Be exercising yourselves in these little trials, you will come to be able  to suffer other greater ones.
 St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 26 :

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

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

“It seems unbelievable that a man should perish in whose favor Christ said to His Mother: ‘Behold thy son,’ provided that he has not turned a deaf ear to the words, which Christ addressed to him: ‘Behold thy Mother.’”  - St. Robert Bellarmine

“No dictator could ever succeed in winning the masses unless he promised them liberty.  He would use force, act like a tyrant, blot out all opposition, and purge minorities, but he was always careful to do it in the sacred name of liberty.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Freedom Under God)

“God enriches the soul which empties itself of everything.”    St. Pio of Pietrecina

“Let us never do anything that does not give glory to God; to that end, let us trample underfoot human respect and self-interest.”  – St. Vincent de  Paul

Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.  Pope St. John Paul II

Strive to center the mind upon the one to whom the words are addressed. So, be patient and strive to make a habit out of something that is so necessary.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter  24;6

   

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

”We may seek graces, but shall never find them without the intercession of Mary.”  - St. Cajetan

“The gravest danger to American democracy is not from the outside; it is from the inside – the hearts of citizens in whom the light of faith has gone out.  Keep God as the origin of authority and you keep the ethical character of authority; reject Him and the authority becomes power subject to no law except its own.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Whence Come Wars)

"God desires the smallest degree of purity of conscience in you more than all the works you can perform." ~St John of the Cross   (Sayings of Light and Love, #12)

“For it is manifest that all Christ's murderers, i.e., the Jews, are expelled from that city. That which had in it them that were fierce against Christ, has now them that adore Christ. Therefore do these men hate it, because Christians are in it.”—St. Augustine, Homily II on First Epistle of St. John

“We should read good and useful books, and abstain from reading those that only gratify our curiosity.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

The Name of Mary is second in blessings only to the Most Sacred Name of Jesus. There is no other name in heaven or on earth that brings such grace, and hope, and sweetness to the devout. —St. Alphonsus Liguori

Freedom exists for the sake of love.  Pope St. John Paul II

"I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST .St FAUSTINA.  (Diary, 327)

"Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with her children."  - St. John Vianney

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

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

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

I want you to understand that it is good for you, if you are to recite the “Our Father” well, to remain at the side of the Master.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 24 : 5

“The Virgin Mary… being obedient to His word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God.” (Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons; Against Heresies, 5:19:1; A.D. 180)

"May a profound silence grow in the soul of my Guite, an echo of that being the sung in the Trinity. May her prayer never cease, since she possesses what will one day be its Vision, its Beatitude!" -- St Elizabeth of the Trinity to her sister, June 15,1903 (Letter 166)

“Let us work to become very humble, very patient, very mortified, and very charitable. That is the only way to be highly esteemed.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Pray and learn to pray! Deepen your knowledge of the Word of the Living God by reading and meditating on the Scriptures.  Pope St. John Paul II

Since the Redeemer preexisted, there had to be someone to be saved so that He would not come in vain. As a consequence, we find Mary, the obedient Virgin, saying: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” —St. Irenaeus

The Mother of God contained the infinite God under her Heart, the God Whom no space can contain. Through her, the Trinity is adored, demons are vanquished, Satan is cast out of heaven, and our fallen nature is assumed into heaven. —St. Cyril of Alexandria

Around the world, we can see the results of exploitation which destroys much without taking future generations into account. Today, all men have a duty to show themselves worthy of the mission given them by the Creator by ensuring the safekeeping of that creation.  Pope St. John Paul II

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

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

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

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

Today Jesus said to me, I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 186)

“Nothing is reborn to a higher life without death in the lower.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Three to Get Married)

“Our present life is given to gain only the eternal one.”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“We should spend at least as much time in thanking God for His favors as we have in asking them.” – St. Vincent de Paul

Even though we do not hear Him, He speaks well to the heart when we beseech Him from the heart.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter24 : 5

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

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

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

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

"Entrust yourself completely to My will saying, "Not as I want, but according to Your will, O God, let it be done unto me." These words, spoken form the depths of one's heart, can raise a soul to the summit of sanctity in a short time. In such a soul I delight." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary, 1487)

“Darkness may be creative, for it is there that God plants his seeds to grow and his bulbs to flower.  It is at night that the sheep that are scattered are gathered into the unity of the sheepfold, when the children come home to their mother and the soul back to God.  Daylight deceives us, but as we awake at night, we get a new sense of values; darkness seems to tell the awful truth.  As the psalmist puts it: ‘Day to day pours forth speech and night to night declares knowledge’ (Ps 19:2).  Night has its wonders, as well as day; darkness is not final, except to those who are without God” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Cross-Ways)

“Ah, dear Father, pardon me for using this sort of language; Jesus alone can understand what I suffer when the painful scene of Calvary is enacted before my eyes. It is equally incomprehensible how Jesus can be consoled not merely by those who sympathize with his torments, but when he finds a soul who for love of him asks no consolations and only wants to be allowed to share in his sufferings.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“The good Lord has granted us the privilege of sharing in this, the greatest, most divine and chief of all names, so that, honoured by the name of Christ, we are called ‘Christians.’ So then we must ensure that in us are seen all the meanings of the name of Christ, so that our title is not false and meaningless but is borne out by our lives.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Bishop, A Treatise on Christian Perfection)

"...love is like a fire which always rises upwards as though longing to be engulfed in its center." --St. John of the Cross

“You acquire new merits daily by the unprecedented good you do everywhere and for all sorts of persons.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say.  Pope St John Paul II

Come, let us throw ourselves at the feet of this good Mother. Let us cling to them and not leave them, until she blesses us and takes us for her children. —St. Bernard

You need have no fear. Just the raising of our eyes in remembrance of Him will have its reward.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila.   The Way of Perfection - chapter 23 : 3R

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

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

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

"Cynicism is a screen behind which youth hides its ignorance and old age its sin." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Who can say that it is wrong, when we begin to recite the Hours or the Rosary, to consider whom we are going to speak with, and who we are, so as to know how to speak with Him ?  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Way of Perfection - chapter 22 : 3

 Jesus: My child, make the resolution never to rely on people. Entrust yourself completely to My will saying, "Not as I want, but according to Your will, O God, let it be done unto me." These words, spoken from the depths of one's heart, can
raise a soul to the summit of sanctity in a short time. In such a soul I delight. Such a soul gives Me glory. Such a soul fills heaven with the fragrance of her virtue. But understand that the strength by which you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need.WORDS OF JESUS TO ST FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1487)

“If the world could see the beauty of a soul without sin, all sinners, all non-believers would instantly convert (their lives).”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“The more a person loves God, the more reason he has to hope in Him. This hope produces in the Saints an unutterable peace, which they preserve even in adversity, because as they love God, and know how beautiful He is to those who love Him, they place all their confidence and find all their repose in Him alone.” (Saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori )

“A charitable word is all that is sometimes necessary to convert an obdurate heart. In like manner one bitter word is capable of afflicting a soul and plunging it into a sadness that may be most injurious.” – St. Vincent de Paul

"Many a cross we bear is of our own manufacture; we made it by our sins. But the cross which the Savior carried was not his, but ours. One beam in contradiction to another beam was the symbol of our will in contradiction to His own. To the women who met him on the roadway he said: "Weep not for me." To shed tears for the dying Savior is to lament the remedy; it were wiser to lament the sin that caused it. If Innocence itself took a Cross, then how shall we who are guilty complain against it? Archbishop Fulton Sheen (World's First Love)F

“People devoted to the assistance of their neighbor are using all their energy and alms to snatch the poor from the jaws of death and poor girls from occasions of sin.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

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

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

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

“Little things done out of love are those that charm the heart of Christ.”   -St. Therese of  Liieux

“Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science, or eloquence.”  —St. Teresa of Calcutta

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

What treasure is superior to the Divine Love that animated the Heart of Mary? It is from this Heart, as from a furnace of Divine Love, that the Blessed Virgin drew forth words of a most ardent love. —St. Bernardine of Siena

A man shows himself a true disciple of Christ by carrying the cross in his turn every day in the activity that he is called to perform.  Pope St. John Paul II

“Let your heart consume itself more and more in the sanctuary of the Heart of Jesus, and let the ashes of the victim fall into the boundless ocean of divine charity.”  --St. Paul of the Cross~

Try to preserve a pure conscience, humility, and contempt for all worldly things; believe firmly what Holy Mother Church holds, and you can be sure you will be walking along good path.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila.  The Way of Perfection - chapter 21 : 10

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

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

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

”Jesus honored her before all ages, and will honor her for all ages. No one comes to Him, nor even near Him, no one is saved or sanctified, if he too will not honor her. This is the lot of Angels and of men.”  - St. Maximilian Kolbe

“Courtesy is affection and not affectation. It reaches a point where, in a true lowliness of mind, one esteems others better than self. We know the worst that is in us and of that we can be certain, but we can never know the worst that is in others; we can at best only suspect it. Conscious of this, our feelings toward others become delicate and sensitive; they may even become deeply religious when they reach a point where we forgive others their discourtesies.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (On Being Human)

“When we appeal to the throne of grace we do so through Mary, honoring God by honoring His Mother, imitating Him by exalting her, touching the most responsive chord in the sacred heart of Christ with the sweet name of Mary.” (St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor)

“I am about to speak of the creation of heaven and earth, which was not spontaneous, as some have imagined, but drew its origin from God... Those who were too ignorant to rise to a knowledge of a God, could not allow that an intelligent cause presided at the birth of the Universe; a primary error that involved them in sad consequences. Some had recourse to material principles and attributed the origin of the Universe to the elements of the world. Others imagined ... atoms reuniting or separating, produce births and deaths and the most durable bodies only owe their consistency to the strength of their mutual adhesion... You will finally discover that the world was not conceived by chance and without reason, but for an useful end and for the great advantage of all beings, since it is really the school where reasonable souls exercise themselves, the training ground where they learn to know God; since by the sight of visible and sensible things the mind is led, as by a hand, to the contemplation of invisible things.”—St. Basil the Great, Hexaemeron, Homliy I (Translated by Blomfield Jackson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.))

“Blessed Guardians– be watchful. Help us to use well the grace of the moment in the care and instruction of the little ones under our charge. Watch over them with us.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

The Eucharist is a priceless treasure: by not only celebrating it but also by praying before it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very wellspring of grace.  Pope. St. John Paul II

The nine choirs of Angels offer Mary millions of times each day the Angelic Salutation: Hail Mary! In doing so, they ask her to honor them with one of her commands. —St. Louis Grignion de Montfort

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

“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)

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

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

“Don’t worry about me no matter what happens in this world. Nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t want. And all that He wants, no matter how bad it may appear to us, is really for the best.” (St. Thomas More, Martyr)

“Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 Tell [all people], My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other soul.  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1074)

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

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

“I hope that God in his goodness will draw strength from these weaknesses and His glory from our miseries.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Confidently open your most intimate aspirations to the Love of Christ who waits for you in the Eucharist. You will receive the answer to all your worries and you will see with joy that the consistency of your life which He asks of you is the door to fulfill the noblest dreams of your youth. Pope St. John Paul II

We must have frequent recourse to the Mother of God for she is the Mother of the supernatural life and the Mother of grace. The Lord desires that we receive all graces through her, and this depends on our approaching her. —St. Maximilian Kolbe

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

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

"The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host."  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

"In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties,
think of Mary, call upon Mary.
Let not her name depart from your lips,
never suffer it to leave your heart.
And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer,
neglect not to walk in her footsteps.
With her for guide, you shall never go astray;
while invoking her, you shall never lose heart;
so long as she is in your mind,
you are safe from deception;
while she holds your hand, you cannot fall;
under her protection you have nothing to fear;
if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary;
if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal."
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the Church

I have always been fond of the words of the Gospels and found more recollection in them than in very cleverly written books.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 21 : 4

May your heart always be a temple of the Holy Spirit.

May Jesus always be the helmsman of your little spiritual ship
.
May Mary be the star which shines on your path and may she show you the safe way to reach the Heavenly Father. Amen.

St. Pio of Pietrelcine

“We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear.” (St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)

“Free your mind of anything that troubles you; God will take care of it.”  St. Vincent de Paul

“Willingness to hear the word of God is a sign of predestination. Just like the exile, who awaits and gladly hears news from his homeland, shows that he loves his country, so too the Christian who listens attentively to Him who speaks of the heavenly fatherland may say that his heart is directed towards heaven.” — St. Anthony of Padua

Confidently open your most intimate aspirations to the Love of Christ who waits for you in the Eucharist. You will receive the answer to all your worries and you will see with joy that the consistency of your life which He asks of you is the door to fulfill the noblest dreams of your youth.  Pope St. John Paul II

O holy Mary, into your safe keeping I entrust my soul and body, this day, every day, and on the day of my death. Through your holy intercession, may all my actions be ordered according to your will and that of your Divine Son. —St. Aloysius Gonzaga

For the love of God I beg you that.your conversation always be directed towards bringing some good to the other；with whom you are speaking, for your prayer must be for the benefit of souls.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila.  The Way of Perfection - chapter 20 : 3

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

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

"Fly from bad companions as from the bite of a poisonous snake." -Saint John Bosco

“God be praised that you are ready to do His Will in all things and everywhere and to go to live and die wherever He chooses to call you.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“Oh how sweet it was...the Heart of Jesus and my own were fused. No longer were two hearts beating but only one.”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"The soul which loves God seeks and looks for no other reward of its services than to love God perfectly."   St. John of the. Cross  (Spiritual Canticle 9,7)

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

“The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Conviction)

'The Holy Eucharist very often invigorates and strengthens even the body. O infinite mercy of our sovereign Good! this marvellous effect proceeds from the great vigor which the bread of angels communicates to the soul, and which reacts on the body.' St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

Let us not grow tired of prayer; confidence works miracles.   -St. Therese

“June 20 [1937]. We resemble God most when we forgive our neighbors. God is Love, Goodness, and Mercy…
“‘Every soul, and especially the soul of every religious, should reflect My mercy. My Heart overflows with compassion and mercy for all. The heart of My beloved must resemble Mine: from her heart must spring the fountain of My mercy for souls; otherwise I will not acknowledge her as Mine.’”  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1148)

"Better to pray one psalm with devotion and compunction than a hundred with distraction." - St. Romuald

It is the nature of Jesus Christ to lead us surely to the Father. In the same way, it is the nature of the Blessed Virgin to lead us surely to Jesus. —St. Louis Grignion de Montfort

Oh! how happy I would be if my Master also wanted me to pour out my blood for Him! But what I ask of Him especially is that martyrdom of love that consumed my holy Mother Teresa, whom the Church proclaims a “victim of charity”; and since the Truth has said that the greatest proof of love is to give one’s life for one’s beloved, I am giving Him mine; it has been His for a long time, so He can do with it whatever He wishes, and if I am not a martyr by blood, I want to be one by love!  St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Letter 287 to her mother, 19 June 1906

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

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

"As soon as she [Mary] had the use of reason, that is, from the first moment of her immaculate conception in the womb of St. Anne, from that time she began with all her powers to love her God; and thus she continued to do, ever advancing more in perfection and love through her whole life. All her thoughts, her desires, her affections, were wholly given to God; not a word, not a motion, not a glance of the eye, not a breath of hers that was not for God and for his glory, never departing one step, nor separating herself for one moment from the divine love."  - St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri

“Conversions are not more difficult in our times than before; but the approach must be different.  Today, people are looking for God, not because of the order they find in the universe, but because of the disorder they find in themselves.  They are coming to God through an inner disgust.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Priest is not His Own)

“Wherefore, O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? (Ps 4,3). Why do you not recognize the truth and believe in the Son of God (Jo 9,35)? Behold: daily he humbles himself (Phil 2,8) as when from heaven’s royal throne (Wisd 18,15) he came down into the womb of the Virgin. Daily he himself comes to us with like humility; daily he descends from the bosom of the Father ( Jo 1,18; 6,38) upon the altar in the hands of the priest.” St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon and Confessor,

“The Church teaches us that mercy belongs to God. Let us implore Him to bestow on us the spirit of mercy and compassion, so that we are filled with it and may never lose it. Only consider how much we ourselves are in need of mercy.”  -- Saint Vincent de Paul

“Each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ.”  Pope St. John Paul II

Mary is not only called the Mother of Mercy. She is the Mother of Mercy. And she proved that she is by the loving tenderness with which she helps us all. —St. Alphonsus Liguori

"Yes, even if I had on my conscience every possible crime I should lose none of my confidence. My heart breaking with sorry, I should go and throw myself into the arms of my savior."  -St. Therese of Lisieux

Here you see, friends, what it means to pray vocally with perfection. It means that you be aware of and understand whom you are asking, who it is that is asking, and what you are asking for.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 42 : 4.

“Materiality in the case of a house consists of furnishings and food. Materiality in the case of the intellect is self-esteem and sensual pleasure.”  St. Mark the Ascetic (5th c.)

Pope John VII,  Inscription in a chapel to Our Lady in St. Peter’s, where there is a statue of Our Lady styled in a Byzantine Empress’s garb: “John, an unworthy bishop, the servant of the Blessed Mother of God, carried out this work.” (Source: Horace Kinder Mann, in his work “The Lives of the Popes of the Early Middle Ages”, Part I, pub. 1903, pg. 114, who also says on pg. 110 “This Pope was remarkable for his devotion to the Mother of God. The title he was most proud of was ‘Mary’s servant.’”)

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

"Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God; give, then, generously to others. They should take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy, even if they have no more than touched the hem of your garment."

"Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son. There can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son."  - St. Bernard of Clairvaux

“Shall we not say in justice, then, that the man and woman who take the gift of love into their hearts, and then turn it against producing life, for the selfishness of their own pleasure, are betraying life and love’s great trust, stealing heaven’s fire, and enkindling the flame which consumes them and leaves naught but their dust behind?  Why, even though such a couple did not believe in God, even though they believed only in love, their own hearts of hearts should tell them that love was meant to be recovered in life, and that to be unfaithful to that gift of love, and refuse to increase life, is to live in a world in which artists are always picking up brushes but never finishing a picture; always lifting chisels but never producing a statue; always touching bow to string, but never emitting a harmony.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Hymn of the Conquered)

“I know I wouldn’t be able to work one week if it were not for the continual force coming from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In our society we begin our day with...” Saint Teresa of Calcutta

“We can say that this war will be the cause of the damnation of many persons but that God will also make use of it for the grace, the justification, and the glory of many persons.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“The state of inequality between individuals and between nations not only still exists; it is increasing. It still happens that side by side with those who are wealthy and living in plenty there exist those who are living in want, suffering misery and often actually dying of hunger; and their number reaches tens, even hundreds of millions.”   Pope  St.  John Paul II

Do you wish to know the most intimate perfections of Jesus and the most hidden attractions of His love? Then seek them in the Heart of Mary! —St. Peter Eymard

“St. Bernard teaches that many souls are lost through want of fortitude. Take courage, then, and trust in the power and goodness of God: strong resolutions overcome all difficulties.”   St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

"Oh, my Lord! How true it is that whoever works for you is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love you if we understand its value."  -St. Teresa of Avila

Pope Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus, 1336 A.D., Ex Cathedra: “By this Constitution which is to remain in force for ever, we, with apostolic authority, define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints who departed from this world before the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and also of the holy apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins and other faithful who died after receiving the holy baptism of Christ- provided they were not in need of any purification when they died, or will not be in need of any when they die in the future, or else, if they then needed or will need some purification, after they have been purified after death-and again the souls of children who have been reborn by the same baptism of Christ or will be when baptism is conferred on them, if they die before attaining the use of free will: all these souls, immediately (mox) after death and, in the case of those in need of purification, after the purification mentioned above, since the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into heaven, already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment, have been, are and will be with Christ in heaven, in the heavenly kingdom and paradise, joined to the company of the holy angels.”

“Alas! the souls in purgatory are so very poor, and they call on us for help.” St. Gerard Majella. (Quoted by Fr. Karl Dilgskron, in his work “The Life of Blessed Gerard Majella” translated from his German by the Redemptorist Fathers, 173 E. 3d. St., New York., NIHIL OBSTAT: T. Li. Kinkead, Censor Librorum., IMPRIMATUR Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York. May 6th, 1896.)

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.” (St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon and Confessor)

“As I was praying before the Most Blessed Sacrament, my physical sufferings ceased suddenly and I heard this voice in my soul. ‘You see, I can give you everything in one moment. I am not constrained by any law.’”   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1153)

“The closer a person approaches God, the less worthy he feels.  A painting under candle light shows fewer defects than under the brilliance of the sun; so too the souls who are some distance from God feel more certain of their moral integrity than those who are very close to Him.  In the presence of the holiest of creatures, the soul becomes self-accusing and broken-hearted with the weight of its defects.  He who loves God is the most burdened with the sense of his own unworthiness.” Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life of Christ)

“Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.”  (St. Augustine of Hippo)

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

This prayer is something supernatural, something we cannot procure through our own efforts. In it the soul enters into peace or, better, the Lord puts it at peace by His presence.  St Teresa of Jesus of AvilaAvila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 31 : 2

The family, as the fundamental and essential educating community, is the privileged means for transmitting the religious and cultural values which help the person to acquire his or her own identity. Founded on love and open to the gift of life, the family contains in itself the very future of society; its most special task is to contribute effectively to a future of peace.  Pope St.John Paul II

We have only one thing that we must do—that is, pray to the Blessed Virgin. Ask her for the grace to love our Lord as she loves Him and to remain faithful to Him in life and in death. —St. Bernadette

“What punishment will not that servant bring upon himself who knows the will of his Master and does not do it?”  St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

Pope St. Sergius I, letter to Abbot Ceolfrid, says that certain difficult questions have arisen, and he is in need of learned men to aid him in looking into them; and therefore he asks Ceolfrid to send him without delay “that religious servant of God, Bede (religiosum Dei famulum Bedam), a priest of your monastery.” (Source: Horace Kinder Mann, in his work “The Lives of the Popes of the Early Middle Ages”, Part I, pg. 84, pub. 1903)

“And I pray thee, loving Jesus, that as Thou hast graciously given me to drink in with delight the words of Thy knowledge, so Thou wouldst mercifully grant me to attain one day to Thee, the fountain of all wisdom and to appear forever before Thy face.” St. Bede the Venerable  (Cited by Thurston, Herbert. “The Venerable Bede.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907.)

Suddenly, I saw the Lord Jesus, who said to me, ‘Be at peace, My child. See, you are not alone. My Heart watches over you.’ Jesus filled me with strength concerning a certain person. I feel strength within my soul.”   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary, 799)

"Let us patiently bear the contradictions and repugnance we encounter in the discharge of duty, since our actions are thereby rendered more agreeable to God."   - St. Louise de Marillac.

“This is the choice before us: Either to revolutionize the world and break under it, or revolutionize ourselves and remake the world.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“May Jesus be your guide, your support, and your life, always and in everything!”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“We should not serve the poor like they were Jesus. We should serve the poor because they are Jesus.”  —Saint Teresa of Calcutta

"One word or a pleasing smile is enough to raise up a saddened and wounded soul."  ---St. Therese

“Soup is distributed daily to fourteen or fifteen thousand persons who would die of hunger without this assistance.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Experience perpetual peace and a wonderful inner satisfaction that comes from seeing that everyone hallows and praises the Lord.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Way of Perfection - chapter 30 : 5

The love of Christ so wounded and transfixed Mary’s Heart that no part of it remained untouched. Thus, she fulfilled the First Commandment in all its extension and without the slightest imperfection. —St. Bernard

“I do not love suffering, itself; I ask it of God because I desire its fruits: it gives glory to God, saves my brothers in exile, and frees souls from the fires of purgatory. What more can I ask?”    St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.” (St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon and Confessor)

Pope Leo VI (†928) issued an appeal for help against Arab raiders who were threatening against Rome: “Whoever died faithful in this struggle will not see himself refused entry into the heavenly kingdom.” (Pierre Riché, The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe (1993), page 311)

“Who could ever soften this heart of mine, which is harder than flint or adamant, but you alone, O Lord! You, O God of mercies, who could draw fountains of water from a rock, and raise up sons of Abraham out of stones, could change a stony heart into one of flesh.”—St. Francis Borgia.  Fr. Alban Butler (Lives of the Saints, 1866 ed., Vol. X, October 10, “St. Francis Borgia, Confessor”)

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

America you are beautiful . . . and blessed . . . . The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless. If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life.  Pope St. John Paul II

The greater sinners we are, the more tenderness and compassion Mary has for us. The child who has cost the Mother the most tears is closest to her heart! —St. John Vianney

Merely to look toward heaven recollects the soul.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 38 : 6

“…let nothing frighten or disconcert you. Remain deeply at peace. Everything is in My hands. I will give you to understand everything through… Be like a child…" WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA.    (Diary, 219)

“Charity is the measure by which out Lord judges all things.”   St.  Pio of  Pietrelcina

"Do everything calmly and peacefully. Do as much as you can as well as you can. Strive to see God in all things without exception, and consent to His will joyously. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to him in word and deed. Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord and be at peace with yourself."   - St. Francis de Sales

“Perseverance in the face of adversity dissolves evil, while unremitting patience destroys it utterly.”  St. Thalassios the Libyan

"Have faith! Everything will be alright! Faith! Faith!"  -St. Leopold Mandic

“Today if we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other—that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister.”  —St. Teresa of Calcutta

"Say the Rosary every day, to obtain Peace for the World".  Our Lady of Fatima, 1917

“O Virgin Mary, change my heart into a beautiful pure corporal, to receive that white Host in which our sweet Lamb hides Himself.”  - St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Pope Clement X, “In Nomine Domini”, Bull of Pope Clement X erecting into a diocese the Vicariate Apostolic of New France , April 3, 1675: “CLEMENT BISHOP SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE. Raised despite Our inadequacy to the formidable height of pontificate without the support of any conceit deriving from Our own merits but only by the benevolence of ever-merciful God who chooses the humblest instruments in this world without rest or pause We wanted to contemplate in Our heart while asking Ourself how We can valiantly bear such a burden and fulfill somewhat successfully such a great task likely to frighten angels themselves but lightened by the divine breath of the Holy Spirit with its seven gifts. While attentively considering the achievements of Our predecessors with respect to the propagation of the Catholic faith achievements accomplished by the whole world and marked by the seal of eternity We continue to beseech God so that these glorious illustrations of the Christian name do not just remain for Us the object of futile veneration but rather that they among other things make Us turn to effective imitation so that We are not satisfied with the divine glory of these exploits which a holy emulation presses Us not only to accomplish but to augment.

     While We were contemplating these thoughts We were very pleased to learn from Our very dear son in Christ Louis very Christian King of France and Navarre that said King Louis with the help of God has acquired by force of arms and submitted to his empire several North American lands and islands and that he has given the name New France to these lands that are now under his authority and which he has honourably colonized by sending over from France people of remarkable education military value or piety;”

“...a man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either command them or be enslaved to them. It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.” St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican s  (Quoted by Fr. Alban Butler, “Lives of the Saint”, 1866 Edition, Vol. VIII, August 4, “St. Dominic” [Founder of the Friars Preacher])

If you really wish to follow Christ, if you want your love for him to grow and last, then you must be faithful to prayer. It is the key to the vitality of your life in Christ. Without prayer, your faith and love will die. If you are constant in daily prayer and in the Sunday celebration of Mass, your love for Jesus will increase. And your heart will know deep joy and peace, such as the world could never give.  Pope St. John Paul II

Mary is both the Mother of the Shepherd and the Mother of the Lamb. That is why she is all our confidence and all our hope! —St. Germanus

I think, in coming to know our true country and realizing that we are pilgrims here below; it is a wonderful thing to see what is there and know where we shall live.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila
  The Book of Her Life - chapter 38 : 6

"When a woman's love becomes venal, everything is lost. When it is kept noble, it brings to the world the balm of tenderness and devotion. The level of any civilization is thus the level of its womanhood." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“Divine Goodness not only does not reject penitent souls, but even goes in search of obstinate souls.”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Pope Pius XII, Haurietis aquas (Latin: “You will draw waters”), encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart, May 15, 1956, Par. 79: “After our Lord had ascended into heaven with His body adorned with the splendors of eternal glory and took His place by the right hand of the Father, He did not cease to remain with His Spouse, the Church, by means of the burning love with which His Heart beats. For He bears in His hands, feet and side the glorious marks of the wounds which manifest the threefold victory won over the devil, sin, and death.”

“Oh most sweet Jesus, what riches dost Thou enclose in Thy Heart, and how easy is it for us to enrich ourselves, possessing as we do, in the adorable Eucharist, this infinite treasure.” St. Bernard. (St. Bern. Pass., tract i. ch. 3)

"Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak."  - St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us!

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

Blessed are those who cherish your Name, O Mary. Your favor will sustain them in the midst of trials, and they will bring forth fruits of salvation. —St. Anthony of Padua

It is right for anyone who cares about heaven to have a continual solicitude about pleasung God and despising the world.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Book of Her Life - chapter 37: 10

“Let thy first rule be to flee the conversation of every human being, in so far as it is simply conversation, except as deeds of charity may demand; but to love people very much, and talk with few of them. And know how to talk in moderation even with those whom thou lovest with spiritual love. . .”   St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

“It is necessary to be strong, in order to become great: that is our duty. Life is a struggle, which we cannot avoid. We must triumph.”   St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

“The person who in his actions shows that he prefers his body to his soul, and the world to God, is a pathetic creature.”   St. Thalassios the Libyan

“Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint.”   St. Vincent Ferrer (1350. - 1419.)

“When I utter the name of Jesus, I see before me a man of meekness, humility, kindness, and mercy, Who at the same time is the Almighty God, who heals and strengthens me.” -St. Bernard of Clairvaux, In Cant. s. 15.

“Acts of irreverence in churches are sins which greatly displease God; they horrify the angels, and do great harm to the soul.”  St. Benedict Joseph Labre (1748 – 1783)

“All our trust must be in God and we must rest assured that nothing will happen to us that God does not allow.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

"May 1, [1938]. This evening, Jesus said to me, My daughter, do you need anything? I answered, "O my Love, when I have You I have everything." And the Lord answered, If souls would put themselves completely in My care, I myself would undertake the task of sanctifying them, and I would lavish even greater graces on them. There are souls who thwart My efforts, but I have not given up on them; as often as they turn to Me, I hurry to their aid, shielding them with My Mercy, and I give them the first place in My Compassionate Heart."  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA
(Diary 1682)

“Bear in mind that the more the enemy assaults you, the closer God is to your soul. Think about, and penetrate this great and comforting truth.”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

When God revealed Himself to this poor world of ours, men cried in astonishment: ‘Why, it is a child?’  And so it is that the closer we get to God the more we become children, and the closer God gets to us the more He becomes a child.  No one in the world ever suspected that the Ancient of Days Who presided at creation would take His throne in that creation as a babe in a crib, just as no one ever thought He would tell the old men of forty, like Nicodemus, that they must be born again.  Christmas, then, is the coronation of childhood, the glorification of the young whose hearts are simple, the proclamation to aging hearts that the world need not despair and die, because the Fountain of Youth has come into it to turn time backward, make old things young again.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (In the Fullness of Time)

Pope Leo XIII, Annum sacrum, 25 May 1899, Par. 2: “Already more than once We have endeavored, after the example of Our predecessors Innocent XII, Benedict XIII, Clement XIII, Pius VI, and Pius IX., devoutly to foster and bring out into fuller light that most excellent form of devotion which has for its object the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; this We did especially by the Decree given on June 28, 1889, by which We raised the Feast under that name to the dignity of the first class. But now We have in mind a more signal form of devotion which shall be in a manner the crowning perfection of all the honors that people have been accustomed to pay to the Sacred Heart, and which We confidently trust will be most pleasing to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer

St. Mechtildis: “I saw one day,” she says, “the Son of God. He held in His hands His own Heart, which was brighter than the sun, and shed rays of light from every part. It was then that our loving Saviour made known to me, that, from the plenitude of that Divine Heart issue all the graces which God pours continually upon men, according to the capacity of each.” (Sp. Works of St. Mechtildis, book ii. ch. 18.)

 “‘Standing by the cross of Jesus was hit mother’ (Jn. 19:25). The Virgin, with her mother’s grief, participated in a quite particular way in the Passion of Jesus, cooperating deeply with the salvation of mankind. Like Mary, each of us can and must unite with the suffering Jesus in order to become, with his own pain, an active part in the redemption of the world which he effected in the Paschal Mystery. With these wishes, may my comforting blessing, strengthened by Mary’s motherly help, accompany you and those who lovingly assist you in daily offering   Pope St. John Paul II

Love the Immaculata! Confide in her and consecrate yourself to her without reservation. Strive to do everything as she herself would do it in your place, especially by loving God as she loves Him. —St. Maximilian Kolbe

"Through perseverance in its spiritual exercises without consolation or satisfaction, the soul practices the love of God."   -St. John of the Cross

When, my God, will I finally see my soul joined together in Your praise, so that all its faculties may enjoy You ?  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Book of Her Life - chapter 30: 16

Why should we defend ourselves when we are misunderstood and misjudged? Let us leave that aside. Let us not say anything. It is so sweet to let others judge us in any way they like. O blessed silence, which gives so much peace to the soul!   St. Therese of Lisieux

Our Guardian Angels are our most faithful friends!     -St.John Vianney

“One in essence, distinction of persons, such is the mystery of the Trinity, such is the inner life of God.  The three angles of a triangle do not make three triangles but one; as the heat, power, and light of the sun do not make three suns but one; as water, air, and steam are all manifestations of the one substance; as the form, color, and perfume of the rose do not make three roses, but one; as our soul, our intellect, and our will do not make three substances, but one; as one times one times one times one does not equal three, but one, so too in some much more mysterious way, there are three Persons in God and yet only one God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Divine Romance)

“To fail in charity is like wounding God in the pupil of his eye. What is more delicate than the pupil of the eye? To fail in charity is like failing against nature.”    St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“Talk to the Three Persons, to God the Father, to God the Son, to God the Holy Spirit. And so as to reach the Blessed Trinity, go through Mary.” (St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, # 543)

Pope St. Agatho: “but we preserve,” said he, with simplicity of heart, “the faith, which our fathers have handed down to us.” (Fr. Alban Butler, Feast of Pope St. Agatho)

“...the agency of the Almighty Grace, which both in this world heals many, and in the world to come will heal all the maladies of our minds and bodies, and, satisfying our desires after good things, crown us for ever with its mercy and compassion. Amen.”   St. Bede the Venerable   (From his work “On the Life of St. Cuthbert”)

"When we were little, we kept close to our mother in a dark alley or if dogs barked at us. Now, when we feel temptations of the flesh, we should run to the side of our Mother in heaven, by realizing how she is to us, and by means of aspirations. She will defend us and lead us to the light." — St. Josemaria Escriva

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

I hope that your example attracts many souls to the adoration of Jesus Christ who is present on the altar to be of comfort and hope to those who confide in him with faith and love; they look on him as the Emmanuel, God with us, who wished to dwell amongst us: his heart in our heart.    Pope St. John Paul II

The Motherly Heart of Mary has a great desire to give us grace. This desire is even greater than our desire to receive grace! —St. Alphonsus Liguori

"Then I heard the words, "I am glad you behaved like My true daughter. Be always merciful as I am merciful. Love everyone out of love for Me, even your greatest enemies, so that My mercy may be fully reflected in your heart". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary 1695)

In order to be right, let us leave the giving to His will since we have alreadyvgiven Him our own. His name be forever hallowed in heaven and on earth, and may His will be always done in me.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection -bchapter 42 : 4

"All true children of God have God for their father and Mary for their mother; anyone who does not have Mary for his mother, does not have God for his father. This is why the reprobate, such as heretics and schismatics, who hate, despise or ignore the Blessed Virgin, do not have God for their father though they arrogantly claim they have, because they do not have Mary for their mother. Indeed if they had her for their mother they would love and honour her as good and true children naturally love and honour the mother who gave them life."  - Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

"Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you."  - St. Augustine of Hippo

“In what does your life consist except two things: (1) Active duties; and (2) passive circumstances.  The first is under your control; do these in God’s name.  The second is outside your control; these submit to in God’s name.  Consider only the present; leave the past to God’s justice, the future to His Providence.  Perfection of personality does not consist in knowing God’s plan, but in submitting to it as it reveals itself in the circumstances of life.  There is really one shortcut to sanctity – the one Mary chose in the Visitation, the one Our Lord chose in Gethsemane – abandonment to the Divine Will.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Seven Words of Jesus and Mary

“Do not be at all surprised at your weakness, but acknowledge what you are, and blush at your infidelity towards God, then confide in Him and abandon yourself tranquilly in the arms of the Heavenly Father, like a child in the arms of its mother.”   St. Pio of Pietrlcina

“In that [synod of the Angles] it is distinctly recognized that such a decree and judgment is very firmly commanded and diligently demonstrated, so that whoever had been washed without the invocation of the Trinity, he has not been perfected, unless he shall have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”    Pope St. Zachary, “Sacris Liminibus”, May 1, 748

“Love does not stay idle.”. — St. Catherine of Siena, Letter 182 

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

Everything that the Son asks of the Father is granted. Likewise, everything that the Mother asks of her Son is also granted. —St. John Vianney

He wants us to desire sublime and great things; we, here below, desire base and earthly things. He would want us to desire only what is secure; we, here below, love the dubious.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 42 : 4

“In the same way that a powerful medicine cures an illness, so illness itself is a medicine to cure passion. And there is much profit of soul in bearing illness quietly and giving thanks to God.”   St. Syncletica of Alexandria

“In vain will our sacred discourses strike the external ear, unless God by a spiritual gift opens the hearing of the interior man.”  St. Fulgentius of Ruspe (468 - 533)

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

“Ethical Christianity has failed.  Western Civilization is not just suffering from a famine of spiritual values; it is not even caring about them.  It is now seeking to stuff itself with the husks of the secular, the economic, the political, the worldly.  This new thing which no longer is concerned with the soul, but with the belly, is a philosophy of life which mobilizes souls for economic and secular ends, a Ceasarism or adoration of the State, a glorification of the human collective through the depersonalization of man, and a suffocation of human personality and its subsequent absorption into the mass.  Sometimes it takes only the form of a race-worship such as Nazism and at other times the form of economic worship such as Communism.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Communism and the Conscience of the West)

“Sin arises simply from loving what God hates and hating what God loves.” (St. Catherine of Siena, Letter [T29] to Regina della Scala of Milan)

Pope St. Sergius I, letter to Abbot Ceolfrid, says that certain difficult questions have arisen, and he is in need of learned men to aid him in looking into them; and therefore he asks Ceolfrid to send him without delay “that religious servant of God, Bede (religiosum Dei famulum Bedam), a priest of your monastery.” (Source: Horace Kinder Mann, in his work “The Lives of the Popes of the Early Middle Ages”, Part I, pg. 84, pub. 1903)

“And I pray thee, loving Jesus, that as Thou hast graciously given me to drink in with delight the words of Thy knowledge, so Thou wouldst mercifully grant me to attain one day to Thee, the fountain of all wisdom and to appear forever before Thy face.” St. Bede the Venerable  (Cited by Thurston, Herbert. “The Venerable Bede.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907.)

“Even if the whole world should rise up to destroy us, nothing will happen except what God, in whom we have put our hope, will allow.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

“Now then, let me strip down for the fight against the Jews themselves, so that the victory may be more glorious—so that you will learn that they are abominable and lawless and murderous and enemies of God. For there is no evidence of wickedness I can proclaim that is equal to this. But, in order to amass forensic-style speeches against them, I shall first demonstrate that even if they had not been deprived of their ancestral way of life, even so their fast would be polluted and impure—and I shall provide the proofs from the Law itself, and from Moses. For if it was lawless when it was observed while the Law was in effect and in power, so much the more now that the Law has ceased. And I shall demonstrate that not only the fast, but also all the other practices which they observe—sacrifices and purifications and festivals—are all abominable. And when the very manner of purification is illegal as practiced, and would be rejected as loathsome, which of their other [rituals] can purify them thereafter?”  St. John Chrysostom   (Adversus Judaeos; Oratio 2)

People must not attempt to impose their own 'truth' on others. The right to profess the truth must always be upheld, but not in a way that involves contempt for those who may think differently. Truth imposes itself solely by the force of its own truth.  Pope St. John Paul II

The incomparable Mother of God is the purest golden censer. In her our prayers are offered to the Eternal God. —St. Ephrem

He wants us to desire the eternal : we, here below, lean towards what comes to an end.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 42 : 4

“When we appeal to the throne of grace we do so through Mary, honoring God by honoring His Mother, imitating Him by exalting her, touching the most responsive chord in the sacred heart of Christ with the sweet name of Mary.” (St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor)

“If you are sinful, repent so that you can communicate often. If you are imperfect, go often to Communion that you may amend your faults.”  St. Claude de la Colombiere (1641 - 1682)

Finally, the chapel was opened. I found it difficult to pray because I was already feeling very exhausted, and immediately after Holy Communion I returned to my room. Then I saw the Lord, who said to me, "Know, My daughter, that the ardour of your heart is pleasing to Me. And just as you desire ardently to become united with Me in Holy Communion, so too do I desire to give Myself wholly to you; and as a reward for your zeal, rest on My Heart". At that moment, my spirit was immersed in His Being, like a drop in a bottomless ocean. I drowned myself in Him as in my sole treasure. Thus I came to recognise that the Lord allows certain difficulties for His greater glory.  WORDS OF. JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA  (Diary No. 826)

"May I give you some advice for you to put into practice daily? When your heart makes you feel those low cravings, say slowly to the Immaculate Virgin: Look on me with compassion. Don't abandon me. Don't abandon me, my Mother! – And recommend this prayer to others."   - St. Josemaría Escrivá

“There is a law that is not in nature, at least not in raw nature, namely, We who are strong should bear the infirmities of the weak and not please ourselves.  It is here that Christianity makes it most unique and distinctive pronouncement, and gives the supreme example of Divinity dying for the weakness and sinfulness of humanity.  The Christian law is not the survival of the fittest but the survival of the unfit.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)

“Pray that God will console you when you feel the burden of the Cross, for in doing so you are in no way acting against the will of God, but you are placing yourself beside the Son of God who asked His Father during the Agony in the Garden to send Him some relief. But if He is not willing to give it be ready to pronounce the same 'Fiat,' 'So be it,' that Jesus did.”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Pope Pius XII, Haurietis aquas (Latin: “You will draw waters”), encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart, May 15, 1956, Par. 85: “Nothing therefore prevents our adoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ as having a part in and being the natural and expressive symbol of the abiding love with which the divine Redeemer is still on fire for mankind. Though it is no longer subject to the varying emotions of this mortal life, yet it lives and beats and is united inseparably with the Person of the divine Word and, in Him and through Him, with the divine Will. Since then the Heart of Christ is overflowing with love both human and divine and rich with the treasure of all graces which our Redeemer acquired by His life, sufferings and death, it is therefore the enduring source of that charity which His Spirit pours forth on all the members of His Mystical Body.”

“In this adorable Heart, we find all the weapons necessary for our defence, all the remedies suited to the cure of our diseases, all the most powerful aids against the assaults of our enemies, all the sweetest consolations to alleviate our sufferings, all the purest delights to fill our souls with joy. Cor Christi cœleste gazophilacium et erarium est.”.  St. Peter Damian  (St. Peter Damian, Excell. of St. John Evang., serm. 1).  

“It is an obligation for us to inconvenience ourselves for the service of the poor.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

Deepen you knowledge of Jesus which ends loneliness, overcomes sadness and uncertainty, gives real meaning to life, curbs passions, exalts ideals, expands energies in charity, brings light into decisive choices. Let Christ be for you the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Pope St. John Paul II

Everyone loves Him there, and the soul itself doesn't think about anything else than loving Him; nor can it cease loving Him, because it knows Him.  St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Way of Perfection - chapter 30 : 5

Mary is the vessel and tabernacle containing all mysteries. All that was hidden from preceding generations was made known to her. Even more, most of the wonders of the Divine plan of salvation depended on her. —St. Gregory the Wonderworker

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

 

"A glance of love cast towards Jesus and the knowledge of our profound misery makes reparation for everything."  ~St. Therese of Lisieux

“God desires from you the least degree of purity of conscience more than all the works you can perform.”  St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)

"Oh, how painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust Me. I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat Me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy".  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST . FAUSTINA. (Diary No. 1447)

“There seems to be an insane dread of using moral terms, or even condemning anything on moral grounds.  Psychological terms, the lingo of sociology, even medical terms such as ‘complexes’ are invoked with an air of scientific certitude, but bad or good, right or wrong seem to be scrupulously avoided. About the only time the world good is used is when the mother of a bad boy, a mother who completely neglected her husband and her children, is quoted in the press as saying of her son who has just committed murder, ‘He was a good boy.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (On Being Human)

“Doubting is the biggest insult to Divinity.”  St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Blessed Pope Urban II, Letter of Instruction to the Crusaders, December 1095: “Urban, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful, both princes and subjects, waiting in Flanders; greeting, apostolic grace, and blessing.Your brotherhood, we believe, has long since learned from many accounts that a barbaric fury has deplorably afflicted and laid waste the churches of God in the regions of the Orient. More than this, blasphemous to say, it has even grasped in intolerable servitude its churches and the Holy City of Christ, glorified by His passion and resurrection. Grieving with pious concern at this calamity, we visited the regions of Gaul and devoted ourselves largely to urging the princes of the land and their subjects to free the churches of the East. We solemnly enjoined upon them at the council of Auvergne (the accomplishment of) such an undertaking, as a preparation for the remission of all their sins. And we have constituted our most beloved son, Adhemar, Bishop of Puy, leader of this expedition and undertaking in our stead, so that those who, perchance, may wish to undertake this journey should comply With his commands, as if they were our own, and submit fully to his loosings or bindings, as far as shall seem to belong to such an office. If, moreover, there are any of your people whom God has inspired to this vow, let them know that he (Adhemar) will set out with the aid of God on the day of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary, and that they can then attach themselves to his following. (August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants, (Princeton: 1921), 42-43)

 “Sweetness of the Name of Mary During Life and at Death”: “Moreover, it is well known, and is daily experienced by the clients of Mary, that her powerful name gives the particular strength necessary to overcome temptations against purity. The same author in his commentary on the words of St. Luke, and the Virgin's name was Mary ("Et nomen Virginis Maria"--Luke i. 27), remarks that these two words, Mary and Virgin, are joined together by the Evangelist, to denote that the name of this most pure Virgin should always be coupled with the virtue of chastity" ("Nomini Mariae virginitas et sanctitas inseparabiliter sunt adjuncta"--Loco cit.). Hence St. Peter Chrysologus says, "that the name of Mary is an indication of chastity" ("Nomen hoc, indicium castitatis"--Serm. 146), meaning, that when we doubt as to whether we have consented to thoughts against this virtue, if we remember having invoked the name of Mary, we have a certain proof that we have not sinned”. St. Alphonsus De Liguori,

“Let us establish ourselves in total dependence on God, trusting that in so doing whatever men say or do against us will turn to the good.”  – St. Vincent de Paul

When we go before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament we represent the one in the world who is in most need of God's Mercy." We "Stand in behalf of the one in the world who does not know Christ and who is farthest away from God and we bring down upon their soul the Precious Blood of The Lamb.
Pope St. John Paul II

Mary is the sure way to go to Jesus and to find Him perfectly. It is through her that holy souls, who are to radiate holiness, must find Jesus! —St. Louis Grignion de Montfort

The great good that it seems to me there will be in the kingdom of heaven, among many other blessings, is that one will no longer take any account of earthly things, but have a calmness and glory within, rejoice in the fact that all are rejoicing.    St Teresa of Jesus of Avila. The Way of Perfection - chapter 30 : 5

"Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, hugging it to My Merciful Heart (...) before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy”.  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA.  - (Diary, 1588).

“God’s side is determined not by geography, but by those who do His will. If Germans, English, Japanese, and Americans prayed right, they would all be praying for the same intention: Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  And what is that Will? The reign of Justice and Charity in the hearts of men.  Through a prayerful contemplation of war we will see not soldiers of different nations in combat, but one great family, quarreling, fighting, wounding, and all in need of the peace and charity of Christ which we hope to obtain by our supplications.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Wartime Prayer Book)