall see God face to face, simply and holding.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

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’s wise providence…

And I saw that truly nothing happens by accident or luck, but everything by God’s wise providence. If it seems to be accident or luck from our point of view, our blindness and lack of foreknowledge is the cause; for matters that have been in God’s foreseeing wisdom since before time began befall us suddenly, all unawares; and so in our blindness and ignorance we say that this is accident or luck, but to our Lord God it is not so.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Of communion with…

Of communion with humans, God can never have enough.
–Mechthild of Magdeburg (Thirteenth Century)

God embraces the…

There is neither father nor mother nor son, nor any other person whatsoever, who can embrace the object beloved with so great a love as that wherewith God embraces the soul.
–Blessed Angela of Foligno (1248-1309)

Everyone will be judged…

Everyone – past, present, and future – will be judged. Now, then, is the time for mercy, while the time to come will be the time for justice only. For that reason, the present time is ours, but the future time will be God’s only!
–Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Places in Hell…

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.
–Dante Allighieri (c. 1265-1321)

Reward we deserve…

For our sake Christ offered himself to the Father upon the altar for the cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day he will give each of us the reward his deeds deserve.
–Saint Thomas Becket (c, 1118-1170)

Relying on mercy, continue in sin…

Some people understand the charity of our Lord and are saved by it; others, relying on this mercy and kindness, continue in their sins, thinking that it may be theirs whenever they wish. But this is not so, for then they are too late and are taken in their sins before they expect it, and so damn themselves.
–Walter Hilton (1340-1396)

God has given free will…

Exercise pleasantness toward all, taking great care what you have commanded may never be done by reason of force. For God has given free will to everyone, and therefore never forces anyone – but only indicates, call and persuades.
–Saint Angela Merici (1474-1540)

In prayer…

In prayer, more is accomplished by listening than by talking. Let us leave to God the decisions as to what shall be said.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Enter upon Lent…

Enter upon the holy days of Lent with Godly devoutness, and prepare yourselves to win God’s mercy by your own works of mercy. Quench your anger, wipe out enmities, cherish unity, and vie with one another in the offices of true humility. Rule your slaves and those who are put under you with fairness, let none of them be tortured by imprisonment or chains. Forego vengeance, forgive offenses: exchange severity for gentleness, indignation for meekness, discord for peace. Let all men find us self-restrained, peaceable, kind: that our fastings may be acceptable to God.
–Saint Leo the Great (c. 400-461)

This is a time…

This is a time of gentleness and long-suffering, of peace and tranquillity: when all the pollutions of vice are to be eradicated and continuance of virtue is to be attained by us. Now let godly minds boldly accustom themselves to forgive faults, to pass over insults, and to forget wrongs. Now let the faithful spirit train himself with the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, that through honor and dishonor, through ill repute and good repute, the conscience may be undisturbed in unwavering uprightness, not puffed up by praise and not wearied out by reviling.
–Saint Leo the Great (c. 400-461)

Providence of God…

So commit yourself confidently and without hesitation, all that you are, and everything else, individually and in general, to the unfailing and totally reliable providence of God, in silence and in peace, and he will fight for you. He will liberate you and comfort you more fully, more effectively and more satisfactorily than if you were to dream about it all the time, day and night, and were to cast around frantically all over the place with the futile and confused thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will you wear out your mind and body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlessly exhausting your strength.
–Saint Albert the Great (c.1206-1280)

Everything comes from love…

Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind.
–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Wish thought or said…

No one should think or say anything of another which he would not wish thought or said of himself.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

A truly humble…

A truly humble person never believes that he can be wronged in anything. Truly, we ought to be shamed to resent whatever is said or done against us; for it is the greatest shame in the world to see that our Creator bears so many insults from His creatures, and that we resent even a little word that is contradictory.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Time of affliction…

You can advance farther in grace in one hour during this time of affliction than in many days during a time of consolation.
–Saint John Eudes (1601-1689)

In, by, and for Christ…

He is the Light of the world; therefore in Him, by Him, and for Him we shall be enlightened and illuminated; He is the Tree of Life, beneath the shadow of which we must find rest; He is the Living Fountain of Jacob’s well, wherein we may wash away every stain.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Must not judge…

Surely if God’s goodness is so great that in one instant we can obtain pardon and grace, how can we tell that he who was a sinner yesterday is the same today? Yesterday must not judge today, nor today yesterday; it is the last day that will give the final verdict.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Progress or improvement…

Our Lord doesn’t want you to think about your progress or about improvement in any way whatever; but to receive and use faithfully the occasions of serving Him and of practicing the virtues at every moment without worrying long reflections, either on the past or the future.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Stillness of prayer…

The stillness of prayer is the most essential condition for fruitful action. Before all else, the disciple kneels down.
–Saint Gianna Molla (1922-1962)

Our Redeemer ever present in…

Our Redeemer ever present in the most Blessed Sacrament, extends His hands to everyone. He opens His heart and says, ‘Come to Me, all of you’
–Saint Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907)

Talk distracts us…

The love of talk distracts all the powers of our soul from God, and fills them with earthly objects and impressions, like a vessel of water that cannot be settled while you are continualy stirring the earthly particles from the bottom.
–Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)

Blind and insensible…

There is a mystery, the greatest of all mysteries – not that my adored Lord is in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar – His word has said it, and what so simple as to take that word which is truth itself? – but that souls of His own creation, whom He gave His life to save, who are endowed with His choicest gifts in all things else, should remain blind, insensible, and deprived of that light without which every other blessing is unavailing!
–Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)

Our good Lord’s tender love…

Because of our good Lord’s tender love to all those who who shall be saved, he quickly comforts them, saying, “The cause of all this pain is sin. But all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Religion is…

Religion is a guy in church thinking about fishing. Spirituality is a guy out fishing thinking about God.
–John Fischer (1947-

We have time…

It is never true that we have no time to meditate; the less one thinks of God, the less time there will always be for Him. The time one has for anything depends on how much we value it.
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Every moment comes…

Every moment comes to you pregnant with divine purpose… Once it leaves your hands and your power to do with it as you please, it plunges into eternity, to remain forever what you made it.
–Blessed Fulton J. Sheen (1895 – 1979)

How precious time…

Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!
–Saint Pio (1887-1968

Those who believe, love…

They alone know how to believe in God who love God, who are Christians not only in name but also in action and [way of] life, because without love faith is empty.
–Venerable Bede (c. 673-735)

Dryness or difficulty…

Never leave prayer because of dryness or difficulty. Remain before God entirely plunged in His holy love, detached from all desire for your own pleasure. It might help to send out little darts of love, such as, `O my God, my true Good, I am yours!’ and then remain in peace.
–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

Offer the bandage of consolation…

Offer the bandage of consolation, bind up what has been broken. Say this: “Do not be afraid. God in whom you have believed does not abandon you in temptations. God is faithful. He does not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength.”
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Sin arises when…

Sin arises when things that are a minor good are pursued as though they were the most important goals in life. If money or affection or power are sought in disproportionate, obsessive ways, then sin occurs. And that sin is magnified when, for these lesser goals, we fail to pursue the highest good and the finest goals. So when we ask ourselves why, in a given situation, we committed a sin, the answer is usually one of two things. Either we wanted to obtain something we didn’t have, or we feared losing something we had.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Imitate Christ’s suffering…

Christians must imitate Christ’s sufferings, not set their hearts on pleasures. He who is weak will be strengthened when told: “Yes, expect the temptations of this world, but the Lord will deliver you from them all if your heart has not abandoned him. For it was to strengthen your heart that he came to suffer and die, came to be spit upon and crowned with thorns, came to be accused of shameful things, yes, came to be fastened to the wood of the cross. All these things he did for you, and you did nothing. He did them not for himself, but for you.”
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

The Holy Rosary…

The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessings.
–Blessed Alan de la Roche (1428-1475)

The Rosary is a…

The Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God.
–Saint Louis de Montfort (1673-1716)

A Rosary every day…

Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray.
–Saint Louis de Montfort (1673-1716)

Spiritual reading…

You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed by his progress.
–Saint Athanasius (c. 296-373)

Who reads much…

He who reads much and understands much, receives his fill. He who is full, refreshes others. So Scripture says: “If the clouds are full, they will pour rain upon the earth.”
–Saint Ambrose of Milan (339-397)

Read pious books…

What need have you of seeking for a little gold in the midst of so much mire when you can read pious books in which you may find all gold without any mire?
–Saint Jerome (c. 340-420)

To abstain from sin…

To abstain from sin when one can no longer sin is to be forsaken by sin, not to forsake it.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

Wrong is wrong…

Wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it, and right is right even if nobody is doing it.
–St. Augustine (354-430)

Pray to know God’s will…

Pray simply, humbly, and fervently to know God’s will, and your path will be made clear. Then you must follow the inspiration Divine Mercy puts into your heart.
–Saint Theophane Venard (1829-1861)

Not to complain…

Fishes have no tongue. In the midst of storms at sea, they swim and glide along in silence. What a great lesson we can draw from them. When we are in the storms of great sufferings, we must lock in this treasure with the golden key of silence and not seek to complain to anyone.
–Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

Whatever you possess…

Whatever you possess must not possess you; whatever you own must be under the power of your soul; for if your soul is overpowered powered by the love of this world’s goods, it will be totally at the mercy of its possessions. In other words, we make use of temporal things, but our hearts are set on what is eternal. Temporal goods help us on our way, but our desire must be for those eternal realities which are our goal.
–Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604)

Every abundant grace…

We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.
–Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)

The Blessed Sacrament…

There is a mystery, the greatest of all mysteries—not that my adored Lord is in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar—His word has said it, and what so simple as to take that word which is truth itself?—but that souls of His own creation, whom He gave His life to save, who are endowed with His choicest gifts in all things else, should remain blind, insensible, and deprived of that light without which every other blessing is unavailing!
–Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)

Temptations come so…

Temptations come so that hidden passions may be revealed and so that it will be possible to fight them, and so that the soul may be rid of them. They are also a sign of God’s mercy. So give yourself with trust into God’s hands and ask his help, so that he will strengthen you in your struggle. God knows how much each one can bear and allows temptations according to the measure of our strength. Remember that after temptation comes spiritual joy, and that the Lord protects them that endure temptations and suffering for the sake of His love.
–Saint Nectarius of Aegina (1846-1920)

We sin every day…

Yes, we sin every day, at times unconsciously or out of forgetfulness, without intending to or involuntarily, or because of weakness we sin every day willingly and unwillingly. Because of our human nature and weakness we sin every day willingly and unwillingly. Is this not what the apostle Paul refers to when he says, “I do what I do not want and what I do not want is what I do?” (Romans 7:15)
–Saint Basil of Poiana Marului (1692-1767)

To pass judgment…

To pass judgment on another is to usurp shamelessly a prerogative of God, and to condemn is to ruin one’s soul.
–Saint John Climacus (c. 525-606)

Destroying one’s….

What is the point of building a house for somebody else and destroying one’s own?
–Abba Poeman (a Desert Father)

A living faith…

A living faith consists in thinking little of oneself and having tenderness toward others.
–Abba Poeman (a Desert Father)

The tabernacle…

My television is the tabernacle.
–Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Pure heart and chaste body…

God wishes all of us to be saved through Jesus Christ the Son and to receive him with our pure heart and a chaste body.
–Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)

Temptations and trials…

No one ought to consider himself a true servant of God who is not tried by means of temptations and trials.
–Saint Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226)

From one cross…

He who runs away from one cross, will meet a bigger one on his road.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Wisdom of Scriptures…

The wisdom of the Scriptures is learned rather by prayer than by study.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

A sick man…

A sick man should make God a present of his will; and if it turns out that he has to suffer for a long time, he must submit to the Divine Will.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Occasion of sin…

When a person puts himself in an occasion of sin, saying, “I shall not fall, I shall not commit it,” it is an almost infallible sign that he will fall, and with all the greater damage to his soul.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

In sickness we…

In sickness we ought to ask God to give us patience, because it often happens, that when a man gets well, he not only does not do the good he proposed to do when he was sick, but he multiplies his sins and his ingratitude.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Temptations you suffer…

Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Time given is…

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
–JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

A spiritual guide…

A spiritual guide should be silent when discretion requires and speak when words are of service. Otherwise he may say what he should not or be silent when he should speak. Indiscreet speech may lead men into error and an imprudent silence may leave in error those who could have been taught.
–Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604)

Our free will…

God never violates our free will. It is up to us whether we want to receive God’s grace or not. It is up to us whether we will cooperate with it or waste it.
–Saint Faustina (1905-1938)

True love consists…

God made known to me, what true love consists in and gave light to me about how, in practice, to give proof of it to Him. True love of God consists in carrying out God’s will. To show God our love in what we do, all our actions, even the least, must spring from our love of God.
–Saint Faustina (1905-1938)

Terrible sufferings…

There are times when He Himself allows terrible sufferings, and then again there are times when He does not let me suffer and removes everything that might afflict my soul. These are His ways, unfathomable and incomprehensible to us. It is for us to submit ourselves completely to His holy will. There are mysteries that the human mind will never fathom here on earth; eternity will reveal them.
— Saint Faustina (1905-1938)

God gives grace…

We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.
— Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)

If tempted to stop praying…

This, then, is your answer whenever you feel tempted to stop praying because it seems to be a waste of time: `I am here to please God.’
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Seek God alone…

The human heart is constantly seeking good things that will make it happy; but if it seeks them from creatures, it will never be satisfied, no matter how many it acquires. If it seeks God alone, God will satisfy all its desires.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Dismiss and evil thought…

As soon as we become aware of a thought that has an evil look about it, we must dismiss it immediately. We must, as it were, slam the door in its face, denying it admittance into the mind, without stopping to decipher its meaning or intention. We must shake off such wicked suggestions as quickly as we would shake off fiery sparks that landed on our clothes.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Resist your impatience…

Resist your impatience faithfully, fully, practicing, not only with reason, but even against reason, holy courtesy and sweetness to all, but especially to those who weary you most.
–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Do not lose heart…

Do not lose heart, even if you should discover that you lack qualities necessary for the work to which you are called. He who called you will not desert you, but the moment you are in need he will stretch out his saving hand.
–Saint Angela Merici (1474-1540)

And don’t worry…

Pray, hope, and don’t worry.
–Saint Pio (1887-1968)

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