Quotes

We can think of Lent…

We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. Which is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative. A person is great not by the ferocity of his hatred of evil, but by the intensity of his love for God. Asceticism and mortification are not the ends of a Christian life; they are only the means. The end is charity. Penance merely makes an opening in our ego in which the Light of God can pour. As we deflate ourselves, God fills us. And it is God’s arrival that is the important event.
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Lenten practices…

Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love – which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal we find happiness. Pleasure is not the purpose of anything; pleasure is a by-product resulting from doing something that is good. One of the best ways to get happiness and pleasure out of life is to ask ourselves, ‘How can I please God?’ and, ‘Why am I not better?’ It is the pleasure-seeker who is bored, for all pleasures diminish with repetition.
–Blessed Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

Proclaim the truth…

Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

None without a cross…

No one can pass through this life without a cross.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Hearts on fire…

The devil fears hearts on fire with love of God.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

It is human to sin…

It is human to sin, but diabolic to persist in sin.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

God is closer to us…

God is closer to us than water is to a fish.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380).

Love transforms…

Love transforms one into what one loves.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Ungrateful people…

Ungrateful people are not patient.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Misunderstanding God’s true nature…

Strange that so much suffering is caused because of the misunderstandings of God’s true nature. God’s heart is more gentle than the Virgin’s first kiss upon the Christ. And God’s forgiveness to all, to any thought or act, is more certain than our own being.
–Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

The love of the Creator…

For it is the nature of love, to love when it feels itself loved, and to love all things loved of its beloved. So when the soul has by degrees known the love of its Creator towards it, it loves Him, and, loving Him, loves all things whatsoever that God loves.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

God came to live among us…

We are of such value to God that He came to live among us… and to guide us home. He will go to any length to seek us, even to being lifted high upon the cross to draw us back to Himself. We can only respond by loving God for His love.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Humble yourselves…

Humble yourselves… We cannot pass through the low door with our head held high unless we want to crack it. And the door we have to pass through is Christ crucified, who humbled himself down to the level of us witless fools.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Of course you are unworthy…

Of course you are unworthy. But when do you hope to be worthy? You will be no more worthy at the end than at the beginning. God alone is worthy of Himself, He alone can make us worthy of Him.
— Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

God’s speech is silence…

The speech of God is silence. His Word is solitude.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

All spiritual or…

A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all.
— Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Love God, love silence…

One who loves God necessarily loves silence.
— Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Humility is strength…

Humility is the surest sign of strength.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Be what we are…

What we have to be is what we are.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Start looking…

Stop thinking and start looking.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

We cannot find him unless…

We cannot find Him unless we know we need Him. We forget this need when we take a self-sufficient pleasure in our own good works. The poor and helpless are the first to find Him, Who came to seek and to save that which was lost.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

The greatness of God…

There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world.
— Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Our real journey in life…

Our real journey in life is interior; It is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts. Never was it more necessary to respond to that action.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

To be grateful is…

To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Each of us have a vocation…

Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the Kingdom. If we find that place we will be happy. If we do not find it, we can never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God’s will, to be what God wants us to be.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Guided by nobody…

The most dangerous man in the world is the contemplative who is guided by nobody. He trusts his own visions. He obeys the attractions of an interior voice but will not listen to other men. He identifies the will of God with anything that makes him feel, within his own heart, a big, warm, sweet interior glow. The sweeter and the warmer the feeling is, the more he is convinced of his own infallibility.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Grace increases…

Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.
— Saint Rose of Lima (1586-1617)

Where do we begin?

Where do we begin? Begin with the heart.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Prayer unites…

Prayer unites the soul to God.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

God is nearer

God is nearer to us than our own spirit.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Cheerful givers do not…

Cheerful givers do not count the cost of what they give. Their hearts are set on pleasing and cheering the person to whom the gift is given.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342–1416)

The highest worship…

When a soul holds onto God in trust– whether and seeking him or contemplating him — this is the highest worship you can bring.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

It is God’s will…

It is not God’s will that you should linger over pain, but that we should pass over it quickly to find joy that lasts and never ends.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Our soul rests in God…

Our soul rests in God its true peace, our soul stands in God its true strength, and is deep-rooted in God for endless love.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

We are made whole…

In our father, God almighty, we have our being; in our merciful mother we are remade and restored. Our fragmented lives are knit together and made perfect… And by giving and yielding ourselves, through grace, to the Holy Spirit we are made whole.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Prayer unites the soul…

Prayer unites the soul to God. Although the soul is like God in nature, it is often different from Him in condition because of a person’s sin. Prayer then acts as a witness that the soul wills as God wills. It eases the conscience and prepares us for grace.
–Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

When we die…

When we die we shall come to God knowing ourselves clearly having gone wholly. We shall be enfolded in God for ever, seeing him truly, feeling him fully, hearing him spiritually, smelling him delectably, and tasting him sweetly.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Grace reveals God…

For here we are so blind and foolish that we never seek God until he, of his goodness, shows himself to us. It is when we do see something of him by his grace that we are stirred by that same grace to seek him, and with earnest longing to see still more of his blessedness. So I saw him and sought him; I had him and wanted him. It seems to me that this is and should be an experience common to us all.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

God allows valleys and peaks…

It is a valuable thing for us to experience the valleys as well as the peaks. God wants us to know that he is with us in both good times and bad. For our spiritual benefit we are sometimes left to ourselves. We may be allowed to suffer misery. Both happiness and sadness are expressions of the same divine love. Of all the pains that lead to salvation, the greatest is to see your love suffer.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

All shall be well…

Because of our good Lord’s tender love to all those 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 thing shall be well.” These words were said so kindly and without a hint of blame. So how unjust it would be for me to blame God for allowing my sin when he does not blame me for falling into it.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

The incalculable love of God

The love that God most high has for our soul is so great that it surpasses understanding. No created being can comprehend how much, how sweetly, and how tenderly our maker loves us. By his Grace and help therefore let us in spirit stand in awe and gaze, eternally marveling at the supreme, surpassing, single-minded, incalculable love that God, Who is all goodness, has for us.
— Saint Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

No one is really happy…

No one is really happy merely because of having what they want, but only if they want things they ought to want.
— Saint Augustine (354-430)

Adore Christ in the Eucharist…

We do not sin when we adore Christ in the Eucharist; we do sin when we do not adore Christ in the Eucharist.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

The sacraments are…

The Sacraments are the salvation of those who use them rightly, and the damnation of those who misuse them.
–Saint Augustine (354-430)

God has promised forgiveness…

God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but he has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.
— Saint Augustine (354-430)

Silence of the heart…

Enter into yourself, leave behind all noise and confusion. God speaks to us in the great silence of the heart.
— Saint Augustine (354-430)

Love in your enemies…

You don’t love in your enemies what they are, but what you would have them become by your prayers.
— Saint Augustine (354-430)

Mountain of mercy…

Our faults are like a grain of sand beside the great mountain of the mercies of the good God.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Envy is a sadness…

Envy is a sadness which we feel on account of the good that happens to our neighbor.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Anger has company…

Anger never travels alone. It is always accompanied by plenty of other sins.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Prayer is a bath…

Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

God speaks to us…

God speaks to us without ceasing by his good inspirations.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Saints end well…

The saints did not all begin well, but they all ended well.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Belong to God,,,

You either belong wholly to the world or wholly to God.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

God forbids worry…

God commands you to pray, but forbids you to worry.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Without offering to God…

Anything we do, without offering it to God, is wasted.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Accuse or excuse…

We will either accuse ourselves or excuse ourselves.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Confess but not convert…

It is said that many confess, and few are converted.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Always spring…

It is always springtime in the heart that loves God.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

God is ready to hear…

God is everywhere ready to hear your prayers.
— Saint John Vianney (1786-1859)

Wonderful peace…

There is no peace more wonderful than the peace we enjoy when faith shows us God in all created things.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

What God arranges

What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the best and holiest thing that could happen to us.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751

Duty of the present moment…

If we have abandoned ourselves to God, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

God makes us holy…

God knows how to make us holy, so let us leave the business to God and think no more about it.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Quench our thirst…

If we wish to quench our thirst, we must lay aside books which explain thirst and take a drink.
–Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

Seek nothing or everything…

To see a religious who seeks nothing but God sad, or one who seeks everything except God happy, is a great miracle.
— Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Conquer yourself…

Conquer yourself; for if you do this you will gain a brighter crown in heaven than others who are meeker by nature.
— Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

When storms rage…

When storms rage against us through no fault of our own, it is a kind of pledge of success in the near future.
— Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

A member away from church…

A member that is torn away from the body receives therefrom neither motion nor feeling, nor any life at all.
— Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Without expecting praise…

Do everything you do without expecting praise: but let everything you do be such as cannot justly be blamed.
— Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Deep and true humility…

We may be quite sure that God is always ready to be generous, provided he find in us a deep and true humility.
— Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

To attain heaven…

If we are to attain to the kingdom of Heaven, it is not enough to abandon wickedness, but there must be abundant practice of that which is good also. To be delivered indeed from hell we must abstain from wickedness; but to attain to the kingdom we must cleave fast to virtue.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Steadfast in prayer…

Whether, therefore, we receive what we ask for, or do not receive it, let us still continue steadfast in prayer. For to fail in obtaining the desires of our heart, when God so wills it, is not worse than to receive it; for we know not as He does, what is profitable to us.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Clothed in Christ…

We who have once for all clothed ourselves in Christ, and have been made worthy to have him dwelling within us, may show everyone, if we choose, simply by the strict discipline of our life and without saying a word, the power of him who dwells in us.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Consolation in misfortune…

Having witnessed all the good things that spring forth from patience, let us not lose courage when we are hit by misfortunes—no matter how difficult they may be. For there is no human in misfortune who cannot find consolation from Job’s example.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

God’s work is a blessing…

From the beginning until the end of time the whole of God’s work is a blessing. From the liturgical poem of the first creation to the canticles of the heavenly Jerusalem, the inspired authors proclaim the plan of salvation as one vast divine blessing.
— Catechism of the Catholic Church

Christian mystery…

Just as the letters on a page are meaningless to a child who has not learned to read, so it is with the Christian mystery. Unbelievers are deaf to what they hear, whereas the experience of the Spirit empowers believers to perceive its hidden meaning.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Paths of repentance…

So now I have shown you the five paths of repentance. First, condemnation of sins. Second, forgiving the sins of those near us. Third, prayer. Fourth, almsgiving. Fifth, humility. So do not be idle, but every day advance along all these paths at once.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Shun luxury…

If you would rise, shun luxury, for luxury lowers and degrades.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Praying well…

There is nothing more powerful than a person praying well.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Let Christians be…

What the soul is in the body, let Christians be in the world.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Imitate the saint…

To celebrate a Saint is to imitate the Saint.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

God gives much…

God asks little, but He gives much.
— Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)

Seek not sweetness in prayer…

The man who loves God with a true heart, and prizes him above all things, sometimes sheds floods of tears at prayer, and has in abundance of favors and spiritual feelings coming upon him with such vehemence, that he is forced to cry out, “Lord! let me be quiet!” But a man ought not to seek for these sweetnesses and sensible devotions forcibly, for he will be easily deluded by the devil, and will run a risk of injuring his health.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Fervor of spirituality…

The fervor of spirituality is usually very great in the beginning, but afterwards, the Lord … makes as though He would go farther: in such a case we must stand firm and not be disturbed, because God is then withdrawing His most holy Hand of sweetnesses to see if we are strong; and then, if we resist and overcome those tribulations and temptations, the sweetnesses and heavenly consolations return.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Advance in spirituality…

He who wishes to advance in spirituality, should never slur over his defects negligently without particular examination of conscience, even independent of the time of sacramental confession.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Dryness in prayer…

If in times of dryness in prayer we make acts of humility, self-knowledge, protestations of our own inability to help ourselves, and petitions for God’s assistance, all this is real and substantial prayer.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

We depart empty-handed…

The things of this world do not remain constantly with us, for if we do not leave them before we actually die, in death at least we all infallibly depart as empty-handed as we came.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

In good hands…

When the soul lies resignedly in the hands of God, and is contented with the divine pleasure, it is in good hands, and has the best security that good will happen to it.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Learning how to pray…

A most excellent means of learning how to pray, is to acknowledge ourselves unworthy of such a benefit, and to put ourselves entirely into the hands of the Lord.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Makers of our own crosses…

Men are generally the carpenters of their own crosses.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Pray for perseverance…

We must pray incessantly for the gift of perseverance.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Wishes for goods…

He who wishes for goods will never have devotion.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Prayer helps…

Nothing helps a man more than prayer.
— Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

To become saints…

The great thing is to become saints.
–Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Many words and long discourses…

I do not advise you to use multiplicity of words in prayer: many words and long discourses being often the occasions of wandering. Hold yourself in prayer before God, like a dumb or paralytic beggar at a rich man’s gate.
— Brother Lawrence (1614-1691)

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