"He remains among us until the end of the world."  - St. Maximilian Kolbe

"IF MEN ONLY KNEW WHAT ETERNITY IS, THEY WOULD DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES." - BLESSED JACINTA MARTO

"During prayer, I heard these words: 'My daughter, let your heart be filled with joy. I, the Lord, am with you. Fear nothing. You are in My heart.'  At that moment, I knew the great majesty of God, and I understood that nothing could be compared with one single perception of God. Outward greatness dwindles like a speck of dust before one act of a deeper knowledge of God"  St. Faustina (Diary, 1133).

"I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master."

- St. John Vianney

"The ROSARY is the prayer that sustains and increases our faith." - Servant of God, Lucia Santos                                                  

“Our Lord is a perpetual Communion to those who are united to His will.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Jesus taught a new sacrifice which the Church received from the Apostles and offers the whole world. ~St. Irenaeus

"God gave me a father and mother more worthy of heaven than of earth."  —Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

“If you have lost the taste for prayer, you will regain the desire for it by returning humbly to its practice.” (Blessed Paul VI, Evangelica Testificatio, Apostolic Exhortation, 1971)

"Meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation."   St. Faustina (Diary, 332)

 “We believe in one God the Father omnipotent, maker of the visible and invisible things. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Who [Latin: Hoc] is of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, True God of True God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, whom the Greeks call consubstantial [Latin: “homousion”; Greek for “the same substance as”], through Whom all things are [having been] made [facta sunt] whether those things [were made] in heaven or which [were made] on earth; Who for us men [“homines”] and for our salvation came down, became incarnate, became man, suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, is [/will be] coming [Latin “venturus”] to judge the living and the dead. And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit.
“But those who say: ‘there was once when He was not,’ and ‘prior to [priusquam] being begotten, He was not, and He was made from out of non-existence [Latin “ex nullis exantibus” lit. “out of none existing things”] which the Greeks call ‘exuconton’ or [Latin “vel” meaning “or [interchangeably]”] ‘an other substance’ [Greek text says ‘ex heteras hypostaseos e ousias’ or ‘out of another (different) hypostasis or substance’], stating the Son of God [to be] changeable or convertible; these [persons] the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes [declares to be cursed/set apart from on High (by God).]”  Pope Pelagius II, in his epistle “Quod ad dilectionern” (c. 585), confirms the following profession of faith from the Council of Nicea (the first ecumenical council) —The First Council of Nicaea, Profession of Faith of the Council Fathers, 325 AD

 “These are but roses: Jesus Christ has suffered more than this, and I deserve worse for my sins.”  St. Paul of the Cross, responding to a wound which befell him  (“The Life of Blessed Paul of the Cross”, tr. by Fr. Ignatius of S. Paul, pub. 1860, pg. 8.)

"Why are You sad today, Jesus? Tell me, who is the cause of Your sadness? And Jesus answered me. 'Chosen souls who do not have my spirit, who live according to the letter [cf. 2 Cor. 3:6] and have placed the letter above My spirit, above the spirit of love. I have founded My whole law on love, and yet I do not see love, even in religious orders. This is why sadness fills My Heart.'" St. Faustina (Diary 1478)

"Each holy Mass heard with devotion, produces marvelous effects in our souls, spiritual and material graces, that we ourselves do not know. For such purposes do not spend your money uselessly, make a sacrifice of it and come to hear holy Mass. It would be easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the holy sacrifice of the Mass." St. Pio of Pietrecina

“It is not easy to explain why God permits evil; but it is impossible for an atheist to explain the existence of goodness. How could a spiritless, soul-less, cross-less, Godless universe become the center of faith, purity, sacrifice, and martyrdom? How can decency be the decent thing if there is no God? Since God is love, why should we be surprised that want of it should end in pain, hate, broken hearts, and war?” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Wartime Prayer Book)

"When my strength begins to fail, it is Holy Communion that will sustain me and give me strength. Indeed, I fear the day on which I would not receive Holy Communion. My soul draws astonishing strength from Holy Communion."  St. Faustina (Diary 1826)

"We confess, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and a body, begotten before all ages from the Father in his Godhead, the same in the last days, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary the Virgin according to his humanity, one and the same consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and consubstantial with us in humanity, for a union of two natures took place. Therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of the unconfused union, we confess the holy Virgin to be the Mother of God because God the Word took flesh and became man, and from his very conception united to himself the temple he took from her."  - The Council of Ephesus, Formula of Union, 431 AD

“Being a Christian means having love; it means achieving the Copernican revolution in our own existence, by which we cease to make ourselves the center of the universe, with everyone else revolving around us.”  —Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI)

"Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior."  (Saint Faustina's Diary 1075)

“5. By whom [Jesus Christ] we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith, in all nations, for his name; 6. Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ: 7. To all that are at Rome, the beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 8. First I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, because your faith is spoken of in the whole world. 9. For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make a commemoration of you; 10. Always in my prayers making request, if by any means now at length I may have a prosperous journey, by the Will of God, to come unto you. 11. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace, to strengthen you: 12. That is to say, that I may be comforted together in you, by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine. 13. And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that I have often purposed to come unto you, (and have been hindered hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14. To the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise, I am a debtor; 15. So (as much as is in me) I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are at Rome. 16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and to the Greek. 17. For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man liveth by faith. 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice: 19. Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it unto them. 20. For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable. 21. Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified him as God, or given thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22. For professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. 23. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts, and of creeping things. 24. Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonour their own bodies among themselves. 25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie; and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26. For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections. For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature. 27. And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error. 28. And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient; 29. Being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, whisperers, 30. Detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31. Foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy. 32. Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death; and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.” (Bishop Challoner, commentary: 26. God delivered them up: Not by being author of their sins, but by withdrawing his grace, and so permitting them, in punishment of their pride, to fall into those shameful sins.) St. Paul the Apostle, Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 1: 5-26

“Men, brethren, you know, that in former days God made choice among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, who knoweth the hearts, gave testimony, giving unto them the Holy Ghost, as well as to us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why tempt you God to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe to be saved, in like manner as they also.” Pope St. Peter I, Council of Jerusalem  (Recorded by St. Luke the Evangelist, Acts 15:7-11

"When the devil wishes to make himself master of a soul, he seeks to make it give up devotion to Mary."  -- St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

"O God, how I desire that souls come to know You and to see that You have created them because of Your unfathomable love. O my Creator and Lord, I feel that I am going to remove the veil of heaven so that earth will not doubt Your goodness."  St. Faustina (Diary 483 (200) )

"When assisting at holy Mass, renew your faith and meditate on the victim who immolates Himself for you, to placate Divine Justice, and renders it propitious to you. Do not leave the alter without first shedding tears of sorrow and love for Jesus, crucified for your eternal salvation. When you are well attend Mass, when you are ill and cannot assist, read the Mass."  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“What does it mean to be a bishop? When Our Blessed Lord first called Peter and the other Apostles to Himself, He said that from now on they would catch souls instead of fish. Whether or not a promotion in the Church increases the ability to fill nets is another matter. Statistics do not prove that one can catch more fish seated on the bank dressed in purple than when dressed in black. Rather, it would seem that the responsibility increases because a fisherman uses only a hook, but a bishop uses a crosier, or a crook. That means that he is to increase Christ’s fold whether they be fish or lambs, ‘by hook and by crook.’” Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

"Do not bestow your love on the world." -St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

"Before, by yourself, you couldn't. Now, you've turned to our Lady, and with her, how easy!"
--St. Josemaria Escriva

"The proclamation of the Gospel will always be marked by the sign of the Cross—this is what each generation of Jesus' disciples must learn anew. The Cross is and remains the sign of ‘the Son of Man’: ultimately, in the battle against lies and violence, truth and love have no other weapon than the witness of suffering.”  —Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

“Those whom you serve should feel the efforts of your kindheartedness.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"Let us go to Jesus. He is all alone and hardly anyone thinks of Him. Poor Jesus!" - St. Gemma Galgani

Pope Urban VIII requires a “Protest of the Author” to be published at the beginning of any and every book published which contains any kind of private revelation, unconfirmed miracle, etc. in the following words: “In obedience to the decrees of Urban VIII. of holy memory, I protest that I do not intend to attribute any other than purely human authority to all the miracles, revelations, graces and incidents contained in this book; neither to the titles holy or blessed applied to the servants of God not yet canonized, except in cases where these have been confirmed by the Holy Roman Catholic Church and by the Holy Apostolic See, of whom I profess myself an obedient son ; and, therefore, to their judgment I submit myself and whatever I have written in this book.”

St. Louis, king of France, on his death-bed, was asked by the priest who brought him the Viaticum, whether he really believed that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was present in the host. The saint, collecting all his strength, answered with a loud voice “I believe it as firmly as if I saw Him present in the host, just as the Apostles saw Him when He ascended gloriously into heaven.” (As recounted by Fr. Michael Müller in his work “The Blessed Eucharist Our Greatest Treasure.”, Imprimatur Abp. Martinus Joannes 22 October, 1867., pg. 24)

"If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint." - St. Ignatius Loyola

"Write this: before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the Heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (DIary 83 )

"SILENCE DOES GOOD TO THE SOUL." - ST THERESE OF LISIEUX

But understand that the strength by which you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need. St. Faustina  (Diary 1487)

"The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an ever greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.”  - Saint John Paul ll

"Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God." St. Faustina (Diary 1107 )

"If you find it impossible to pray, hide behind your good angel and charge him to pray in your stead." - St. Jean Vianney

“You say: We worship stones and walls and boards. But it is not so, O Emperor; but they serve us for remem brance and encouragement, lifting our slow spirits upwards, by those whose names the pictures bear and whose representations they are. And we worship them not as God, as you maintain, God forbid! ...Even the little children mock at you. Go into one of their schools, say that you are the enemy of images, and straightway they will throw their little tablets at your head, and what you have failed to learn from the wise you may pick up from the foolish. You wrote : ‘As the Jewish King Ozias cast the brazen serpent out of the temple after eight hundred years (2 Kings xviii. 4), so I after eight hundred years cast the images out of the Churches.’ Yes, Ozias was your brother, and, like you, did violence to the priests. ...In virtue of the power which has come down to us from St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, we might inflict a punishment upon you, but since you have invoked one on yourself, have that, you and the counsellors you have chosen, ...though you have so excellent a high priest, our brother Germanus, whom you ought to have taken into your counsels as father and teacher. . .The dogmas of the Church are not a matter for the emperor, but for the bishops.” Pope Gregory II, Letter to Emperor Leo III, against iconoclasm   (Horace K. Mann in his work “Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. I”, pp. 191-192)

“prayer is the source of all virtue; it is the channel through which flow to us all Christ’s graces and all divine gifts; it is the best and most indispensable means of advancing in virtue.” St. John Climacus  (Cited by Fr. Lasance in his work “With God”, pg. 88)

"Nothing should be preferred to the work of God." - Rule of St. Benedict

“Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is no love.” (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

“A good start toward this collaboration of men of good will would be to declare a moratorium on name-calling. Love God and love for our neighbor applies to everyone, whomsoever he be, and regardless of his race, class or color. There are millions who do not share the joys of a Catholic that come from an absolution or a visit to the Real Presence of Christ on the altar, but if any one of us shuts up the bowels of His mercy against a stranger in need, whomsoever he be, the blessing of God cannot be upon him. Men of good will: unite! March separately according to the light of your consciences as presently given, but strike together for the moral betterment of the world.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

"To continue my spiritual prescription: grind all your sufferings in the mill of patience and silence; knead them with the balm of Our Saviour's Passion into a little pill; swallow it with faith and love, and let the heat of charity digest it." St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

"Father, I feel unworthy to receive Holy Communion. I am unworthy!' Reply: "It is true, we are not worthy of such a gift, but it is one thing to receive unworthily in the state of mortal sin and another to be unworthy. We are all unworthy. We are all unworthy; but it is He who invites us, and He who desires it. Let us humble ourselves and receive Him with our hearts full of love"  St. Faustina (Diary 113 )

“Jesus is the Mediator of Justice; Mary obtains for us grace; for… it is the will of God to dispense through the hands of Mary whatever graces He is pleased to bestow upon us. With God, the prayers of the saints are the prayers of His friends, but the prayers of Mary are the prayers of His Mother."  - St. Alphonsus Liguori

"An evil thought is preceded by passion. The passion is caused by the senses, but the misuse of the senses is clearly the fault of the intellect."  St. Thalassios the Libyan

“Gently and imperceptibly, the angels inspire us to do good and then leave us perfectly free to do it or not.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“He [i.e. Mamertus] could not abrogate any portion of the right appointed to our brother Leontius by my predecessor of holy memory; since it has been decreed by the law of Christian princes that whatsoever the prelate of the apostolic see may, on his own judgment, have pronounced to churches and their rulers . . . is to be tenaciously observed; nor can those things ever be upset which shall be supported by both ecclesiastical and royal injunction.” Pope St. Hilarius   (Hil. Epp. ix. x. xi. Labbe) (cited by Barmby, J., "Hilarius, bp. of Rome", A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography, (Henry Wace ed.), John Murray and Co., London, 1911)

 “God afflicts us because He loves us; and it is very pleasing to Him, when in our afflictions He sees us abandon ourselves to His paternal care.” St. Benedict Joseph Labrè  (Quoted by Don Antonio Maria Coltraro, whose work was translated into English “The Life of The Venerable Servant of God, Benedict Joseph Labrè.” Trans. Pub. Cum Approbatione Bp. Nicholas , Feb. 2, 1850., pg. 355)

“Never ask what did I do to deserve this? Because Jesus may say to you what did I do to deserve the Cross? If God the Father permitted His Divine Son to feel the agonies of Calvary, it must be that Crosses fit into the Divine Plan. If your cross is mental, change your behavior, confess your sins, and make peace with God. If your cross is physical, offer it up in union with Our Lord on the Cross for the conversion of souls. There is a price tag on every soul. Every soul costs something. Some souls are bought by prayers; others are bought through the kindness of alms; but most of them are bought the way Our Lord brought us, through pain and suffering.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (About Crosses)

"Dear Lord! To win my heart, from heaven Thou didst come; for me Thy blood didst shed, O King adored! and on our altars makest Thy home. So, if I may not here behold Thy Face, or catch the heavenly music of Thy Voice, I still can live, each moment, by Thy grace, and in Thy Sacred Heart I can rest."  St. Therese of Lisieux (1873.-1897)

I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God. I will spend all my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament.
St. Faustina (diary 82 )

"Natural love toward Him as her Son and supernatural love toward Him as her God were united in the heart of Mary.”  - Blessed Amadeus

"Nothing is sweeter after having received Jesus than to give and spread everywhere the fragrance of his virtues."  -St. Francis de Sales.

“We should prefer those who are most exacting to those who subscribe to our moods.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

"Merciful Jesus, I beg You fervently to enlighten my mind so that I may come to know You better, You who are the Infinite Being, and that I may get to know myself better, who am nothingness itself."  (Saint Faustina's Diary 376)

 “Power gave him kingship, as also us, by the authority of God and the holy Apostles and ours, we give this very place.” [Latin: “Ipsum locum, quem regia potestas donavit, et nos, auctoritate Dei et SS. App. et nostra, donamus.”] Pope Constantine, letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury (Brithwald), in response to a vision Bp. Ecgwin had of Our Lady of Evesham, and in confirmation of gifts (donations) from kings  (Acta SS., Jan., p. 709).

 “Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. Thou hast given me all that I am and all that I possess; I surrender it all to thee that thou mayest dispose of it according to thy will. Give me only thy love and thy grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will have no more to desire.” St. Ignatius of Loyola (From his work “The Spiritual Exercises”; Pope Leo XIII added an indulgence of 300 days once a day when recited at least with a contrite heart and devotion.)

I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God. I will spend all my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament.  St' Faustina (Diary 82 )

"My children, we can never prepare ourselves too much for Holy Communion." St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"O Mary of the Rosary, keep me recollected when I say these prayers of yours; bind me forever, with your Rosary, to Jesus of the Blessed Sacrament. Blessed be Jesus, my love; Blessed be the Immaculate Virgin Mary."  - Pope Saint John XXlll

“But if thou even now persuade or compel thy brethren to return to unity, thy good deed will be greater than thy fault; and this will not be set against thee and that praised. But if thou canst not gain over the obstinate, save thine own soul.” Pope St. Dionysius of Alexandria, epistle to [anti-Pope] Novatian  (Ep. ad Novat., par. 130.)

“it is certain that, so long as the guilt of venial sin is not remitted, the punishment due to it cannot be remitted.”  St. Alphonsus (Moral Theol., Bk. VI., Vol. IV., Ch. I., Art. II.) 

“You see a great deal of distress that you are unable to relieve. God sees it also. Bear the pains of the poor together with them, doing all you can to give them whatever help they need, and remain in peace.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

“But if you live the time that no man will give you good counsel, nor no man will give you good example, when you shall see virtue punished and vice rewarded, if you will then stand fast and firmly stick to God, upon pain of my life, though you be but half good, God will allow you for whole good.”
—Saint Thomas More

"Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul's distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness."  St. Faustina (Diary, 300)

“Then St. John the Baptist, by a singular privilege, is sanctified in his mother's womb and favored with special graces that he might prepare the way of the Lord; and this comes to pass by the greeting of Mary who had been inspired to visit her cousin.”  Pope Leo XIII, Iucunda Semper Expectatione, September 8, 1894.

“Peace begins with a smile. Smile five times a day at someone you really don’t want to smile at; do it for peace”. - Blessed  Teresa of Calcutta

"ONE of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night, or deep in sloping meadows, the feeling that every flower and leaf has just uttered something stupendously direct and important, and that we have by a prodigy of imbecility not heard or understood it. There is a certain poetic value, and that a genuine one, in this sense of having missed the full meaning of things. There is beauty, not only in wisdom, but in this dazed and dramatic ignorance."  ~G.K. Chesterton: "Robert Browning," Chap VI.─Browning as a Literary Artist. (1903)

“The birth of John [the Baptist] brought the dumbness of Zacharias to an end. For he did not burden his father, when the voice issued forth from silence; but as when not believed it rendered him tongue-tied, so did the voice sounding out clearly set his father free, to whom he had both been announced and born. Now the voice and the burning light (John 5:35) were a precursor of the Word and the Light.”  St. Iranæus, Fragments, #47   (Translated by Alexander Roberts. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.))

"Many a modern preacher is far less concerned with preaching Christ and Him crucified than he is with his popularity with his congregation. A want of intellectual backbone makes him straddle the ox of truth and the ass of nonsense. Bending the knee to the mob rather than God would probably make them scruple at ever playing the role of John the Baptist before a modern Herod. The acids of modernity are eating away the fossils of orthodoxy." Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Old Errors and New Labels

“Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science, or eloquence.” (Blessed Teresa of Calcutta; No Greater Love)

Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which lends value to our actions. And the purer our love becomes, the less there will be within us for the flames of suffering to feed upon, and the suffering will cease to be a suffering for us; it will become a delight! By the grace of God, I have received such a disposition of heart that I am never so happy as when I suffer for Jesus, whom I love with every beat of my heart. (diary of St.Faustina 303 )

"When John the Baptist saw Our Blessed Lord approaching, he said: "I must decrease; He must increase". Herein lies the secret of mental and spiritual stability. It is only by making ourselves little that we become great; it is only by creating an emptiness that Heaven has a place to fill." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

"When God allows you to be praised, do not become boastful on account of this divine providence, lest you then fall into dishonor."  St. Mark the Ascetic (5th c.)

"Jesus, King of Mercy, again the time has come when I am alone with You. Therefore I beg You, by all the love with which Your Heart burns, to destroy completely within me my self-love and, on the other hand, to enkindle in my heart the fire of Your purest love."
(Saint Faustina's Diary 371)

"All my own perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded upon Our Lady."
- J.R.R. Tolkien

I saw how unwillingly the Lord Jesus came to certain souls in Holy Communion. And He spoke these words to me: I enter into certain hearts as into a second Passion.  St. Faustina (Diary 1598).

“God has preserved you as the apple of His eye.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“For which (the Roman state) the priest offers these gifts and prays that a season of rest be granted to the princes, That the enemy be conquered throughout the world by the power of Peter and peace and our faith be with the Gentiles and the people.” Pope Pelagius II  (Cited by Duchesne, Lib. Pont., vol. I, p. 310, n. 3.)

O my God, how sweet it is to suffer for You, suffer in the most secret recesses of the heart, in the greatest hiddenness, to burn like a sacrifice noticed by no one, pure as crystal, with no consolation or compassion. My spirit burns in active love. I waste no time in dreaming. I take every moment singly as it comes, for this is within my power. The past does not belong to me; the future is not mine; with all my soul I try to make use of the present moment.  Diary of St Faustina (357 )

“What St. Francis has done I shall do. What St. Dominic has done I shall do.” St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits  (Taken from “The Life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, of the Society of Jesus” compiled by 16 authors, Richard S. Tierney and his classmates of Rhetoric Class of ’92, St. Francis Xavier’s College, New York City. Easter, 1891, edited by Rev. J. F. X. O’Conor, S. J.)

Today the Lord said to me, "I have need of your sufferings to rescue souls". O my Jesus, do with me as You please. I did not have the courage to ask the Lord Jesus for greater sufferings, because I had suffered so much the night before that I would not have been able to bear a drop more than what Jesus Himself gave me.   St Faustina (diary 1612 )

“May the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, always smile on your spirit, obtaining for it, from her Most Holy Son, every heavenly blessing.”  -St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners.
-O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners."
(Saint Faustina's Diary 356)

“Do not burden yourself with rules and practices; strengthen yourself to fulfill well those you have, especially as regards your daily actions and employments; in short, let your greatest concern be to do well what you do.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

 “[Pray] ...that I might appear irreprehensible before the conspection of the judge of all, Our Lord Jesus Christ. [Latin: …ut inreprehensibilis appaream ante conspectum iudicis omnium domini nostri Iesu Christi.]” (published in the Liber Diurnis)  Pope St. Benedict II, Papal Profession of Faith, Indiculum Pontificis, formula 83

 “I am in a country,  where I am in want of all the conveniences of life. But nevertheless, I feel so much interior consolation, that there is danger of my losing my sight through weeping with joy.” St. Francis Xavier, writing from Japan to his brethren in Europe   (Fr. Jean Croiset, in his work “Devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus” pub. 1863)

"Some psychologists and sociologists like to rap their knuckles at the door of truth about mankind, but they would run away if the door ever opened, showing man's contingency on God. The only people who ever arrive at a knowledge of God are those who, when the door is opened, accept that Truth and shoulder the responsibilities it brings.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

'O Jesus, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be unfaithful to you!' St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879)

"Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized; the greater the suffering, the purer the love."  St. Faustina's Diary 57 

"I do not understand how it is possible not to trust in Him who can do all things. With Him, everything; without Him, nothing. He is Lord. He will not allow those who have placed all their trust in Him to be put to shame."  (Saint Faustina's Diary 358)

“There is no danger of exaggerating. We can never hope to fathom this inexpressible mystery nor will we ever be able to give sufficient thanks to our Mother for bringing us into such intimacy with the Blessed Trinity.”  - Saint Josemaria Escriva

“If necessity urges us to make haste, then let it be slowly.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“Hearing with what severe and terrible judgement the land of Jerusalem has been smitten by the divine hand, we and our brothers have been confounded by such great horror and affected by such great sorrow that we could not easily decide what to do or say; over this situation the psalmist laments and says: ‘O God, the heathens are come into Thy inheritance.’ (Ps. 78:1)”  Pope Gregory VIII, Audita Tremendi, October 29, 1187: 

 “Would that I could love God with the fervor which His Infinite Majesty deserves! My heart weeps because Christians show such ingratitude towards Him.”  St. Aloysius: (Taken from “The Life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, of the Society of Jesus” compiled by 16 authors, the Rhetoric Class of ’92, St. Francis Xavier’s College, New York City. Easter, 1891, edited by Rev. J. F. X. O’Conor, S. J.)

“We cannot excuse our lust because our grandfather had an Oedipus complex. Sin, He said, is conveyed to the soul through our body, and the body is moved by the will. In war against all false self-expressions He thundered out His recommendation of self-operation: cut it off and cut it out. ‘If the right eye is the occasion of falling into sin, pluck it out and cast it away from thee.’ Men will cut off their legs and arms to save the body from gangrene or poisoning. But here Our Lord transferred circumcision of the flesh to circumcision of the heart, and advocated letting out the lifeblood of beloved lusts and hewing passions to tatters, rather than be separated from the love of God which is in Him, Christ Jesus.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life of Christ)

“... Jesus, his dear Mother, the Guardian Angel with the others to encourage me, that they not forget to tell me that the victim, to be called victim, has to lose all his blood”. St. Pio of Pietrelcina Letter to father Agostino, (November 18, 1912), 

Epistolary I (1910-1922) PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA: a cura di Melchiorre da Pobladura e Alessandro da Ripabottoni - Edizioni "Padre Pio da Pietrelcina" Convento S.Maria delle Grazie San Giovanni Rotondo - FG

Today the Lord said to me, "I have need of your sufferings to rescue souls". O my Jesus, do with me as You please. I did not have the courage to ask the Lord Jesus for greater sufferings, because I had suffered so much the night before that I would not have been able to bear a drop more than what Jesus Himself gave me. St. Faustina (Diary 1612 )

"The Virgin Mary, being obedient to His word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God."   - Saint Irenaeus

"I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 186)

“The more you give to our Lord, the more blessings you will receive. His yoke is sweet to him who embraces it willingly.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“The office of Pope... [is] a thorny one, beset on all sides with sharp pricks.” (John of Salisbury said: “The office of Pope, he assured me, was a thorny one, beset on all sides with sharp pricks. He wished indeed that he had never left England, his native land, or at least had lived his life quietly in the cloister of Sts. Rufus rather than have entered on such difficult paths, but he dared not refuse, since it was the Lord’s bidding” Pope Adrian IV, Indirect Quote from John of Salisbury (Polycraticus, Bk. IV, xxviii).)

“For while the hot restlessness of heretics stirs questions about many articles of the Catholic Faith, the necessity of defending them forces us both to investigate them more accurately, to understand them more clearly, and to proclaim them more earnestly; and the question mooted by an adversary becomes the occasion of instruction.”  St. Augustine, The City of God, p. 16, 2.

“After a succession of hot, sultry days in the summer, we sense there must be a storm before the cool days come back again. Similarly, in these days of confusion, there is an intuition of impending catastrophe, a feeling that some immense preternatural disturbance must bring the evil of the world to ruins before we can be set free again. As DeGoncourt told Berthelot, who had boasted of the future destructiveness of war through physics: ‘When that day comes, God as a night-watchman will come down from Heaven, rattling His keys, saying, Gentleman! It is closing time!” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Peace of Soul)

"The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who loves His Mother." - St. Louis de Montfort

"Our time is short.' St. John Climacus" (525 – 606)

"During the rioting of the passions and adverse events, keep in mind the dear hope of his unlimited mercy. Let us run with confidence to the tribunal of penance, where he waits for you at all times with the anxiety of a father; and although we are conscience of our debt towards Him, let us not doubt the solemn pardon of our sins. Let us bury them as our Lord has done." St. Pio of Pietrelcina

" My daughter, speak to priests about this inconceivable mercy of Mine. The flames of mercy are burning Me — clamoring to be spent; I want to keep pouring them out upon souls; souls just don't want to believe in My goodness." Suddenly Jesus disappeared. But throughout that whole day my spirit remained immersed in God's tangible presence, despite the buzz and chatter that usually follow a retreat. It did not disturb me in the least. My spirit was in God, although externally I took part in the conversations and even went to visit Derdy.  St. Faustina (Diary 177)

"That one woman is both mother and virgin, not in spirit only, but even in body. In spirit she is mother, not of our head, who is our Savior himself—of whom all, even she herself, are rightly called children of the bridegroom—but plainly she is the mother of us who are his members, because by love she has cooperated so that the faithful, who are the members of that head, might be born in the Church. In body, indeed, she is the Mother of that very head."  - Saint Augustine

“Bishop Eugene, servant of the servants of God, to his most beloved son in Christ, Louis, the illustrious king of the French, and to his beloved sons, the princes, and to all the faithful ones of God who are established throughout Gaul,-greeting and apostolic benediction.How much our predecessors the Roman pontiffs did labour for the deliverance of the oriental church, we have learned from the accounts of the ancients and have found it written in their acts. For our predecessor of blessed memory, pope Urban, did sound, as it were, a celestial trump and did take care to arouse for its deliverance the sons of the holy Roman church from the different parts of the earth. At his voice, indeed, those beyond the mountain and especially the bravest and strongest warriors of the French kingdom, and also those of Italy, inflamed by the ardour of love did come together, and, congregating a very great army, not without much shedding of their own blood, the divine aid being with them, did free from the filth of the pagans that city where our Saviour willed to suffer for us, and where He left His glorious sepulchre to us as a memorial of His passion, and many others which, avoiding prolixity, we refrain from mentioning.” Bl. Pope Eugene III, Quantum praedecessores, Dec 1, 1145

“Lactata sum in his, qua dicta sunt mihi, in domum Domini ibimus, [I am gladdened in these words, which are spoken to me, we shall enter the household of the Lord.]” St. Juliana Falconieri, responding to the words of her doctors, that her death was eminent  (As quoted by Fr. Frederick Faber, “The Life of St. Juliana Falconieri”, Ch. IV, pub. 1847)

“Good work, sooner or later speak a much more favorable language than anything done for one’s own ostentation and show.”  – St. Vincent de Pau

“As a kind person in the face of pain seeks to relieve the sufferings of his friend, so does moral kindness in the face of evil take on the punishment which evil deserves. Every mother would willingly, if she could, bear the aches of her child. A father will pay the debts of his wayward son as if they were his own. Our Lord, though guilty of no sin, nevertheless in His agony in the garden permitted Himself to feel the inner effects of sin, as on the cross He experienced also the external effects of sin. These internal effects were sadness, fear, and a sense of loneliness. ‘I looked for one that would grieve together with Me, and I found none.’ He permits His head to feel blasphemies as if his lips had pronounced them; His hands to feel the sins of theft, as if He had stolen; His body to sense the guilt of defilement, as if it were the cause. Innocence knows sin better than the guilty, because the guilty are already part of it. Sin is in the blood. The drunkard, the libertine, the tyrant have registered sin not only in their souls, but in their brain, the cells of their body, and the very expression of their faces. If, therefore, sin is in the blood, to atone for it, blood must be poured out. Our Lord never intended that any other blood than His own should be shed in expiation for sins. Because men have not invoked the blood of Christ for their sins, they are now at war shedding one another’s blood. The agony in the garden is not a triumph of the plans and the schemes of betrayers and enemies, but is permitted by divine decree. This is your hour, our Lord said to His enemies. Evil has its hour, but God has His day!” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Fifteen Mysteries)

"You are the delight of My Heart; from today on, every one of your acts, even the very smallest, will be a delight to My eyes, whatever you do."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 137)

"Let those, therefore, who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence, deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary."  - Saint Athanasius

"I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death, as My own glory. And even if the sins of the soul are as dark as night, when the sinner turns to My mercy, he renders Me the greatest praise, and becomes the glory of My Passion. When a soul praises My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell"  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 378).

“It is an old custom with the servants of God always to have some little prayers ready, and to be darting them up to heaven frequently during the day, lifting their minds to God out of the filth of this world. He who adopts this plan will get great fruit with little pains.” St. Philip Neri  (Quoted by Fr. Lasance, in his work “With God”, Introcuction, pg. 10)