Pope Paul III, confirming the Spiritual Exercises: “Our beloved son, Ignatius de Loyola, General of the Society of Jesus, erected by us in Our beloved City and confirmed by Our Apostolic authority, has compiled certain instructions, or Spiritual Exercises, drawn from Holy Writ and from experience in the spiritual life, and has reduced them to an order which is excellently adapted to move piously the souls of the faithful, and that they are very useful and wholesome for the spiritual consolation and profit of the same. This ... [St.] Francis [Borgia] has come to know by report from many places and by clear evidence at Barcelona, Valencia and Gandia. Hence he has humbly begged Us to cause the aforesaid instructions and Spiritual Exercises to be examined, so that their fruit may be more spread, and more of the faithful may be induced to use them with greater devotion. And he has begged Us, should We find them worthy, to approve and praise them and out of Our Apostolic goodness to make other provision in the premisses. We, therefore, have caused these instructions and Exercises to be examined, and by the testimony of and report made to Us by Our beloved son John Cardinal Priest of the Title of St. Clement, Bishop of Burgos and Inquisitor, Our venerable Brother Philip, Bishop of Saluciae, and Our Vicar General in things spiritual at Rome, and Our beloved son Aegidius Foscararius, Master of Our Sacred Palace, have found that these Exercises are full of piety and holiness and that they are and will be extremely useful and salutary for the spiritual profit of the faithful. We have, besides, as We should, due regard to the rich fruits which Ignatius and the aforesaid Society founded by him are constantly producing everywhere in the Church of God, and to the very great help which the said Exercises have proved in this.Moved, then, by this petition, with the aforesaid authority, by these presents, and of Our certain knowledge, We approve, praise, and favor with the present writing the aforesaid instructions and Exercises and all and everything contained in them, and We earnestly exhort all and each of the faithful of both sexes everywhere to employ instructions and Exercises so pious and to be instructed by them.”

“Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created.From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it.For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created.” St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Spiritual Exercises:

“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

Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious. - St. Thomas Aquinas

“There is an infinite treasure of knowledge available to us: the Word of God kept safe by the Church, the grace of Christ administered in the sacraments and also the witness and example of those who live by our side and have known how to build with their good lives a road of faithfulness to God.” (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By, 34).

“You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”
-Saint Therese of Lisieux

“Great care must be taken to show forth orthodox truth in such a way that if any heretics happen to be present they may have an example of charity and Christian moderation. No hard words should be used nor any sort of contempt for their errors be shown.”
—Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Today is his feast day!

“Few souls understand what God would effect in them if they should give themselves entirely into His hands and allow His grace to act.” (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest)

“Man is not an angel, nor is he a devil. He is not intrinsically corrupt (as theologians began claiming four hundred years ago) nor is he intrinsically divine (as philosophers began saying fifty years ago). Rather, man has aspirations to good which he finds it impossible to realize completely by himself; at the same time, he has an inclination toward evil which solicits him away from these ideals. He is like a clock whose mainspring is broken. He needs to be fixed on the inside, but the repairs must be supplied from without. He is mistaken if he is an optimist, who believes evolution to be the mainspring, or a pessimist who believes that nobody can fix him. He is a creature who can run well again, but only if some watchmaker will have the kindness to repair him.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Peace of Soul)

“There are very few for so much work! Our Lord will have to labor with you.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

"Yes, when you are obedient I take away your weakness and replace it with My strength. I am very surprised that souls do not want to make that exchange with Me."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 381)

"The prayer of a humble and loving soul disarms the anger of My Father and draws down an ocean of blessings."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Saint Faustina's Diary 320)

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”  Saint Teresa of Calcutta

"He who goes about to take the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from the Church plots no less a calamity than if he tried to snatch the sun from the universe."  - St. John Fisher

“Brothers and priests of the Lord... No one may chant mass outside church throughout homes, nor in places not consecrated... no one without the knowledge and consent of the bishop may acquire and obtain a church...Almighty God, whose reign and empire endures without end, in secula saeculorum. Amen.” Pope St. Eutychian, Exhortatio ad Presbyteros (Migne, “Exhortatio ad Presbyteros ex antiquo codice vaticano”)

“Love your friends in God and love your enemies for God. Keep peace and charity; avoid lies; tremble at perjury; bear no false witness; commit no theft; visit the infirm; place the whole of your hope in Christ alone.” St. Eligius or Eloy (Saint Eligius or Eloy, pg. 21 of 'A Bedside Book of Saints' by Aloysius Roche Nihil obstat: Thomas McLaughlin, S. Th. D., censor deputatus. Imprimatur: Joseph Butte, Vicarious generalis)

“Mary having co-operated in our redemption with so much glory to God and so much love for us, Our Lord ordained that no one shall obtain salvation except through her intercession.”  - St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

"In order to attract us the Lord gives us many graces and we imagine we are almost in Heaven. We do not know, however, that to grow we need hard bread; crosses, humiliations, trials and contradictions."  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“Ever since the days of Adam, man has been hiding from God and saying, ‘God is hard to find.’” (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)

“Intimacy is openness which keeps back no secret and which reveals the heart open to Christ. Too often friends are just "two ships that pass in the night." Carnal love, despite its seeming intimacy, often can become an exchange of two egotisms. The ego is projected onto the other person and what is loved is not the other person, but the pleasure the other person gives. I have noticed throughout my life that whenever I shrank from the demands that the encounter made on me, I would become busier and more concerned with activities. This gave me an excuse for saying: "I don't have time," as a husband can become so absorbed in business as to forget the love of his wife.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Treasure in Clay)

“My only desire is that God may give us the spirit of profound gratitude for so many benefits bestowed on us.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy. I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.
I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first-by deed, the second-by word, the third-by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works. O my Jesus, You yourself must help me in everything, because You see how very little I am, and so I depend solely on Your goodness, O God. WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary 742) 

“Our happiness lies in the cross; even Our Lord did not will to enter his glory except through suffering.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“When God has appointed a way, we must faithfully follow it and never think of another under pretense that it is more easy and safe. It is one of the Devil’s artifices to set before a soul some state, holy indeed, but impossible to her, or at least different from hers, so that by a love of novelty, she may dislike, or be slack in her present state in which God has placed her and which is best for her. In like manner, he represents to her other acts as more holy and profitable to make her conceive a disgust for her present employment.” St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises (This translation is directly quoted from “Lives of Saints” edited by Fr. Joseph Vann, O.F.M., Nihil Obstat: John M. A. Fearns, S.T.D., Censor Libororum, Imprimatur+ Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, August 7, 1954)

I do not care very much what men say of me, provided that God approves of me. - St. Thomas More

"Real love is demanding. I would fail in my mission if I did not tell you so. Love demands a personal commitment to the will of God." -Pope Saint John Paul the Great

Fortunately, while being Martha one can remain like Mary Magdalene always near the Master, contemplating Him with a wholly loving look. And that is our life in Carmel, for, although prayer is our principal and even our unique occupation, for the prayer of a Carmelite never ceases, we also have works, external acts. I wish you could see me at the wash, with my habit turned up and splashing around in the water. You doubt my ability in this field, and with good reason, but with Jesus I tackle everything, and I find everything charming, nothing is difficult or boring.   -Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity  Letter 108 to her Rolland aunts 11 February 1902

"There is one ONLY THING to do here below: to love Jesus, to win souls for Him so that He may be loved." -St. Therese 

“I for my part, would not believe the Gospel, unless the authority of the Catholic Church moved me. They therefore whom I obeyed saying, ‘Believe the Gospel’, why should I not believe them saying, ‘Believe not Manichæus’? Choose whether thou wilt. If thou wilt say, ‘Believe the Catholics’, lo, they warn me that I give no credit unto you, and therefore believing them, I must needs not believe thee. If thou say, ‘Believe not the Catholics,’ it is not the right way, by the Gospel to drive me to the faith of Manichæus [because he defended his heresy by Scripture], because I believed the Gospel itself by the preaching of Catholics.”—St. Augustine, Cont. Epist. Fundamenti  Cited in the Rheims 1580 Translation  

“What, my sister? You bear with me so much, why should I not support you?”
– St. Louise de Marillac

"Fight like a strong soul if you wish to obtain the reward of strong souls."  St.  Pio of Pietrelcina (Letters III, p. 409)

“Love is blind for if we love God and our neighbor, who may even be our enemy, Divine love will go blind, as it did for the thief on the right. Christ will no longer be able to see our faults, and that blindness will be for us the dawn of the vision of love.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Victory over Vice)

"Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance.”
(Saint Louis de Montfort)

“The wisest persons, surprised by some passion, often say things they later regret.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

“...there are three parts to penance: contrition, confession, and satisfaction...” Pope Leo X, Exsurge Domine, June 15, 1520

St. Benedict Joseph Labrè: “The want of proper examination, true contrition, and a firm purpose of amendment, is the cause of bad confessions, and of the ruin of souls.” (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)

“To combat evil… is to fight with love for all men, including those who are less good. It is to put goodness in relief, so as to make it more attractive, rather than to propagate evil by describing it. When the occasion presents itself to call the attention of society, or of authority, to some evil, it must be done with love for the person to blame, and with delicacy. Do not exaggerate; do not go into detail about the evil any more than is necessary to remedy it.”  —St. Maximilian Kolbe

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."~Blessed Mother Teresa 

“When the soul is troubled, lonely and darkened, then it turns easily to the outer comfort and to the empty enjoyments of the world.” (St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon)

"He is like an ineffable space which embraces all.He, the Creator, embraces everything, summoning to existence from nothing, not only from the beginning, but always." -St. John Paul II in his poem "The First Beholder."

"My slightest sighs, my greatest sufferings, my sorrows and my joys, my little sacrifices: my flowers, Jesus, for You." ~St. Therese of Lisieux

“According to the plan of God, marriage is the foundation of the wider community of the family, since the very institution of marriage and conjugal love are ordained to the procreation and education of children, in whom they find their crowning.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Familiaris consortio #14, Apostolic Exhortation, 22 November 1981)

"Don't refuse in any way or for any reason to act charitably to all without exception. Go out of your way to do this when you get the chance. The Lord desires it and you must make an effort to do it."   St. Pio of Pietrelcina  (Letters I, p. 1353)

“To understand its power, one must realize that love does not mean to have, to own, to possess; but to be had, to be owned, to be possessed. It is not the using of another for the sake of self, but the giving of self in order to help another. For one who lives in isolation, love becomes selfishness.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“That peace which is the portion of the chosen servants of God is seldom unmixed with interior struggles.”  – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

"Your purpose and that of your companions is to unite yourselves with Me as closely as possible; through love You will reconcile earth with heaven, you will soften the just anger of God, and you will plead for mercy for the world. I place in your care two pearls very precious to My Heart: these are the souls of priests and religious. You will pray particularly for them; their power will come from your diminishment. You will join prayers, fasts, mortifications, labors and all sufferings to My prayer, fasting, mortification, labors and sufferings and then they will have power before My Father." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 531)

"Why are you afraid? Do you think that I will not have enough omnipotence to support you?" WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 527)

Fr. Alban Butler on Pope St. Melchiades: “This holy pope saw a door opened by the peace of the church to the conversion of many, and he rejoiced at the triumph of the cross of Christ. But with worldly prosperity a worldly spirit too often broke into the sanctuary itself; insomuch that the zealous pastor had sometimes reason to complain, with Isaiah, ‘Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased my joy.’” (“Lives of the Saints” December 10, St. Melchiades, Pope)

“As water is required to keep plants from withering, so also prayer is necessary to preserve us from destruction. As fire is quenched by water, so are our passions extinguished by prayer.” St. John Chrysostom (Fr. Lasance “With God”, pg. 88)

“Affability and meekness are very powerful virtues in gaining souls to God.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

"O Jesus, let me weep for myself, for I am nothing but dry wood to be cast into the fire. But You give new life to the dry wood by grafting it onto the wood of the Cross.” ~Blessed Titus Brandsma

It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves. St Teresa of Avila

"Do not yield to hatred. Be patient. We are here in a dark tunnel but we have to go on. At the end, the Eternal Light is shining for us." ~Blessed Titus Brandsma

“There is an infinite treasure of knowledge available to us: the Word of God kept safe by the Church, the grace of Christ administered in the sacraments and also the witness and example of those who live by our side and have known how to build with their good lives a road of faithfulness to God.” (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By, 34).

"I am suffering, and suffering very much, but thanks to our good Jesus I still feel a little strength, and when aided by Jesus what is the creature not capable of doing?"   St. Pio  of Pietrelcina (Letters, I, p. 342)

“The nature of giving is best illustrated in the life of Our Blessed Lord, Who one day was approached by a leper who asked for healing. The Gospel tells us that Our Lord stretched forth His hand and touched the leper. Jesus could have healed without the touch, as He healed the servant of the centurion at a distance. Why, then, in the face of one of life’s greatest miseries and a disease from which the healthy often recoil, did the Lord cure with a touch? The Son of God Made Man touched the leper in order to annihilate distance between the Giver and the receiver, between the Lover and the beloved, to prove sympathy by contact, to identify himself with the woes of others.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Footprints in a Darkened Forest)

"Sufferings well received will prove our passport to eternity."   - St. Louise de Marillac

"When you visit Him, He forgets your sins and speaks only of His Joy, His Tenderness and His Love"  ~St. Peter Julian Eymard~

“I hope that you will all live in peace in order to advance in virtue, lighten each other’s burdens, and be a consolation to one another in your heavy labors.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Pope Julius II decreed: “[St. Anne’s] relics should be kept at [Düren, Germany.]”

“Our Blessed Lady herself revealed to a holy soul, that this devotion of offering the Mass, as also of saying three ‘Paters, , Aves, and Glorias,’ in honor of the most Holy Trinity, and in thanksgiving for the graces granted to her, was most pleasing to her; for the Blessed Virgin, being unable fully to thank our Lord for all the precious gifts He has bestowed on her, rejoices greatly when her children help her to thank God. 2. To reverence the Saints who are more nearly related to Mary, as Saint Joseph, Saint Joachim, and Saint Anne. The Blessed Virgin herself recommended a certain nobleman to be devout towards her mother, Saint Anne.” St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Glories of Mary, Eccles. Approval, 1852, Tenth Devotion in honor of the Divine Mother

"Mary, the most faithful mediatrix of our salvation." - St. Bonaventure

My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath. - St. John Vianney

'O blissful penance, which has purchased for me so great a reward!' St. Peter of Alcantara, to St. Teresa of Jesus, appearing to her after his death

“Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.” (St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church)

Disagreement and tolerance are healthy exercises in a democracy in order to balance the "Left" and the "Right" as a precaution towards a totalitarian tendency of either one or the other. It is also good to know the proper approach to tolerance, as different from intolerance by the Ven. Arch. Fulton Sheen.

“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.” (St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon)

"I bless the good God for the holy sentiments his grace gives you. You do well never to begin any task without first having implored Divine help. This will obtain for you the grace of holy perseverance."   St. re Pio  of Pietrelcina

“Two glasses that are empty cannot fill up one another. There must be a fountain of water outside the glasses in order that they may have communion with one another. It takes three to make love.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Three to Get Married)

"O powerful Fiat! O Fiat to be venerated above every other fiat! For with a fiat, God created life, heaven, earth; but with Mary's fiat, God became man."  - St. Thomas of Villanova

Most Holy Virgin, accept me as thy servant and shelter me under thy mantle, thou who art the Mother of mercy.  - St Alphonsus Liguori 

“Since God is the Master of the sea and the winds, I ask God to make them favorable to you, to steer the ship wherever you go, to be your guide and pilot, and, in a word, to lead you safely to your destination.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Jesus wishes to own your heart completely. - St. Therese 

The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas

“To believe in Jesus is to accept what he says, even when it runs contrary to what others are saying. It means rejecting the lure of sin, however attractive it may be, in order to set out on the difficult path of the Gospel virtues.” (Pope St. John Paul II; WYD Toronto Welcoming Ceremony; July 25, 2002)

“It is quite true that then the faith was more deeply rooted in the people, as is proven by the holy enthusiasm with which not only professional soldiers but even citizens of every class bore arms in Palestine to free the Holy Sepulcher. However, heresies gradually arose and grew in the vineyard of the Lord, propagated either by open heretics or by sly deceivers who, because they professed a certain austerity of life and gave a false appearance of virtue and piety, easily led weak and simple souls astray. They went about, too, amid the multitudes spreading the destructive flames of rebellion. If some of these men, in their pride, believed themselves called by God to reform the Church to which they imputed the faults of private persons, even going to the length of rebelling against the teachings and authority of the Holy See, later they openly manifested the real intention by which they were inspired. It is a notorious fact that before long the greater part of these heretics ended their careers in licentiousness and vice, and succeeded in embroiling the state in difficulties and in undermining the foundations of religion, of property, of the family, and of society. In a word, what happened then is precisely what we see recurring so often in the course of the centuries; rebellions leveled against the Church are followed or accompanied by rebellions against the state, the one receiving aid and comfort from the other.” Pope Pius XI, Rite Expiatis, on St. Francis of Assisi, April 13, 1926

St. Thomas More, speaking of Protestant heretics: “Where they find the fault that I handle these folk so foul, how could I other do? For while I declare and show their writing to be such (as I needs must or leave the most necessary points of all the matter untouched) it were very hard for me to handle it in such wise as when I plainly prove them abominable heretics and against God and his sacraments and saints, very blasphemous fools they should discern that I speak them fair. I am a simple plain body For though Tindall and Frilh in their writings call me a poet, it is but of their own courtesy, undeserved on my part, For I can neither so much poetry nor so much rhetoric neither as to find good names for evil things, but even as the Macedonians could not call a traitor but a traitor, so can I not call a fool but a fool, nor a heretic but an heretic.” (Quoted in “The Life of Sir Thomas More” in “Lewis’ Preface”, pub. 1626, the English modernized and edited by myself.)

“The morning of my First Communion, [my mother] . . . would not let me do anything; I was only to read and pray. My mother often said: ‘My dear son, this has been a great day for you. I am sure that God has truly taken possession of your heart. Now you must promise Him to do your best to remain good until the day you die. In the future, go frequently to Holy Communion and beware not to commit sacrilege. In confession tell all you know, obey always, go readily to catechism classes and sermons and, for the love of God, avoid like the plague those who use foul language.’

I treasured these words and did my best to practice the counsels of my pious mother; and I think that from that day on there has been some improvement in my life, particularly in obedience and in submission to others, which I found very difficult at the time, since, like a child, I always wanted to have my way with all who were in charge or advised me.”  —St. John Bosco

"Remember that the cornerstone of perfection is charity; he who lives by charity, lives in God, because God is charity, as the Apostle said."   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Decisions and resolutions taken during an enthusiastic moment mean little unless tested by time and by waiting. The immediate request for places on the right and left side of the kingdom by James and John he ordered tested by the ability to bear sacrifice and to drink the cup of His Passion and Crucifixion. When after multiplying the bread, the multitude wished to make him a bread king, Our Lord fled into the mountains alone. It is always a good policy never to choose the most enthusiastic person in a gathering as a leader. Wait to see how much wood there is for the flame.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)

“From the Virgin Mary, life was born in person, and thus did Mary become the Mother of all living.”  - St. Epiphanius

At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy ... In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion. (Diary1320).
As often as you hear the clock strike the third hour immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it, invoke it's omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners, for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world - mercy triumphed over justice.
Try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore, in the Most Blessed Sacrament. My Heart, which is full of mercy: and should you be unable to step into chapel. immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant. (Diary1572)   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA

"When a spiritual person feels a great calmness of mind in asking anything of God, it is a good sign that God either has granted it, or will do so shortly." -St. Philip Neri

Never let your home be without a crucifix upon its walls. - St. John Vianney

“Now, the training of youth most conducive to the defense of true faith and religion and to the preservation of morality must find its beginning from an early stage within the circle of home life; and this family Christian training sadly undermined in these our times, cannot possibly be restored to its due dignity, save by those laws under which it was established in the Church by her Divine Founder Himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by raising to the dignity of a sacrament the contract of matrimony, in which He would have His own union with the Church typified, not only made the marriage tie more holy, but, in addition, provided efficacious sources of aid for parents and children alike, so that, by the discharge of their duties one to another, they might with greater ease attain to happiness both in time and in eternity.” Pope Leo XIII, INSCRUTABILI DEI CONSILIO, April 21, 1878, par. 14

"Devotion to you, O Blessed Virgin, is a means of salvation which God gives to those whom he wishes to save."   - Saint John Damascene

"If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness." -St. Therese

"As it is love alone which procures in us the desire of conformity with our Sovereign Master, we can only attain to this conformity by loving Him supremely."  St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

"Fight like strong souls if you wish to obtain the reward of strong souls."  St. Pio  of Pietrelcina (Letters III, p. 409) 

“There was room for the rich; there was room for those who were clothed in soft garments…But when finally the scrolls of history are completed down to the last word of time, the saddest lines of all will be: ‘There was no room in the inn.’ The inn was the gathering place of public opinion, the focal point of the world’s moods, the rendezvous of the worldly, the rallying place of the popular and the successful. But there’s no room in the place where the world gathers. The stable is the place for outcasts, the ignored, and the forgotten. The world might have expected the Son of God to be born in an inn; a stable would certainly be the last place in the world where one would look for Him. The lesson is: divinity is always where you least expect to find it. So the Son of God-Made-Man is invited to enter into His own world through a back door.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Bishop Sheen Catechism)

"Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary 965)

“Pride is a most pernicious vice, and the more to be dreaded as we are strongly inclined to it by nature.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"You have not written everything in the notebook about My goodness towards humankind; I desire that you omit nothing; I desire that your heart be firmly grounded in total peace."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary 459) 

"If the devil tempts me by the thought of divine justice, I think of God's mercy; if he tries to fill me with presumption by the thought of His mercy, I think of His justice." St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491.-1556.) 

“What We have said on the subject of matrimony up to this point sufficiently informs the faithful of the sanctity of marriage. They may now approach this great sacrament with that reverence and piety which is fitting, and regard it as indissoluble.” Pope Benedict XIV, Nimiam Licentiam, May 18, 1743

“In marriage, however, let the blessings of marriage be loved: offspring, fidelity, and the sacramental bond. Offspring, not so much because it may be born, but because it can be reborn; for it is born to punishment unless it be reborn to life. Fidelity, but not such as even the unbelievers have among themselves, ardent as they are for the flesh. . . . The sacramental bond, which they lose neither through separation nor through adultery, this the spouses should guard chastely and harmoniously.”–St. Augustine (Marriage and Concupiscence 1:17:19 [A.D. 419])

“Go to the Madonna. Love her! Always say the Rosary. Say it well. Say it as often as you can! Be souls of prayer. Never tire of praying, it is what is essential. Prayer shakes the Heart of God, it obtains necessary graces!” (St. Pio of Pietrelcina)

“Know, O beautiful soul, that you are the image of God.” -St. Ambrose of Milan 

“The sword, then, is the word of faith which severs our bond to our families and relatives when they hinder our piety towards God.” - Blessed Theophylact

“You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You allege that you never invited others to sin. You did not, indeed, by your words, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment. . . When you have made another sin in his heart, how can you be innocent? Tell me, whom does this world condemn? Whom do judges punish? Those who drink poison or those who prepare it and administer the fatal potion?

You have prepared the abominable cup, you have given the death dealing drink, and you are more criminal than are those who poison the body; you murder not the body but the soul.

And it is not to enemies you do this, nor are you urged on by any imaginary necessity, nor provoked by injury, but out of foolish vanity and pride.”—St. John Chrysostom, Father and Doctor of the Church

(Quoted in John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, by J. H. Parker, 1843, p. 257)

"Charity is the yardstick by which the Lord will judge us all."   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Politics has become so primary in modern life that the masses are more moved by promises than by fullfillments." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“Let us continue to offer one another to God and to love each other in Our Lord, as he has loved us.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

Offer your temptations for the conversion of sinners. When the Devil sees you doing this, he is beside himself with rage and makes off, because then the temptation is turned against himself.  St. John Vianney

“If you are silent for a day, some light in the world will fail, some soul must spend the night in darkness. Be not alone in your happiness, or it shall be taken away. You believe in God! The time is coming now when these poor frustrated souls will realize there is no one else in whom they can believe. The alternative to God is not man; it is the devil! This is becoming clearer every day to every man.”   - Venerable Fulton Sheen

"Take the graces that others spurn; take as many as you can carry." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary 454) 

“Each of our days is marked with the protection of Mary, who is exceedingly anxious to be our mother, when we desire to be her children.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council, Session 3 : 24 April 1870Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith: “Pius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, with the approval of the Sacred Council, for an everlasting record. 1. The Son of God, redeemer of the human race, our lord Jesus Christ, promised, when about to return to his heavenly Father, that he would be with this Church militant upon earth all days even to the end of the world [conf. Mt 28, 20.]. Hence never at any time has he ceased to stand by his beloved bride, assisting her when she teaches, blessing her in her labors and bringing her help when she is in danger. 2. Now this redemptive providence appears very clearly in unnumbered benefits, but most especially is it manifested in the advantages which have been secured for the Christian world by ecumenical councils, among which the Council of Trent requires special mention, celebrated though it was in evil days. 3. Thence came 1. a closer definition and more fruitful exposition of the holy dogmas of religion and 2. the condemnation and repression of errors; thence too, 3. the restoration and vigorous strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, 4. the advancement of the clergy in zeal for learning and piety, 5. the founding of colleges for the training of the young for the service of religion; and finally 6. the renewal of the moral life of the Christian people by a more accurate instruction of the faithful, and a more frequent reception of the sacraments. What is more, thence also came 7. a closer union of the members with the visible head, and an increased vigor in the whole mystical body of Christ. Thence came 8. the multiplication of religious orders and other organizations of Christian piety; thence too 9. that determined and constant ardor for the spreading of Christ's kingdom abroad in the world, even at the cost of shedding one’s blood.”

“I, the least of the servants of your Holiness, not being able to keep them [the crusaders] within the walls, went forth into the field with them, and running from place to place, made them retire, or advance, or formed them in such a way that the enemy could not attack them in the rear. And finally our Lord, Who is as powerful to overcome with few as with many, in His mercy placed the victory in our hands, and routed that most cruel army of the Turks, so as to put them to a shameful flight. Our men remained in possession of all the artillery and all the diabolical machines with which they presumed that they should place under their own feet the whole of Christendom. Let your Holiness, therefore, rejoice in the Lord, and order that to His Majesty be given the praise, the glory, and the honour, because He alone hath done these marvellous things. Neither I, your unarmed and useless servant, nor the poor and rude Crusaders, the devoted servants of your Holiness, could have wrought with our own strength alone that which has been done. The Lord God of hosts it is that has done all, to Him be glory for ever and ever!” St. John of Capistrano

"To work or to suffer is all one to a heart that loves. Let us, then, leave the future to the loving Providence of this divine Heart Which only asks of us fidelity to the present moment." St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

“The essential act of penance, on the part of the penitent, is contrition, a clear and decisive rejection of the sin committed, together with a resolution not to commit it again, out of love which one has for God and which is reborn with repentance…” (Pope St. John Paul II)

"I cannot tolerate criticism and speaking ill of our neighbor. It is true, sometimes I enjoy teasing them, but speaking ill of them makes me sick. We have so many defects in ourselves to criticize, why pick on our neighbor? And lacking in charity we damage the roots of the tree of life, with the risk of killing it."  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“Our Blessed Savior revealed to Mary Magdalene the truth that He was no longer to be seen under the form of time and in the world of sensations, but only by the soul and in the world of eternity….This great truth needs to be stressed strongly on this new Easter Day when human beings no longer speak of eternity, but only of time; when they are more concerned about citizenship in the Kingdom of this world than citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven; when their interests center more about passing questions of science, politics, economics, wealth, and power, instead of around the Risen Christ who sits eternally at the right hand of God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Manifestations of Christ)

"Your name, O Mary, is a precious ointment, which breathes forth the odor of divine grace. Let this ointment of salvation enter the inmost recesses of our souls."   - St. Ambrose

 On a certain occasion, the Lord said to me, I am more deeply wounded by the small imperfections of chosen souls than by the sins of those living in the world. It made me very sad that chosen souls make Jesus suffer, and Jesus told me, These little imperfections are not all. I will reveal to you a secret of My Heart: what I suffer from chosen souls. Ingratitude in return for so many graces is My Heart's constant food, on the part of [such] a chosen soul. Their love is lukewarm, and My Heart cannot bear it; these souls force Me to reject them. Others distrust My goodness and have no desire to experience that sweet intimacy in their own hearts, but go in search of Me, off in the distance, and do not find Me. This distrust of My goodness hurts Me very much. If My death has not convinced you of My love, what will? Often a soul wounds Me mortally, and then no one can comfort Me. They use My graces to offend Me. There are souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love. They do not wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The loss of these souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot help such a soul because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or love Me. You, who are the dispenser of My mercy, tell all the world about My goodness, and thus you will comfort My Heart.  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary 580)

"Do you see these souls? Those who are like Me in the pain and contempt they suffer will be like Me also in glory. And those who resemble Me less in pain and contempt will also bear less resemblance to Me in glory." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 446)

"Wretched man is alone, in not being satisfied with his state and condition, whatever it may be: if he is sick, he wants to be made well; if he is well, he wants to be made rich; if rich, wise, and so on."   St. Antonino Pierozzi (1389 – 1459)

“Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them.”  —St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Pope Pius V in Inter Multiplices confirms the doctrinal teachings of Trent, such as the following—Council of Trent, Sess. 14, Chap. 4, On the Sacrament of Penance: “The Council teaches, furthermore, that although this contrition sometimes happens to be perfect through charity and to reconcile man to God before this sacrament is actually received, nonetheless this reconciliation ought not to be ascribed to the contrition itself without the desire of the sacrament which is included in it.”

“The Providence of God is never wanting to him who confides in God as he ought.” 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)

"To see suffering makes me very unhappy! I would gladly stab myself in the heart to take away suffering from someone! Yes, this would be easier for me."  St.  Pio of Pietrelcina

“Have you noticed that as your desire for pleasure increased, the satisfaction from the pleasure decreased? Do you think a philosophy of life is right that is based in the law of diminishing returns?” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (You)

"When you see the storm coming, if you seek safety in that firm refuge which is Mary, there will be no danger of your wavering or going down." - St. Josemaría Escrivá

"Today the Lord said to me, ‘Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of Mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrent of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (St.  Faustina's Diary 1602)

“Mary is the sure path to our meeting with Christ. Devotion to the Mother of the Lord, when it is genuine, is always an impetus to a life guided by the spirit and values of the Gospel.”
- Pope St. John Paul II

“Reputation is but an empty bubble when it is not founded on truth, and when established on this basis, it has nothing to fear.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

 "I understand that, each time we contemplate with desire and devotion the Host in which is hidden Christ's Eucharistic Body, we increase our merits in heaven and secure special joys to be ours later in the beatific vision of God."  - St. Gertrude

"If man remembered that it is written: "By your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned,"  (Matt 12:37) he would choose to remain silent.' St. Poemen

“Oh, how great is the goodness of God, greater than we can understand. There are moments and there are mysteries of the divine mercy over which the heavens are astounded. Let our judgment of souls cease, for God’s mercy upon them is extraordinary.” (St. Faustina, Diary # 1684)

“Session 8: And since truth cannot contradict truth, we define that every statement contrary to the enlightened truth of the faith is totally false and we strictly forbid teaching otherwise to be permitted. We decree that all those who cling to erroneous statements of this kind, thus sowing heresies which are wholly condemned, should be avoided in every way and punished as detestable and odious heretics and infidels who are undermining the Catholic faith. …All false Christians and those with evil sentiments towards the faith, of whatever race or nation they may be, as well as heretics and those stained with some taint of heresy, or Judaizers, are to be totally excluded from the company of Christ’s faithful and expelled from any position, especially from the Roman curia, and punished with an appropriate penalty…”
Pope Leo X, Fifth Lateran Council, 1512-1517

“Begone, thou servant of Satan, nor ever venture to enter these walls again!” St. Frances of Rome to a Sorceress (practicer of the dark arts) (Quoted in “The Life of ST. FRANCES OF ROME” written by Lady Georgiana Fullerton, pub. 1855, London, BURNS AND LAMBERT, 1855., pg. 16)

“It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world!”  ― St. Aloysius Gonzaga 

"Where there is no obedience, there is no virtue; there is neither goodness nor love. And where there is no love, there is no God. Without God, we cannot reach Heaven. These virtues form a ladder; if a step is missing, we fall down."  St. Pio of  Pietrelcina

“Some change their philosophy of life with every book they read, one book sells them on Freud, the next on Marx; materialists on year, idealists the next; cynics for another period, and liberals for still another. They have their quivers full of arrows, but no fixed target.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life is Worth Living)

“Mary is the sure path to our meeting with Christ. Devotion to the Mother of the Lord, when it is genuine, is always an impetus to a life guided by the spirit and values of the Gospel.”
- Pope St. John Paul II

"Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy".

WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary 1146)

“Perhaps in heaven you will discover that the good you are doing here is one of the most pleasing things you have ever done for God.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"What strength, what consolation, what staunch hope the contemplation of the Eucharistic mystery gives rise to! It is God with us who enables us to share His life and sends us into the world to evangelize it and make it holy!"  -Pope St. John Paul II

"There are some who sin through frailty, or through the force of some violent passion. They desire to break these chains of death; if their prayer is constant they will be heard."  St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Rome (fourth and final location of the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence-Rome), Session XIV, Bull of union with the Chaldeans and the Maronites of Cyprus: “Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for an everlasting record. Blessed be the God and Father of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, who daily promotes with many great favours, and accompanies with happy results far beyond our deserts, our aims and pious desires, whereby in fulfilment of our pastoral duties we long for and foster with many works, in so far as this allowed us from on high, the salvation of the Christian people.Indeed, after the union of the eastern church with the western church in the ecumenical council of Florence, and after the return of the Armenians, the Jacobites and the people of Mesopotamia, we despatched our venerable brother Andrew, archbishop of Kalocsa, to eastern lands and the island of Cyprus. He was to confirm in the faith which had been accepted the Greeks, Armenians and Jacobites living there, by his sermons and his expositions and explanations of the decrees issued for their union and return. He was also to try to bring back to the truth of the faith, using our warnings and exhortations, whoever else he might find there to be strangers to the truth of faith in other sects, whether they are followers of Nestorius or of Macarius.He pursued this task with vigour, thanks to the wisdom and other virtues with which the Lord, the giver of graces, has enriched him. He finally eliminated from their hearts, after many discussions, first all the impurity of Nestorius, who asserted that Christ is only a man and that the blessed Virgin is the mother of Christ but not of God, then that of the most impious Macarius of Antioch who, although he confessed that Christ is true God and man, asserted that there is in him only the divine will and principle of action, thereby diminishing his humanity.With divine assistance he converted to the truth of the orthodox faith our venerable brothers Timothy, metropolitan of the Chaldeans, who have been called Nestorians in Cyprus until now because they used to follow Nestorius, and Elias, bishop of the Maronites, who with his nation in the same realm was infected with the teachings of Macarius, together with a whole multitude of peoples and clerics subject to him in the island of Cyprus. To these prelates and all their subjects there, he delivered the faith and doctrine that the holy church has always cherished and observed. The said prelates, moreover, accepted this faith and doctrine with much veneration in a great public assembly of different peoples living in that realm, which was held in the metropolitan church of St Sophia.”

St. Birgitta, or Bridget of Sweden, in a letter to the pope, forwarding a message from Christ to make peace with a temporal ruler due to a grave scandal it was causing souls: “For, even if the Pope were expelled from the popedom, it were better that he should humble himself and make peace on whatever occasion it could be done, rather than so many souls perish in eternal damnation.” (Quoted in “Saint Catherine of Siena: A Study in the Religion, Literature, and History of the Fourteenth Century in Italy” by Edmund Garratt Gardner pub. 1907)

“It requires more courage than brains to learn to know God: God is the most obvious fact of human experience, but accepting Him is one of the most arduous.”  —Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, from his book, “Go to Heaven”.

"Remember Jesus, meek and humble of heart. FEAR AND DON"T SIN is of the saints. I have never regretted being gentle, but I have had qualms of conscience and had to confess when I was a bit severe. But when I say gentleness I do not mean permissiveness. That no! I mean the gentleness that makes discipline pleasant and which never be neglected."  St.  Pio of Pietrelcina

“There are only two philosophies of life. The Christian, which says: First the fast, then the feast; and the pagan, which says: first the feast, then the headache. In either case there is pain. The Christian never ends with it even if he waits until the end of time.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Wartime Prayer Book)

“If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Mother of God, such a one is a stranger to the Godhead.”  - St. Gregory Nazianzen

"When a soul sees and realises the gravity of it sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy".  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary 1541)

Joseph was chosen by the Father as trustworthy guardian & protector of his greatest treasures, HIS divine Son & Mary.—St. Bernardine of Siena

"If you put all the love of all the mothers into one heart it still would not equal the love of the Heart of Mary for her children."  St. Louis de Montfort

“After you have made a decision that is pleasing to God, Satan may try to make you have second thoughts. Intensify your prayer time, meditation, and good deeds. For if Satan's temptations merely cause you to increase your efforts to grow in holiness, he'll have an incentive to leave you alone.”   Saint Ignatius of Loyola

“Fifthly, for the easier instruction of the Armenians of today and in the future we reduce the truth about the sacraments of the church to the following brief scheme. There are seven sacraments of the new Law, namely baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders and matrimony, which differ greatly from the sacraments of the old Law. The latter were not causes of grace, but only prefigured the grace to be given through the passion of Christ; whereas the former, ours, both contain grace and bestow it on those who worthily receive them. The first five of these are directed to the spiritual perfection of each person in himself, the last two to the regulation and increase of the whole church.For, by baptism we are reborn spiritually; by confirmation we grow in grace and are strengthened in faith. Once reborn and strengthened, we are nourished by the food of the divine eucharist. But if through sin we incur an illness of the soul, we are cured spiritually by penance. Spiritually also and bodily as suits the soul, by extreme unction. By orders the church is governed and spiritually multiplied; by matrimony it grows bodily.All these sacraments are made up of three elements: namely, things as the matter, words as the form, and the person of the minister who confers the sacrament with the intention of doing what the church does. If any of these is lacking, the sacrament is not effected.Three of the sacraments, namely baptism, confirmation and orders, imprint indelibly on the soul a character, that is a kind of stamp which distinguishes it from the rest. Hence they are not repeated in the same person. The other four, however, do not imprint a character and can be repeated.Holy baptism holds the first place among all the sacraments, for it is the gate of the spiritual life; through it we become members of Christ and of the body of the church. Since death came into the world through one person, unless we are born again of water and the spirit, we cannot, as Truth says, enter the kingdom of heaven. The matter of this sacrament is true and natural water, either hot or cold. The form is: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit. But we do not deny that true baptism is conferred by the following words: May this servant of Christ be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit; or, This person is baptized by my hands in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit. Since the holy Trinity is the principle cause from which baptism has its power and the minister is the instrumental cause who exteriorly bestows the sacrament, the sacrament is conferred if the action is performed by the minister with the invocation of the holy Trinity. The minister of this sacrament is a priest, who is empowered to baptize in virtue of his office. But in case of necessity not only a priest or a deacon, but even a lay man or a woman, even a pagan and a heretic, can baptize provided he or she uses the form of the church and intends to do what the church does. The effect of this sacrament is the remission of all original and actual guilt, also of all penalty that is owed for that guilt. Hence no satisfaction for past sins is to be imposed on the baptized, but those who die before they incur any guilt go straight to the kingdom of heaven and the vision of God.” Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Session 8, November 1439 (Bull of union with the Armenians)

St. Andrew Corsini, the night of his spiritual conversion: ”Glorious Virgin Mother,” he said, “behold me, a ravening wolf, and full of iniquity, who most humbly beseech you that, as you did bring forth the Lamb without spot, whose blood hath redeemed and purified us, so He may in such wise purify and change my wolfish nature, that I may become a tame and docile sheep, to serve and follow you all the days of my life in your most holy order.” (Cited in a work entitled ”Anecdotes and Incidents, ecclesiastical and religious” pub. 1858 by Burns and Lambert)

"By your entreaties, you and your companions shall obtain mercy for yourselves and for the world."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 435) 

"To saints, their very slumber is a prayer."  - St. John of the Cross

"A hypocrite is someone who teaches his neighbor something he makes no effort to do himself."  St. Poemen (c. 340–450)

“The cross is the school of love.” (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

Our Lord spent three hours in redeeming, three years in teaching, and thirty years in obeying, in order that a rebellious, proud, and diabolically independent world might learn the value of obedience. Archbishop Fulton Sheen (World’s First Love)

“Humility is a virtue which Jesus Christ has exceedingly loved, and which He came to teach to the world. The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“Let us then cast ourselves at the feet of this good Mother, and embracing them let us not depart until she blesses us, and accepts us for her children.”  -Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the Church

The best way to prepare for death is to spend every day of life as though it was your last -- St. Philip Neri

"You will prepare the world for My final coming." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (DIary 429) 

“God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.”  -Saint Augustine

“It is even strongly to be feared that good accomplished without suffering is not a perfect good.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

What God has given me has always pleased me, even the things which appear to me less good and less beautiful than those which others had. –St. Therese of Lisieux

“Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for an everlasting record. The duties of the pastoral office over which we preside by divine mercy, despite our lack of merit, demand that we repress by opportune remedies the nefarious excesses of evil-minded persons, especially those who, unless prevented, strive to force the peaceful state of the church into various dangerous storms and disturbances and who endeavour to overturn the barque of Peter, and that we inflict due retribution for their excesses, lest boasting of their malice they give occasion to others to commit mischief. For it is a crime to be slack in punishing crimes that harm many people, as canonical regulations state.” Pope Eugene IV, Council of Ferrara, Session III, February 1438 (Second location of the 17th Ecumenical Council)

Our Lady of La Salette to the seer children: “Mind, my children, and say your prayers without fail mowing and evening. When you have no time to say them entire, say at least the Our Father, and the Hail Mary, always remember to do this!” (Quoted by Rev. Henry Formby in his work “Our Lady of La Salette” to Bishop Ullathorne, pub. 1857)

“There is no field in which more excuses are given than in the realm of the spiritual and the moral. Any excuse is better than none for the acceptance of the word of God, which demands the pricking of the balloon of pride, and the surrender of the illegitimate revels of the flesh. That is why there has to be a Day of Judgment to send the excuses to Hell and the reasons to Heaven.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)

“God made the interests of the afflicted His own.”  – St. Louise de Marillac

"...how little true Christianity is found in the world and how few among those who live in the world are guided by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Still, it is this Spirit alone which ought to inspire all our actions, making them holy and agreeable to God."—St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle

"You are a witness of My mercy. You shall stand before My throne forever as a living witness to My mercy."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 417) 

“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."  Saint Francis of Assisi

“… there is hope that very many from the abominable sect of Mahomet will be converted to the Catholic faith.” Pope Eugene IV, Council of Basel, Session 19, Sept. 7, 1434

“Remember that true religion is not a matter of words; there must be deeds. Hence, if you find something related worthy of admiration, do not be satisfied with saying: I like that, or that is very good; but rather say: I want to put into practice what I see is praiseworthy in others.” St. John Bosco (in his work “The Life of Dominic Savio” translated from the Italian and published in English LONDON: SALESIAN PRESS, SURREY LANE, BATTERSEA, S.W., 1914., Nihil Obstat, Imprimatur)

"To see suffering makes me very unhappy! I would gladly stab myself in the heart to take away suffering from someone! Yes, this would be easier for me." St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Do not be afraid to take a chance on Peace, to Teach Peace, to Live Peace…Peace will be the last word of history. ― St. John Paul II.