It is not enough that you love the young, they must know they are loved. - St. John Bosco

Humility does not disturb or disquiet however great it may be; it comes with peace, delight and calm.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Way of Perfection - chapter 39: 2

“Glory not in ourselves for God resists the proud; and glory in humility for humility is truth and the path to true greatness.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Seven Capital Sins)

“If we are faithful in small things, God will entrust us with those that are greater.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"I have no desire except to die or to love God; either death or love, since life without this love is worse than death and for me it would be more unbearable than it is at present"  St. Pio Of Pietrelcina  (Letters I, p. 937).

“Dearly beloved, what do you see in these events? Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by chance but in God’s providence. In a marvelous way God’s mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his master’s body, should heal our wounds of disbelief. The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened. So the disciple who doubted, then felt Christ’s wounds, becomes a witness to the reality of the resurrection.” (Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church)

'Detachment grows from an experience and taste of the knowledge of God and from a meditation on the account to be rendered at death.' St. John Climacus (525 – 606)

"You should realize that God wants you to be glad and that, if you do all you can, you will be happy, very, very happy, although you will never for a moment be without the Cross."  - Saint Josemaria Escriva

“Humility is the mother of all virtues; purity, charity and obedience. It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. If you are blamed you will not be discouraged. If they call you a saint you will not put yourself on a pedestal.” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta)

Pope Boniface II confirmed the Council of Orange II, 529: “According to the Catholic faith we believe this also, that after grace has been received through baptism, all the baptized with the help and cooperation of Christ can and ought to fulfill what pertains to the salvation of the soul, if they will labor faithfully. We not only do not believe that some have been truly predestined to evil by divine power, but also with every execration we pronounce anathema upon those, if there are [any such], who wish to believe so great an evil. This, too, we profess and believe unto salvation, that in every good work we do not begin, and afterwards are helped by the mercy of God, but He Himself, with no preceding good services [on our part], previously inspires us with faith and love of Him, so that we may both faithfully seek the sacraments of baptism, and after baptism with His help be able to perform those [acts] which are pleasing to Him. So very clearly we should believe that the faith-so admirable-both of that famous thief, whom the Lord restored to his native land of paradise [Luke 23:43], and of Cornelius the centurion, to whom the angel of the Lord was sent [ Acts 10:3], and of Zacheus, who deserved to receive the Lord Himself [Luke 19:6], was not from nature, but a gift of God’s bounty.” (Denz. 199, Confirmed in his papal letter “Per Fillium Nostrum”, Jan. 25, 531 A.D.)

“May the Lord lay His hand on all that I do so that it may be in accordance with His holy will; this is always my desire, although my actions may be as imperfect as I myself am.” -St. Teresa D’Avila, Way of Perfection

"I want to give myself to souls and to fill them with My love, but few there are who want to accept all the graces My love has intended for them. My grace is not lost; if the soul for whom it was intended does not accept it, another soul takes it." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   Diary, 1017

"Lovers cannot be satisfied if they fail to feel that they love as much as they are loved."
-St. John of the Cross

It will be due to your vain esteem of honor that you will not be honored. Moreover, you will lose the benefit you could have otherwise gained.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Way of Perfection - chapter 12: 6

"I have no desire except to die or to love God; either death or love, since life without this love is worse than death and for me it would be more unbearable than it is at present."  St. Pio of Pietrelcina   (Letters I, p. 937).

“So the Holy Hour, quite apart from all its positive spiritual benefits, kept my feet from wandering too far. Being tethered to a tabernacle, one's rope for finding other pastures is not so long. That dim tabernacle lamp, however pale and faint, had some mysterious luminosity to darken the brightness of "bright lights." The Holy Hour became like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world. Even when it seemed so unprofitable and lacking in spiritual intimacy, I still had the sensation of being at least like a dog at the master's door, ready in case he called me. The Hour, too, became a magister and teacher, for although before we love anyone we must have a knowledge of that person, nevertheless, after we know, it is love that increases knowledge. Theological insights are gained not only from the two covers of a treatise, but from two knees on a prie-dieu before a tabernacle. ” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Treasure in Clay)

“Missioners are those who have God alone in view, their own salvation and that of their neighbor; those who have no other attachment than the one that unites them more closely to God.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive. Souls that trust boundlessly are a great comfort to Me, because I pour all the treasures of My graces into them  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 1578).

"What shall you do when tempted by the flesh? Have the Virgin for your advocate. If you are devoted to her, you will feel temptations melting away, like wax before the fire."  - St. John of Avila

“[Our] first safety is to guard the rule of the right faith and to deviate in no wise from the ordinances of the Fathers; because we cannot pass over the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ who said: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church" . . . [Matt. 16:18]. These [words] which were spoken, are proved by the effects of the deeds, because in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been preserved without stain. Desiring not to be separated from this hope and faith and following the ordinances of the Fathers, we anathematize all heresies...” Pope St. Hormisdas, “Inter Ea Quea” to the Bishops of Spain, April 2, 517

St. Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx, sermon “Jesus Twelve Years Old”: “Say to me, O My Most Sweet Lady, Mother of My Lord, what then was your state of soul, what wonder, what joy was yours, when you found this most sweet Son, the Lord Jesus, not among other boys, but in the midst of the Doctors: when you observed the eyes of all upon Him: when great and small, learned alike and unlearned, were astonished at His wisdom and His answers. I found Him, She says, Whom my soul loveth: I held Him: and I will not let Him go (Cant. III. 4). Hold Him fast, O Sweet Lady: hold Whom thou lovest, and with multiplied delights make up the three days that were lost.”

Open, O Lord,my heart in Thy law, teach me to walk in Thy commandments. - St. Therese

We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls. -- St. Teresa of Calcutta

The closer one comes to God the more progress there must be in the virtue of humility.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 12:4

“Christ has made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the angels serve.” (Saint Agnes of Rome)

"We don’t reach salvation without crossing the stormy sea continually threatened with disaster. Calvary is the hill of the saints, but from there we pass on to another mountain which is called Tabor"   St. Pio of Pietrelcina   (Letters I, pp. 923-924).

“History is always passing judgment on the decisions of men, for history develops in the framework of Divine Justice and not outside it. The fall of Rome was a judgment on human pride, the Religious Revolution was a judgment on human sin; the French Revolution was a judgment on human avarice and selfishness.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (A Declaration of Dependence)

“God is all powerful, while we are weak. We make virtue consist in what it is not; it cannot be found in excesses. How little the Son of God achieved; it was the apostles who had the greater results.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

”A man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ.”  - St. John Eudes

"Leave to every one the care of what belongs to him, and disturb not thyself with what is said or done in the world."   St. Thomas Aquinas (1225.–1274.)

"No matter how sinful one may have been, if he has devotion to Mary, it is impossible that he be lost."  -Saint Hilary of Poitiers

“(7) According to the most sacred custom of the Catholic Church, let the heart of your serenity acknowledge that no share in the injury from the name of Acacius should attach to any of these whom Acacius the schismatic bishop has baptized, or to any whom he has ordained priests or levites according to the canons, lest perchance the grace of the sacrament seem less powerful when conferred by an unjust [person]. . . . For if the rays of that visible sun are not stained by contact with any Pollution when they pass over the foulest places, much less is the virtue of him who made that visible [sun] fettered by any unworthiness in the minister. (8) Therefore, then, this person has only injured himself by wickedly administering the good. For the inviolable sacrament, which was given through him, held the perfection of its virtue for others.” Pope St. Anastasius II, epistle “Exordium Pontificatus Mei”

St. Bonaventure says rightly: "No loss is greater than that of time ; for, it was given to us by Divine Goodness to work out our salvation, and, once lost, it can never be recalled." (Fr. Francis Weninger, D.D., S.J., "Lives of the Saints" Vol. II, pg. 11.)

"My delight is to unite myself with you. It is when you submit yourself to My will that you give Me the greatest glory and draw down upon yourself a sea of blessings. I would not take such special delight in you if you were not living by my will." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 954) 

The learned men if they are not spiritual are no help to the people who practice prayer.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:19

"As long as you are afraid, you will not sin.” “Maybe, Father, but I suffer a great deal.” “Certainly, one suffers, but one must have confidence; there is the fear of God and the fear of Judas.” Too much fear makes us act without love, and too much confidence causes us not to consider and fear the danger that we must overcome. One should help the other, and go together like two sisters. Always, when we become aware of being afraid, of having too much fear, we should remember become confident. If we are excessively confident, we should become instead a little fearful. Love tends to the object loved, however, in its approach, it is blind, it does not see. But holy fear enlightens it "  St. Pio of Pietrelcina  (AdFP, 548).

“What right have we to hate others, since our own selfishness is often the cause of their hatred. The first word from the Cross and the Beatitude of meekness both demand that we tear up self-love by the roots; love our executioners; do a favor for those who insult us; be kind to the thieves who accuse us of theft; be forgiving to liars who denounce us for lying; be charitable to the adulterers who charge us with impurity. Be glad and rejoice for their hate. It will only harm our pride, but not our character; it will cauterize our conceit, but not blemish our soul – for the very insult of the world is the consecration of our goodness.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Cross and the Beatitudes)

“Gentleness causes us to master our passions.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“O daughter of Joachim and Anne, O Lady, receive the word of a sinful servant, who nevertheless burns with love and places in you his only hope of joy; in you he finds the guardian of his life, not only a Mediatrix in your Son's presence, but also a sure pledge of salvation.”  - St. John Damascene

"Blessed the one who has become long-suffering and compassionate and not become the slave of the barbarian, I mean anger and evil wrath, for such a one will be exalted by the Lord." St. Ephrem of Syria (306 – 373)

“We must act, we must enter into all the fields of social, familiar and political action. And to work, because all the dark and threatening forces of evil are united. It is necessary that the forces of good be all united and form a kind of dam, a barrier as if to say: ‘There is no passing over here.’ ”  —St. Gianna Molla

“Those genuine and clear [truths] which flow from the very pure fountains of the Scriptures cannot be disturbed by any arguments of misty subtlety. For this same norm of apostolic doctrine endures in the successors of him upon whom the Lord imposed the care of the whole sheepfold [John 21:15 ff.], whom [He promised] He would not fail even to the end of the world [Matt. 28:20], against whom He promised that the gates of hell would never prevail, by whose judgment He testified that what was bound on earth could not be loosed in heaven [Matt. 16:18 ff.]. (6). . . Let whoever, as the Apostle proclaimed, attempts to disseminate something other, than what we have received, be anathema[ Gal. 1:8 f.]. Let no approach to your ears be thrown open to the pernicious plans of undermining, let no pledge of revising any of the old definitions be granted, because, as it must be repeated very often, what has deserved to be cut away with the sharp edge of the evangelical pruninghook by apostolic hands with the approval of the universal Church, cannot acquire the strength for a rebirth nor is it able to return to the fruitful shoot of the master’s vine, because it is evident that it has been destined to eternal fire. Thus, finally, the machinations of all heresies laid down by decrees of the Church are never allowed to renew the struggles of their crushed attack.” Pope St. Simplicius, “Cuperem quidem” to Basiliscus Augustus January 10, 476 A.D. (Den. 160)

A solid foundation for the protection of oneself from the tricks and consolations coming from the devil is to begin with the determination to follow the way of the cross.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 15:13

“O Jesus, my Love, may my heart be consumed in loving Thee; make me humble and holy; give me childlike simplicity; transform me into thy holy love. O Jesus, life of my life, joy of my soul, God of my heart, accept my heart as an altar, on which I will sacrifice to Thee the gold of ardent charity, the incense of continual, humble and fervent prayer, and the myrrh of constant sacrifices! Amen.” (St. Paul of the Cross)

"Remember that at first a mother teaches her child how to walk by supporting him, but later he has to walk by himself. You, therefore, must think things out for yourself" St. Pio of Pietrelcina (AdFP, 555)

“If a box is filled with salt, it cannot be filled with sand, and if our hearts are filled with hatred of our neighbor, how can God fill them with His love? We must forgive others, for on no other condition will our own sins be forgiven. It is as simple as that. There can be and there will be no mercy toward us unless we ourselves are merciful. The real test of the Christian then is not how much he loves his friends, but how much he loves his enemies.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Rainbow of Sorrow)

“The will of God cannot be made known to us more clearly than when events happen without our concurrence or contrary to what we had asked.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“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.”   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 742c)

“Look at the mothers who truly love their children—how many sacrifices they make for them. They are ready for everything, even to give their own blood so that their babies grow up good, healthy and strong.” (St. Gianna Molla, 1922 – 1962)

"If you look diligently at Mary, there is nothing of virtue, nothing of beauty, nothing of splendor or glory which does not shine in her."  - St. Jerome

"Alas! we easily enter on the road to perdition when we neglect prayer. The prayer which humbles the soul, which inflames her with love and excites her to the practice of virtue, is never subject to illusion."   St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

" I am not capable of doing big things but I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God"  - Saint Dominic Savio

"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) 

“O Jesus, my Love, may my heart be consumed in loving Thee; make me humble and holy; give me childlike simplicity; transform me into thy holy love. O Jesus, life of my life, joy of my soul, God of my heart, accept my heart as an altar, on which I will sacrifice to Thee the gold of ardent charity, the incense of continual, humble and fervent prayer, and the myrrh of constant sacrifices! Amen.” (St. Paul of the Cross)

“Nulla dies sine linea: Do not let a day pass without doing some good during it.” St. Philip Neri (Quoted by Fr. F. W. Faber, in his work “The Maxims and Sayings of St. Philip Neri”)

"To love Jesus and make him loved, how sublime that is."  -St. Therese of Lisieux

“Through Mary’s yes, through her consent to be the Mother of God, the Son of God was made flesh in her most pure and virginal womb by work of the Holy Spirit; and the One who before was only God, then became True God and True Man, and Mary, without losing her virginity, was elevated to the almost infinite dignity of true Mother of God... Oh Most Blessed Virgin! How grateful we must be for your obedience to the orders of the Most High! Because of that obedience, you are Mother of God, and God is our brother, and you also are our Mother and Advocate because, although you were just our sister through the condition Adam’s nature, from this moment you are Mother of all of God’s sons and brothers of Jesus Christ.”   Saint Henry De Osso

This prayer, then, is a little spark of the Lord's true love which He begins to enkindle in the soul ; and He desires that the soul grow in the understanding of what the love accompanied by delight is.    St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 15:4

"One must always go forward and never back in the spiritual life. When a boat stops, instead of going forward the wind blows it back" St. Pio of Pietrelcina  (AdFP, 554).

“If Christ is the Prince of Peace then how do we reconcile these other seemingly contradictory words of Our Lord: ‘Do not think that I come to send peace upon earth, I came not to send peace, but the sword’ and ‘Think you, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no but separation.’ The explanation of these apparent contradictions is to be found in the words he addressed to his apostles the night of the Last Supper in which he made an important distinction between two kinds of peace: ‘My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, do I give unto you’ and ‘These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress, but have confidence, I have overcome the world.’ There is a difference, then, between His Peace and the peace of the world. It is evident from these words that Our Lord offers a peace and a consolation that He alone can confer, a peace that comes from the right ordering of conscience, from justice, charity, love of God and love of neighbor.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Cross and the Beatitudes)

“Let us give ourselves to God to go throughout the world to carry His holy gospel.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"Being obedient, Mary became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race."   - St. Irenaeus

Pope St. Simplicius, “Quantum presbyterorum” to Acacius, Bishop of Constantinople, January 9, 476 A.D.: “Because, according to the extant doctrine of our predecessors of sacred memory, against which it is wrong to argue, whoever seems to understand rightly, does not desire to be taught by new assertions, but all [matters] in which either he who has been deceived by heretics can be instructed, or he who is about to be planted in the vineyard of the Lord can be trained, are clear and perfect;” (Denz. 159)

'The man who speaks for God's sake does well; but he who is silent for God's sake also does well.' St. Poemen (c. 340–450)

"Turn yourself round like a piece of clay and say to the Lord: I am clay, and you, Lord, the potter. Make of me what you will."  -- Saint John of Avila

“Oh, how I like those little mortifications that are seen by nobody, such as rising a quarter of an hour sooner, rising for a little while in the night to pray! but some people think of nothing but sleeping.” (St. Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney, Cure d’Ars)

The Lord told me not to fear and to esteem this gift more than all the others He had granted me.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 16:7

"If you succeed in overcoming temptation it has the effect of soap on dirty linen." St. Pio of Pietrelcina ( A. Del Fante, Per la Storia, 158)

“Paul had to begin with the Cross and then retrace his steps backward to Calvary. To him and to his people, the prophetic connection between suffering and glory were repugnant. The Jew and the Greek both had a horror of death, to the Greek there was a physical aversion; to the Jew it was a moral shame. And yet the glorified Christ began Paul’s conversion with the Cross – at that very point where all national characteristics were assailed. He had to see Christ repersecuted, recrucified, renailed. And when he asked who it was who questioned, there flashed the vision: ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting’” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“God bestows a special blessing on the counsel we take in matters pertaining to his service.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

I am Thrice Holy, and I detest the smallest sin. I cannot love a soul which is stained with sin; but when it repents, there is no limit to My generosity toward it. My mercy embraces and justifies it. With My mercy, I pursue sinners along all their path, and My Heart rejoices when they return to Me. I forget the bitterness with which they fed My heart and rejoice at their return.
Tell sinners that no one shall escape My Hand; if they run away from My Merciful Heart, they will fall into My Just Hands. Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart... when will it beat for Me? Write, that I am speaking to them through their remorse of conscience, through their failures and sufferings, through thunderstorms, through the voice of the Church. And if they bring all My graces to naught, I begin to be angry with them, leaving them alone and giving them what they want.  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 1728)  

"Hail, Mother of God, I venerate you for the holy virtues that — through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit — you bring into the hearts of your devoted ones to change them from unfaithful Christians to faithful children of God. Amen."  - St. Francis of Assisi

'The cross is a precious treasure to be kept secret, lest we be robbed of it.' St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

"Love never says: I have done enough "  - Saint Marie Eugenie of Jesus

Pope St. Celestine I, “Cuperemus quidem”, to the bishops of the provinces of Vienne and Narbo, July 26, 428 A.D.: “We acknowledge that penance is being denied the dying and no assent is given to the ardent wishes of those who at the time of their death desire to come to the assistance of their souls with this remedy. We are horrified, I confess, that anyone is found of such great impiety, that he despairs of the love of God, as if He were not able at any time whatever to hasten to the aid of the one who runs to Him for help and to free from his burden a man endangered by the weight of sins, from which he longs to be liberated. For what else is this, I ask, than to add death to the dying and to kill his soul with one’s own cruelty, that it may not be able to be absolved? Since God, most ready to succor, inviting to repentance, thus promised: In whatever day, He says, the sinner shall be converted, his sins shall not be imputed to him [cf. Eze. 33:16]. . . Since therefore the Lord is the examiner of the heart, penance must not be denied at any time to one who asks for (it) . . .” (Denz. 111)

Pope St. Celestine I, “Cuperemus quidem”, to the bishops of the provinces of Vienne and Narbo, July 26, 428 A.D.: “We acknowledge that penance is being denied the dying and no assent is given to the ardent wishes of those who at the time of their death desire to come to the assistance of their souls with this remedy. We are horrified, I confess, that anyone is found of such great impiety, that he despairs of the love of God, as if He were not able at any time whatever to hasten to the aid of the one who runs to Him for help and to free from his burden a man endangered by the weight of sins, from which he longs to be liberated. For what else is this, I ask, than to add death to the dying and to kill his soul with one’s own cruelty, that it may not be able to be absolved? Since God, most ready to succor, inviting to repentance, thus promised: In whatever day, He says, the sinner shall be converted, his sins shall not be imputed to him [cf. Eze. 33:16]. . . Since therefore the Lord is the examiner of the heart, penance must not be denied at any time to one who asks for (it) . . .” (Denz. 111)

St. Ambrose, Concerning Virginity, Book 1, Chapter 1: “1. If, according to the decree of heavenly truth, we have to give account of every idle word which we have spoken, (Matthew 12:36) and if every servant will incur no small blame when his lord returns, who, either like a timid money-lender or covetous owner, has hidden in the earth the talents of spiritual grace which were entrusted to him in order that they might be multiplied by increasing interest, I, who, although possessed of but moderate ability, yet have a great necessity laid on me of making increase of the sayings of God entrusted to me, must rightly fear lest an account of the profit of my words be demanded of me, especially seeing that the Lord exacts of us effort, not profit. Wherefore I determined to write something, since, too, my words are listened to with greater risk to modesty than when they are written, for a book has no feeling of modesty.

2. And so distrusting indeed my own ability, but encouraged by the instances of divine mercy, I venture to compose an address, for when God willed even the donkey spoke. (Numbers 22:28) And I will open my mouth long dumb, that the angel may assist me also, engaged in the burdens of this world, for He can do away with the hindrances of unskilfulness, Who in the donkey did away those of nature. In the ark of the Old Testament the priest’s rod budded; (Numbers 17:8) with God it is easy that in Holy Church a flower should spring from our knots also. And why should we despair that God should speak in men, Who spoke in the thorn bush? (Exodus 3:4) God did not despise the bush, and would He might give light also to my thorns. Perhaps some may wonder that there is some light even in our thorns; some our thorns will not burn; there will be some whose shoes shall be put off their feet at the sound of my voice, that the steps of the mind may be freed from bodily hindrances.”

"Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily."
—Saint Francis de Sales

"The dark night with its aridities and voids is the means to the knowledge of God himself."
-St. John of the Cross

Those who in fact risk all for God will find that they have both lost all and gained all.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 16:7

"Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips, but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should only speak to Him with your heart."   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“What then is the purpose of life? The one great supreme purpose of human existence is the perfection of our personality by the attainment of perfect life, truth, and love.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“God is love and wants us to go to Him through love.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

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. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it. WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 1075 )

“When she was asked to become the mother of the Messiah, Mary's faith enabled her to give a humble and generous response... Mary's faith was frequently tested during the public life of Jesus, especially when she witnessed the rejection of her son. At the foot of the cross, her pilgrimage of faith had its moment of most severe testing. Mary continued to believe that, because Jesus was the Son of God. His sacrifice would bring salvation to humanity.”
- Saint John Paul II

"By the anxieties and worries of this life Satan tries to dull man's heart and make a dwelling for himself there."  St. Francis of Assisi (1181.–1226.)

"It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes."  - Saint Thomas Aquinas

"Be ashamed when you sin, not when you repent" -St. John Chrysostom

Pope St. Zosimus, From the epistle “Tract(at)oria ad Orientales ecclesias, Aegypti diocesim, Constantinopolim, Thessalonicam, Hierosolymam,” sent after March, 418: “The Lord [is] faithful in his words [ Ps. 144:13] and His baptism holds the same plenitude in deed and words, that is in work, confession, and true remission of sins in every sex, age, and condition of the human race. For no one except him who is the servant of sin is made free, nor can he be said to be redeemed unless he has previously truly been a captive through sin, as it is written: ‘If the Son liberates you, you will be truly free’ [John 8:36]. For through Him we are reborn spiritually, through Him we are crucified to the world. By His death that bond of death introduced into all of us by Adam and transmitted to every soul, that bond contracted by propagation is broken, in which no one of our children is held not guilty until he is freed through baptism.”

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier -St. Teresa  of Calcutta

It observes that its lifetime is passing in pleasure and that nothing other than You can give it pleasure any longer; for since it desires to live no longer in itself but in You.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 16:4

"Let us never oppose the designs of divine providence, which, alternating joys with tears , in the life of the individual and of nations, leads them to the achievement of our last end. Let us look beyond the appearances of the hand of man to discover the hidden hand of God."  St. Pio of Pietrelcina  (Epist. IV, p.143)

"A river must be happier than a swamp because it has banks and boundaries; a swamp is a valley of liberty that lost its shores and became liberal. Liberty is no heirloom. It requires the daily bread of self denial, the salt of law and, above all, the backbone of acknowledging responsibility for our deeds." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“All ships are exposed to storms but are not thereby doomed to perish. May Our Lord be your Strength, your Protector, your Sanctifier.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"I desire that you make an offering of yourself for sinners and especially fOr those souls who have lost hope in God's mercy." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 308)

“[H]ow can my tears and my sorrows suffice for the sins for which my Jesus was afflicted all His life long!”  —St. Margaret de Cortona, Third Order Franciscan

Pope Damascus (+384 AD), Panegyric of St. Agnes: “It is told that one day the holy parents recounted that Agnes, when the trumpet had sounded its sad tunes, suddenly left the lap of her nurse while still a little girl and willingly trod upon the rage and the threats of the cruel tyrant. Though he desired to burn the noble body in the flames, with her little forces she overcame immense fear and, gave her loosened hair to cover her naked limbs, lest mortal eye might see the temple of the Lord. O one worthy of my veneration, holy glory of modesty, I pray you, O illustrious martyr, deign to give ear to the prayers of Damasus.”

"To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, we unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, for then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, because She is chosen from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her, streams of grace flowed down upon us."  - St. Faustina

St. Ambrose, Concerning Virginity, Bk. I, Ch. II: “It is the birthday of St. Agnes, let men admire, let children take courage, let the married be astounded, let the unmarried take an example. But what can I say worthy of her whose very name was not devoid of bright praise? In devotion beyond her age, in virtue above nature, she seems to me to have borne not so much a human name, as a token of martyrdom, whereby she showed what she was to be.”

Pope St. Damasus, Tome of Damasus (read at the Council of Rome), “And because afterwards this error became so fixed that they even dared to say with sacrilegious words that the Holy Spirit was made by the Son: ... We anathematize those who proclaim quite freely that he is not of one power and substance with the Father and the Son.” (Denz. 58-59)

St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Sermon “The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved”: “Brothers, because of the love I have for you, I wish I were able to reassure you with the prospect of eternal happiness by saying to each of you: You are certain to go to paradise; the greater number of Christians is saved, so you also will be saved. But how can I give you this sweet assurance if you revolt against God’s decrees as though you were your own worst enemies? I observe in God a sincere desire to save you, but I find in you a decided inclination to be damned. So what will I be doing today if I speak clearly? I will be displeasing to you. But if I do not speak, I will be displeasing to God.”

'It is better to live uncertain of salvation, and meanwhile devote one's self to the service of God and the salvation of souls, than to die at once, with the certainty of entering into  everlasting glory.' St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491.-1556.)

The consolation, the sweetness, and the delight are incomparably greater than that experienced in the previous prayer.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 16:1

“Every human person—no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society—is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival—yes, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenceless ones, those as yet unborn.” (Pope Saint John Paul II, September 19, 1987)

"The heavenly beings continue to visit me and to give me a foretaste of the rapture of the blessed. And while the mission of the guardian angels is a great one, my own angel’s mission is certainly greater, since he has the additional task of teaching me other languages."   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“May we see things as they are, as works of God, which God has entrusted to us.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

“The first direct, human limitation of infant life in the history of Christianity took place in the village of Bethlehem through an infant-controller whose name was Harod. The prevention of infant life was simultaneously an attack upon Divinity in the person of God made man, Jesus Christ our Lord. No one strikes at birth who does not simultaneously strike at God, for birth is earth’s reflection of the Son’s eternal generation.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Three to Get Married)

Satan gained nothing by tempting you, because you did not enter into conversation with him. Continue to act in this way. You gave Me great glory today by fighting so faithfully. Let it be confirmed and engraved on your heart that I am always with you, even if you don't feel My presence at the time of battle.  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 1499)

"The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls... These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 299) 

"Those who now desire to question God or receive some vision or revelation are guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him by not fixing their eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty. Behold him well!"  ~St John of the Cross

Pope St. Dionysius, Epistle 2, against the Tritheists and Sabellians, c. 260 A.D.: “It is therefore not a trifling, but a very great irreverence to say that the Lord was made in some way. For if the Son was made, there was a time when He did not exist; and yet He always was, if He undoubtedly is, as He himself declares, in the Father [John 14:10 f.]. Moreover, and if Christ is the word, the wisdom, and the power (for the divine Scriptures teach that Christ is [John 1:14; 1 Cor. 1:24], as you yourselves know), surely these are the powers of God. Wherefore, if the Son was made, there was a time when these powers did not exist; and so there was a time when God was without them; which is very absurd.”

“From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans, 5.

"Let, then, the life of Mary be as it were virginity itself, set forth in a likeness, from which, as from a mirror, the appearance of chastity and the form of virtue is reflected. From this you may take your pattern of life, showing, as an example, the clear rules of virtue: what you have to correct, to effect, and to hold fast. The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God?"  - Saint Ambrose

'An intelligent use of conceptual images and their corresponding physical objects produces self-restraint, love and spiritual knowledge; an unintelligent use produces licentiousness, hatred and ignorance.' St. Maximos the Confessor (580. – 662.)

"Marriage is to help married people sanctify themselves and others. For this reason they receive a special grace in the sacrament which Jesus Christ instituted. Those who are called to the married state will, with the grace of God, find within their state everything they need to be holy." -Saint Josemaria Escriva

“Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.”  St. Teresa of Calcutta

“As a tender plant, though placed in fertile ground, will not grow straight or will otherwise come to grief unless properly cared for, so you, my dear sons, will develop wrongful inclinations unless you yourselves be guided by those who are responsible for you. Your parents and those who take their place are the guides to whom you owe total obedience. The Lord says, ‘Honor thy father and thy mother that you shall be blessed with a long life on earth.’ What does ‘honor’ mean? It means obedience, respect, and cooperation.

As to obedience, if you are asked to do something, do it promptly and without hesitation. Do not shrug your shoulders, shake your head, or — much worse — respond with insolence. Those who do that are doing great harm to their parents and to God Himself, Who, through them, commands you to do this or that. To teach us obedience, our Savior, though omnipotent, obeyed the wishes of the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph who practiced a humble trade. He died in agony on the cross in obedience to His heavenly Father.”

—St. John Bosco

The intellect's work here is very slow-paced, and it obtains a lot more water than it pulled out of the well.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 12:4

"Always remember that God sees everything!"  St. Pio of Pietrelcina (AdFP, 554).

“The course of life is determined not by the trivial incidents of day to day, but by a few decisive moments.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“Nature demands that trees be deeply rooted before they can bear fruit, and this is a gradual process.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“...truth can not lie, nor the faith of Peter waver or change.” Pope Pelagius I (+559) (as quoted by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, F. X., in "On the apostolical and infallible authority of the Pope, when teaching the faithful, and on his relation to a general council", New York, D. & J. Sadler, pub. 1868, pg. 167)

St. Augustine: “Rome has spoken, the dispute is at an end.” (as quoted by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, F. X., in "On the apostolical and infallible authority of the Pope, when teaching the faithful, and on his relation to a general council", pub. 1868, pg. 161)

"Blessed and revered may you be, my Lady, O Virgin Mary, most holy Mother of God. You are, in truth, His best creation, and no one has ever loved Him so intimately as you, O glorious Lady."  - St. Bridget of Sweden

"Union, intimate union with Jesus, heart to heart with Jesus like Saint John, in purity and in love." St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844 - 1879)

"For you, Jesus... if you want it, I want it too!" -Blessed Chiara Luce Badano 

"One cannot desire freedom from the Cross when one is especially chosen for the Cross" ~St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

“Every human person—no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society—is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival—yes, the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenceless ones, those as yet unborn.” (Pope Saint John Paul II, September 19, 1987)

Nothing created has ever been able to fill the heart of man. God alone can fill it infinitely.  - St. Thomas Aquinas

Here the soul begins to be recollected；and comes upon something supernatural because in no way can it acquire this prayer through any efforts it may make.  Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 14:2

“Many people are concerned with children of India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is the greatest destroyer of peace today—abortion which brings people to such blindness.” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta; National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C, February 5, 1994)

"May we receive You with great faith and love in Holy Communion, and allow You to act in us, as You desire, for Your greater glory."  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"The fact the enemies of God must face is that modern civilization has conquered the world, but in doing so has lost its soul. And in losing its soul it will lose the very world it gained. Even our own so-called Liberal culture in these United States which has tried to avoid complete secularization by leaving little zones of individual freedom is in danger of forgetting that these zones were preserved only because religion was in their soul. And as religion fades so will freedom, for only where the spirit of God is, is there liberty. Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Characters of Passion)

“Let us aspire to take Jesus as a model in the way He acted and what He did.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"Follow the glorious Virgin in holiness of inviolate chastity, prompt obedience, and total generosity."  - St. Bonaventure

Pope St. Stephen (+257), Letter to Cyprian: “If therefore any come to you from any heresy whatsoever [converts], let nothing be renewed except what has been transmitted [the true faith], so that the hand is placed upon them for repentance...” (Denzinger 46)

St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, “on Matt. 6:22-23”: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But it your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!

The single eye is the love unfeigned; for when the body is enlightened by it, it sets forth through the medium of the outer members only things which are perfectly correspondent with the inner thoughts. But the evil eye is the pretended love, which is also called hypocrisy, by which the whole body of the man is made darkness. We have to consider that deeds meet only for darkness may be within the man, while through the outer members he may produce words that seem to be of the light: for there are those who are in reality wolves, though they may be covered with sheep’s clothing. Such are they who wash only the outside of the cup and platter, and do not understand that, unless the inside of these things is cleansed, the outside itself cannot be made pure. Wherefore, in manifest confutation of such persons, the Saviour says: If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness! That is to say, if the love which seems to you to be light is really a work meet for darkness, by reason of some hypocrisy concealed in you, what must be your patent transgressions!”

'We must never trust ourselves, for it is the devil's way first to get us to feel secure, and then to make us fall.' St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“God is more pleased by one work, however small, done secretly, without desire that it be known, than a thousand done with desire that men know of them.” (St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church)

“The mark of man is initiative, but the mark of woman is cooperation. Man talks about freedom; woman about sympathy, love, sacrifice. Man cooperates with nature; woman cooperates with God. Man was called to till the earth, to rule over the earth; woman to be the bearer of a life that comes from God.” (Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, The World’s First Love)

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

"It is not to remain in the golden ciborium that Jesus comes down from heaven each day, but that he might find another heaven, the heaven of our souls."   -St. Therese of Lisieux

But I praise You very much, Lord, because You awaken so many to awaken me. Our prayer for those who give us light should be unceasing.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:21

“Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you received. God the Father sealed you, Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come, as you learned in the reading from the Apostle.” (St. Ambrose of Milan, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, from a treatise On the Mysteries)

"Many times a day I present your heart to the Eternal Father. ..and I present it to Him without fail at Holy Mass."  St.  Pio of Pietrelcina

“Our so-called liberal and progressive educators who denied the reality of guilt, did not, as they promised, relieve man from the shackles of ‘medieval morality’, but they did relieve the person of his responsibility and therefore of his freedom.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (For God and Country)

“We must know how to dispose of our time with order and method, otherwise nothing is done; or if we do work, we get through very little, because the work is not regular. Irregularity and inconsistency never obtain a good result.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. ... Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask.  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 1146)

"Let Mary's soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each of you to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith."  - St. Ambrose

'We must accept the adversities which God sends us without reasoning too much upon them, and we must take for granted that it is the best thing which could happen to us.' St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“Therefore did not that famous defender of the Gospel [Novatian] know that there ought to be one bishop in the Catholic Church [of the city of Rome]?” Pope St. Cornelius, Epistle to Fabius, bishop ofAntioch, 251 AD (Denzinger 45)

"If I had an Army to say the Rosary I could Conquer the World" -Blessed Pius IX

“As for your Castors [pagan deities], whose worship you refuse to abandon, why did they not give you tranquil seas so that the ships might reach here with grain in winter and the city suffer less with want?”  Pope St. Gelasius (c.494), Tractate in Denunciation of the Lupercalia   (Cited in footnote on Gelasius in Liber Pontificalis as translated by Louise Ropes Loomis, Ph.D.)

“The truly blessed are not the ones who can work miracles or see angels; the truly blessed are the ones who can see their own sins.” — St. Anthony the Great

He who serves God with a pure heart, laying aside all human interests and seeking only the divine honor, may hope to succeed in his affairs even when to others they seem desperate, since the operations of God are beyond the ken of mortal vision, and depend on a loftier than human policy.   - St. Charles Borromeo

"But God also, by means of this dark and dry night of contemplation, supernaturally instructs in his divine wisdom the soul that is empty and unhindered."  -St. John of the Cross

To those who practice discursive reflection....should put themselves in the presence of Christ and without tiring the intellect, speak with and delight in Him.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:11

“Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey.” (St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church)

"Give praise to God alone and not to man; honor the Creator and not the creature. During your life, learn to endure bitterness. in order to participate in the sufferings of Christ"  St. Pio of Pietrelcina  (LCS, 1 Oct-1971 30)

“In order that the world might be made safe for so many conflicting points of view, broad-mindedness was cultivated as the most desirable of all virtues. The man who still believed in truth was often called narrow, while he who cared not to distinguish it from error was praised for his breadth.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Freedom Under God)

“Let us keep this lamp always lit in our hearts.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

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

'Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.' St. Teresa of Jesus (1515.-1582.)

“Let your children be bred up in the instruction of the Lord, and learn how great a power humility has with God, how much a pure and holy charity avails with him, and how excellent and great his fear is.” Pope St. Clement, Letter to the Corinthians, Ch. 21

“Souls hat really love God, will never neglect to pray for poor sinners.”~St. Alphonsus

I ask only that I may never offend you. - St. Therese

Where, my Lord, did I think I could find a remedy save in You ?  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 19:10

"Let us try to serve the Lord with all our heart and will. He will always give us more than we deserve" St. Pio  of Pietrelcina   (GP, 180).

“The human creature is in a constant state of conflict because he knows he has wings to fly to the heavens and yet must walk the earth.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Three to get married)

“Let us say: O king of our hearts, here we are, humbly prostrated at your feet, totally committed to Your obedience and love.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice..." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 1146)

"'Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!' No creature has ever said anything that was more pleasing to me, nor will anyone ever be able to find or say to me anything that pleases me more."   - Our Lady to St. Mechtilde

'Those who wish to enter upon the religious life, should first of all mortify themselves for a long time, and particularly mortify their will in things to which they have the greatest repugnance.' St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“Darkness can only be scattered by light. Hatred can only be conquered by love.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Address to Diplomatic Corps, 10 January 2002)

“It is no small pity, and should cause us no little shame, that, through our own fault, we do not understand ourselves, or know who we are.” (St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church, Interior Castle, First Mansion, Chapter 1)

"The more obedient you are, the more tranquil and indifferent will you be as to employments that may be assigned to you."   St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

“… no one can ‘assent to the preaching of the Gospel,’ as he must to attain salvation, without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who gives to all a sweetness in consenting to and believing the truth.” Pope Pius IX, Vatican I (+1870)

“Those who are led by the Holy Spirit think right thoughts. That is why there are so many unlettered people who know more than scholars.” St. Jean-Marie Vianney, The Curé D’Ars (Quoted by Michel De Saint Pierre in “La Vie Prodigieuse du Curé d’Ars”, Copyright Editions du Centurion, Paris, 1958, traslated by M. Angeline Bouchard)

  If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother.   --Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Let His majesty treat it as His own - the soul no longer belongs to itself. It is given over entirely to the Lord it completely overlooks itself.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 17:2

“… for I do not care very much what men say of me, provided that God approves of me.” (St. Thomas More, Martyr)

"Terrible is the justice of God. But let us not forget also that his mercy is infinite "  St. Pio of Pietrelcina (GP, 138).

“Have you ever thought of how wonderfully you have been made; that there is in you something which can be seen and touched, namely your body whose nature is flesh, but there is also something invisible about you, namely your mind and soul with its thoughts, its loves and its desires. Your soul is, in a sense, incarnate in a body, that is, your soul animates and unifies your body. Now consider the Person of Our Divine Lord. He is the true incarnation, not of a soul in a body, but of God in the form of man. There is something visible about Him, namely, His perfect human nature, but there is also something invisible about Him, and that is His Divinity. Just as your body and your soul combine to make one person, so in an infinitely more perfect way, His human nature and His Divine Nature make but one person, the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God true God and true man.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Rock Plunged into Eternity)

“I beg of you not to rush that affair, but let Divine Providence act.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

When a soul sees and realizes 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)

"Take courage and pray; your guardian angel will also pray for you, and your prayers will be answered."- Saint John Bosco

If people don't abandon it, they may believe that prayer will bring them to the harbour of light.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila  The Book of Her Life - chapter 19:4

“No one presumes to teach an art till he has first, with intent meditation, learned it. What rashness is it, then, for the unskilful to assume pastoral authority, since the government of souls is the art of arts! For who can be ignorant that the sores of the thoughts of men are more occult than the sores of the bowels? And yet how often do men who have no knowledge whatever of spiritual precepts fearlessly profess themselves physicians of the heart, though those who are ignorant of the effect of drugs blush to appear as physicians of the flesh! But because, through the ordering of God, all the highest in rank of this present age are inclined to reverence religion, there are some who, through the outward show of rule within the holy Church, affect the glory of distinction. They desire to appear as teachers, they covet superiority to others, and, as the Truth attests, they seek the first salutations in the market-place, the first rooms at feasts, the first seats in assemblies (Matt. 23:6-7), being all the less able to administer worthily the office they have undertaken of pastoral care, as they have reached the magisterial position of humility out of elation only. For, indeed, in a magisterial position language itself is confounded when one thing is learned and another taught. Against such the Lord complains by the prophet, saying, They have reigned, and not by Me; they have been set up as princes, and I knew it not (Hosea 8:4). For those reign of themselves, and not by the Will of the Supreme Ruler, who, supported by no virtues, and in no way divinely called, but inflamed by their own desire, seize rather than attain supreme rule.” Pope St. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule (Bk I of IV), Ch. 1

“Even you [clerics], therefore, yourselves, guide them each one, and control the minds of the lapsed by counsel and by your own moderation, according to the divine precepts. Let no one pluck the unripe fruit at a time as yet premature. Let no one commit his ship, shattered and broken with the waves, anew to the deep, before he has carefully repaired it. Let none be in haste to accept and to put on a rent tunic, unless he has seen it mended by a skilful workman. and has received it arranged by the fuller. Let them bear with patience my advice, I beg. Let them look for my return, that when by God’s mercy I come to you, I, with many of my co-bishops, being called together according to the Lord’s discipline, and in the presence of the confessors, and with your opinion also, may be able to examine the letters and the wishes of the blessed martyrs. Concerning this matter I have written both to the clergy and to the martyrs and confessors, both of which letters I have directed to be read to you. I bid you, brethren beloved and most longed-for, ever heartily farewell in the Lord; and have me in remembrance. Farewell.” St. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 11, Paragraph 3.

“A Christianity which keeps a grip on itself, refuses every compromise with the world, takes the commands of God and the Church seriously, preserves its love of God and of men in all its freshness, such a Christianity can be, and will be, a model and a guide to a world which is sick to death and clamors for directions, unless it be condemned to a catastrophe that would baffle the imagination.”  - Pope Pius XI,