Quotes

Make the psalms…

Make the psalms your own. Do not sing them as verses composed by another person. Let them be born in your own prayers. When they come from your lips, understand that they were not merely fulfilled temporarily when they were first written. They are being fulfilled now in your daily life.
–Saint John Cassian (c. 360-435)

A soul in purgatory…

I believe no happiness can be found worthy to be compared with that of a soul in Purgatory except that of the saints in Paradise; and day by day this happiness grows as God flows into these souls, more and more as the hindrance to His entrance is consumed. Sin’s rust is the hindrance, and the fire burns the rust away so that more and more the soul opens itself up to the divine inflowing.
–Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

Becoming a saint…

There is a celebrated saying by the French writer Léon Bloy, who in the last moments of his life said, “The only real sadness in life is not becoming a saint.” Let us not lose the hope of holiness; let us follow this path. Do we want to be saints? The Lord awaits us, with open arms; he waits to accompany us on the path to sanctity. Let us live in the joy of our faith, let us allow ourselves to be loved by the Lord . . . let us ask for this gift from God in prayer, for ourselves, and for others.
–Pope Francis (1936-

One who practices stillness…

He who stays in the desert and practices stillness is delivered from three temptations, that of hearing, that of speaking, and that of seeing. He has only one temptation, that of the heart
— Saint Anthony of Egypt (c. 251-356)

Because they have abandoned…

And because they have abandoned themselves to God in doing, in leaving undone, and in suffering, they have steadfast peace and inward joy, consolation and savor, of which the world cannot partake; neither any dissembler, nor the man who seeks and means himself more than the glory of God.
— Blessed John Ruysbroeck (1293-1381)

We must forsake…

In our approach to God, we must carry with us ourselves and all our works, as a perpetual sacriﬁce to God; and in the Presence of God, we must forsake ourselves and all our works, and, dying in love, go forth from all creatureliness into the superessential richness of God: there we shall possess God in an eternal death to ourselves.
— Blessed John Ruysbroeck (1293-1381)

Come from God…

We have no good works in us unless they come from God.
— Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (Fifth — Sixth Century)

This world and…

This world and the world to come are two enemies. We cannot therefore be friends to both; but we must decide which we will forsake and which we will enjoy.
— Saint Clement (first century)

Taste the sweetness of God…

It is impossible for a man to experience the sweetness of God as long as he is experiencing the sweetness of the world. But if, on the other hand, he taste the sweetness of God, he will hate the world.
— Unknown Desert Father

It is impossible…

It is impossible for you to live a godly life if you are in love with pleasure and money.
— Isidore the Priest (a Desert Father)

Love for earthly…

Love for that which is earthly makes the soul empty, and then there she is sad, and grows wild, and does not want to pray to God. The enemy then, seeing that the soul is not in God, shakes her and freely places in the mind whatever he wants, and he drives the soul from one thought to another, and thus the whole day the soul remains in such disorder and cannot purely gaze at the Lord.
— Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

As God pleases…

Do not want things to turn out as they seem best to you, but as God pleases. Then you will be free from confusion, and thankful in prayer.
–The Desert Fathers (and Mothers)

Give your intentions…

Give your intentions in prayer to God, Who knows everyone, even before our birth. And do not ask that everything will be according to your will, because a man does not know what is profitable for him. But say to God: Let Thy will be done! For He does everything for our benefit.
— Saint Gennadius of Constantinople (Fifth Century)

Faith is the cross…

What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
–Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964)

Because Christ comes…

Because Christ comes to us in human hands, just as he first came in a woman’s arms, no one need ever be quite alone and without human help. He comes to the loneliest, to outcasts, degenerates, strangers, to prisoners and to men and women in the condemned cell, and comes to them all in the hands of a fellow creature who is lead to them by the Spirit of Love.
–Caryll Houselander (1901-1954)

Make a sacrifice…

When we make a sacrifice it is always thus, we have to give something up, not because it is a bad thing– for more often it is a good thing– but the offering of ourselves is a complete offering, it means a whole attention, a whole concentration, a whole donation.
–Caryll Houselander (1901-1954)

There are saints…

There are saints indeed in my religion; but a saint only means a man who really knows that he is a sinner.
–GK Chesterton (1874-1936)

Able to be silent…

If you are not able to be silent, you will not be able to speak well.
–Henri Nouwen (1932–1996)

The music of heaven…

There is the music of heaven in all things and we have forgotten how to hear it until we sing.
–Saint Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179)

Love and humility…

An elder replied, ‘I tell you, many have ruined their bodies with no discernment and gone away without finding anything. We may have evil-smelling breath because of our fasting, we may know the Scriptures by heart, we may recite all the psalms. . . and still lack what God is looking for—love and humility.”
–The Desert Fathers

Seek the Lord…

It is not necessary that those who seek the Lord seek him outside themselves; rather, those who seek him should seek him in themselves through faith.
–Saint Maximos the Confessor (580-662)

God purifies, humbles…

God purifies, humbles, instructs our souls, and renders them pliable to his will; everything defective, everything deformed, everything disagreeable to his sight, he removes from them, and at the same time embellishes them with all the ornaments which can make them pleasing in his eyes. And when he finds them faithful, full of patience and good-will; when the long endurance of tribulations has brought them, with the assistance of his grace, to such a degree of perfection that they suffer with tranquillity and joy all manner of temptation and afflictions: then he unites them not intimately to himself, confides to them his secrets and his mysteries and communicates himself to them without reserve.
–Saint Louis de Blois (1506-1566)

Awareness of God’s presence…

A well ordered exterior results from an awareness of God’s presence.
–Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

We offer the sacrifice…

So, since Christ died for us, out of love, it follows that, when we offer the sacrifice in commemoration of his death, we are asking for love to be given us by the coming of the Holy Spirit. We beg and we pray that just as through love Christ deigned to be crucified for us, so we may receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. And we ask that by that grace the world should be a dead thing in our eyes and we should be dead to the world, crucified and dead.
–Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (Fifth — Sixth Century)

Prepare our hearts…

Let us prepare our hearts so that he himself may deign to dwell in them and enlighten them by his presence. But let us also take care to set the hearts of our neighbors alight, so that they too may praise their Creator and engage in the works of love. Indeed, either way we build a house to the Lord: whether we commit ourselves to the pursuit of holiness or, by our words and example, inspire those whom we can to walk in the way of holiness.
–Venerable Bede (c. 673-735)

Fasting is the…

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.
–Saint Peter Chrysologus (c. 380 – c. 450)

Friendship is…

In this earthly life, after the affection for parents and sisters, one of the most beautiful affections is that of friendship; and every day I ought to thank God because he has given me men and lady friends of such goodness who form for me a precious guide for my whole life.

–Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925)

The madness of love…

The madness of love is a blessed fate; and if we understood this,
we would seek no other. It brings into unity what was divided.
And this is the truth: it makes bitterness sweet, it makes the stranger a neighbor, and what was lowly it raises on high.
–Hadewijch (c.1150-1200)

Only love God…

I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.
–Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Draw near to God…

Draw near to God with the greatest simplicity you can, and be certain that the simplest prayer is the best.
–Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

Lose yourself completely…

Lose yourself completely in God, rest on his divine breast, adore him, and, if you cannot say a word, that’s even better. Remain continually in prayer, recollected in God. Love speaks little and expresses itself more in silence. One loving word is enough: “Father! Great Father! Goodness! Love!” One word is enough to hold a loving soul for a long time in prayer.
— Saint Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

Firmly fixed in God…

At other times, when I apply myself to prayer, I feel all my spirit and all my soul lift itself up without any care or effort of mine; and it continues as it were suspended and firmly fixed in God, as in its center and place of rest.
–Brother Lawrence (1614-1691)

Slave to desires…

Someone who is tied up cannot run. Just so, the spiritual intellect that is still a slave to its obsessive desires can never see the domain of spiritual prayer, because it is dragged all over the place by compulsive ideations and cannot achieve the necessary intellectual stillness.
–Evagrius Ponticus (345-399)

Refreshed by God’s grace…

Sometimes people find themselves brightly illuminated and refreshed by God’s grace for a while, but then this grace may be taken away, and they can fall into depression and start grumbling and even give up dispiritedly instead of energetically renewing their prayers to call down again that assurance of salvation. Such behavior is like an ungrateful beggar taking alms at the palace door and then walking off indignantly because he was not invited in to dine with the king himself.
–Saint John of Karpathos (Seventh Century)

Prayer is the…

Prayer is the application of the heart to God, and the internal exercise of love.
–Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717)

Prayer is the guide…

Prayer is the guide to perfection and the sovereign good; it delivers us from every vice, and obtains every virtue; for the one great means to become perfect, is to walk in the presence of God.
–Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717)

If you want, pray…

If you want faith, pray. If you want help, pray. If you want to love, pray. If you want poverty [of spirit], pray. If you want obedience, pray. If you want to charity, pray. If you want meekness, pray. If you want fortitude, pray. If you want any virtue, pray.
–Saint Angela of Foligno (1248-1309)

In the depths…

In the depths of our being we come upon the activity of God by which he sustains us and we are led and guided by him. We have to go to its deepest source to rediscover ourselves in God.
–Blessed Titus Brandsma (1881–1942)

Mental prayer is…

Vicious tendencies are produced only by our corrupt nature, and it is very difficult to conquer them without mental prayer; but by means of this prayer we can overcome them easily. The soul in mental prayer is like iron in the fire: when the iron is cold, it is difficult to work; but when it is put into the fire, it becomes soft and allows itself to be easily worked: so it is with the soul… When a soul comes out from mental prayer it is quite changed.
–Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)

Prayer is a…

Prayer is a necessary weapon… If we pray, no matter how buffeted and attacked we may be, we remain in a deep sense invulnerable.
–Marcel Nguyễn Tân Văn (1928–1959)

Peace in our hearts…

We shall not feel that our lives are in any way complete, nor shall we find any peace in our hearts, so long as we are unable to say that we have done our utmost to become abidingly men of prayer.
–René Voillaume (1905–2003)

Fighting your passions…

Are you fighting against your passions? Fight, fight, and be good soldiers of Christ! Do not give in to evil and do not be carried away by the weakness of the flesh. During the time of temptation, flee to the Physician, crying out with the Holy Church, our mother: “O God, number me with the thief, the harlot, and the publican (i.e., with the repentant), and save me!”
–Saint Anatoly of Optina (1824-1894)

Theology is the…

Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing.
–HL Mencken (1880-1956)

Blasphemy…

To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy.
–Pope Francis (1936-

Find happiness…

Each state of life has its special duties; by accomplishing them, one may find happiness.
–Saint Nicolas of Flue (1417-1487)

The cross is…

You cannot relive your life in your mind imagine that all would’ve been easier and better in another direction. No, the cross is planted everywhere, in the world.
–Elisabeth Leseur (1866-1914)

Preserve the presence…

It is most important to always seek to preserve the presence of God, for it excites in us a tender love for His Divine Majesty, and gives us great purity of conscience.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

God’s will…

Nothing can come but that that God wills. And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall indeed be the best.
— Saint Thomas More (1478-1535)

Serve our Lord…

We must serve our Lord according to his liking and not according to our own.
— Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

Salvation and perfection…

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)

Christian perfection consists…

Christian perfection consists in three things: praying heroically, working heroically, and suffering heroically.
— Saint Anthony Claret (1807-1870)

Embittered and furious…

If we take St Paul literally, then we are not allowed to cling to our anger for even a day (cf. Eph 4.26). I would like to make a comment, however, that many people are so embittered and furious when they are in a state of anger, that they not only cling to their anger for a day, but drag it on for weeks. I am at a loss for words to explain those who do not even vent their anger in speech but erect a barrier of sullen silence around them and distill the bitter poison of their hearts until it finally destroys them.
— Saint John Cassian (c. 360-435)

Anger makes us…

This deadly cancer of anger from which so much harm grows: it makes us unlike ourselves, makes us like timberwolves or furies from Hell, drives us forth headlong upon the points of swords, makes us blindly run forth after other men’s destruction as we hasten toward our own ruin.
— Saint Thomas More (1478-1535)

To avoid dissensions…

To avoid dissensions we should be ever on our guard, more especially with those who drive us to argue with them, with those who vex and irritate us, and who say things likely to excite us to anger. When we find ourselves in company with quarrelsome, eccentric individuals, people who openly and unblushingly say the most shocking things, difficult to put up with, we should take refuge in silence, and the wisest plan is not to reply to people whose behavior is so preposterous.
— Saint Ambrose of Milan (339-397)

Fight all error…

Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.
— Saint John Cantius (1390-1473)

The saints speak…

Each of us can discuss God inasmuch as he has known the grace of the Holy Spirit; for how can we think of or discuss what we haven’t seen, or haven’t head of, or don’t know? The saints say that they have seen God, but there are people who say that there is no God. Clearly, they say this because they haven’t known God, but this does not at all mean that He is not. The saints speak of that which they have truly seen and know.
— Saint Silouan the Athonite (1866-1938)

Love in your hearts…

Have love in your hearts but repress the tendency to appear devout.
— Saint Maria Mazzarello (1837-1881)

Charity burning in our hearts…

May all our words, actions and behavior always be for the instruction and edification of those who have dealings with us, always having charity burning in our hearts.
— Saint Angela Merici (1474-1540)

Have pure intentions…

In the fulfillment of your duties, let your intentions be so pure that you reject from your actions and the other motive than the glory of God and salvation of souls.
— Saint Angela Merici (1474-1540)

Without the passion of Christ…

The Church has always taught that all our penance without Christ’s passion is not worth a pea.
— Saint Thomas More 1478-1535)

If you want love…

If you find that there is no love in you, but you want to have it, then do deeds of love, even though you do them without love in the beginning. The Lord will see you desire and striving and will put love in your heart.
— Saint Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891)

For the glory of God…

Do everything for the glory of God, and in no thing – either outwardly nor inwardly – intend anything other than this glory. It should be the measuring stick of every endeavor and place its seal on each one.
— Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894)

Give an account of yourself…

No matter who you are, what kind of work you do, give an account of yourself as to how you have performed your work: as a Christian, or as a heathen (that is, motivated by self-love and worldly pleasure). A Christian must remember that every deed, even the smallest, has a moral principle. A Christian, who remembers the teaching of Jesus Christ, should perform every deed so that it will be of use toward the spreading of the grace of God and the Kingdom of Heaven among men.
— Saint Gabriel of Imereti (1825-1856)

Tranquility of heart…

Great tranquility of heart is his who cares for neither praise nor blame.

— Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

All desire peace…

All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace.

— Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

When a man is not troubled it is not hard for him to be fervent and devout, but if he bears up patiently in time of adversity, there is hope for great progress.

— Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

This treasure is everywhere…

But what is the secret of finding this treasure? There isn’t one. This treasure is everywhere. It is offered to us all the time and wherever we are.

— Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

The real Christian temper…

This power of being outwardly genial and inwardly austere, which is the real Christian temper, depends entirely upon the time set apart for personal religion. It is always achieved if courageously and faithfully sought; and there are no heights of love and holiness to which it cannot lead.
— Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

I confide a secret…

I confide to you a secret which has made my life on earth an anticipated Heaven: the belief that a Being Whose name is Love is dwelling within us at every moment of the day and night, and that He asks us to live in His company.

–Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)

The past must…

The past must be abandoned to God’s mercy, the present to our faithfulness, the future to divine providence.

— Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

To obtain humility…

To obtain perfectly the gift of humility, four things are required: to despise the world, to despise no person, to despise one’s self, to despise being despised.

— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Live in the Spirit…

Live wholly according to the Spirit, live quietly in peace, have perfect confidence that God will help you.

–Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

In the spiritual life…

In the spiritual life there are three degrees: the first may be called the animal life; this is the life of those who run after sensible devotion, which God generally gives to beginners, to allure them onwards by that sweetness to the spiritual life, just as an animal is drawn on by a sensible object. The second degree may be called the human life; this is the life of those who do not experience any sensible sweetness, but by the help of virtue combat their own passions. The third degree may be called the angelic life; this is the life which they come to, who, having been exercised for a long time in the taming of their own passions, receive from God a quiet, tranquil, and almost angelic life, even in this world, feeling no trouble or repugnance in anything. Of these three degrees it is well to persevere in the second, because the Lord will grant the third in His own good time.

— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Science of the saints…

All the science of the Saints is included in these two things: to do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly.

— Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

A shattered heart…

The Church Fathers teach us that a shattered heart is the most pleasing gift to God. It is the sign that we are conscious of our sins, of the evil we have done, of our wretchedness, and of our need for forgiveness and mercy.
–Pope Francis (1936-

The more we suffer…

God treasures above all the union of our wills with His. When I consider all this… I find so many advantages to affliction, that I can’t help but admitting that the more we suffer, the more we are favored by God.
–Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

Be patient under suffering…

Be patient under all the sufferings which God is pleased to send you: if your love to Him be pure, you will not seek him less on Calvary, than on Tabor; and, surely, He should be as much loved on that as on this, since it was on Calvary He made the greater display of His love for you.
–Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717)

If suffering makes…

If suffering makes you sad, it will be impossible for you to love Jesus, because it is by patience, accepting suffering and sadness, that you prove your love for Jesus.
–Marcel Nguyen Tan Van (1928-1959)

Charity to the afflicted…

Charity to the afflicted must be dear to the heart of Jesus, who knew so well how to sorrow with those he loved. I hope we shall ever bear this in mind.
–Saint Mary MacKillop (1842-1909)

To live in harmony…

How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God.
–Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Learning how to die…

While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.
–Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Offer to God a good will…

Nothing richer can be offered to God than a good will; for the good will is the originator of all good and is the mother of all virtues; whosoever begins to have that good will has secured all the help he or she needs for living well.
–Saint Albert the Great (c. 1206-1280)

Submit to God’s will…

Have a firm and unshakeable determination to submit yourselves to God’s will.
— Saint Angela Merici (1474-1540)

Our willingness…

Sometimes when our Lord asks us to do some good work, all He really wants is our willingness to do the work, and not is accomplishment.
— Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

Practice prayer…

It is of great importance, when we begin to practice prayer, not to let ourselves be frightened by our own thoughts.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Jesus Christ endured for us…

There is no affliction, trial, or labor difficult to endure, when we consider the torments and sufferings which Our Lord Jesus Christ endured for us.
–Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582)

We must trust in God…

We must trust in God in all temptations, in all desolate conditions of the soul. The Lord will deliver.

— Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)

Holiness comes from love…

You must be most loyal to our Lord Jesus Christ by giving Him the glory for any virtues you possess. You must also love Him fervently, if you would be perfect, for holiness comes from love, and the greater the love, the greater the saint. The best proof we can give of our love for Christ is to obey His commands and bear the cross for Him; the greater the mortifications and hardships this entails, the more does a bear witness to the genuineness of our love.

— Saint John of Avila (1500 – 1569)

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