Nothing is impossible for God and Mary Help of Christians   - St. John Bosco

A kindness received should be returned with a freer hand.   - Saint Ambrose

"Do small things with great love."    - St. Teresa of Calcutta

Consolation is solitude.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Foundation - Chapter 1:6

“'Proclaim that mercy is the greatest attribute of God. All the works of My hands are crowned with mercy.'”  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 30)

“Our Lord sends the crosses; we do not have to invent them.”   - St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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

“The day of the Nativity of the Mother of God is a day of universal joy, because through the Mother of God, the entire human race was renewed, and the sorrow of the first mother, Eve, was transformed into joy.”   - St. John Damascene

“The very first question we asked when we came into the world was the question ‘Why?’ – a question which betrays that we are all born incipient philosophers.  As children, we tear apart our toys to find out what makes the wheels go round.  As grown-ups, never having lost the desire to know the ‘Why’ and ‘Wherefore’ of things, we tear apart, by our mental analysis, the very toy of the universe to find out what makes its wheels go round.  We turn our telescopes on the sun and ask it to divulge its secrets; we ask the stars to tell us the story of their twinkling, and the very ocean to surrender the mystery of its depth.  We are incurably bent on knowing and discovering the truth of things – that is why we hate to have secrets kept from us.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Catholic Hour)

“I plead with you--never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”    -  Pope St. John Paul II

“O sir, what a faithful image of Our Lord is participation in the meekness and humility of his heart! How it portrays his manner of acting, especially when firmness accompanies it.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“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.”   - St. Teresa of Calcutta

"'You are uncommonly loved,' loved by that love of preference that the Master had here below for some and which brought them so far. He does not say to you as to Peter: 'do you love me more than these?' Mother, listen to what he tells you: 'Let yourself be loved more than these! That is, without fearing that any obstacle will be a hindrance to it, for I am free to pour out my love on whom I wish! 'Let yourself be loved more than these' is your vocation. It is in being faithful to it that you will make me happy for you will magnify the power of my love this love can rebuild what you have destroyed. Let yourself be loved more than these." --St Elizabeth of the Trinity to Mother Prioress Germaine, 'Let Yourself Be Loved' October 1906. From The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity Vol I

"If I am tempted to leave Thee, do not Thou, O my God, leave me."   -part of a prayer by Blessed John Henry Newman

Lord Jesus, Who in the Eucharist make your dwelling among us and become our traveling companion, sustain our Christian communities so that they may be ever more open to listening and accepting your Word. May they draw from the Eucharist a renewed commitment to spreading in society, by the proclamation of your Gospel, the signs and deeds of an attentive and active charity
Pope St.  John Paul II

“Those who sought to discourage the Israelites from going up to the Promised Land, told them that it was ‘a land which eateth up the inhabitants thereof;’ that is, that the climate was so unhealthy that the inhabitants could not live long, and that the people thereof were ‘men of a great stature,’ who looked upon the new-comers as mere locusts to be devoured.
It is just so, my child, that the world runs down true devotion, painting devout people with gloomy, melancholy aspect, and affirming that religion makes them dismal and unpleasant. But even as Joshua and Caleb protested that not only was the Promised Land a fair and pleasant country, but that the Israelites would take an easy and peaceful possession thereof, so the Holy Spirit tells us through His Saints, and our Lord has told us with His Own Lips, that a devout life is very sweet, very happy and very loveable    - St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Pt. I, Ch. II

“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is,
whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”   - Sister Lucia dos Santos (Fatima seer)

"Refer what good one sees in himself, not to self, but to God."    - St. Benedict (480 – 543)

In everything concerning themselves they trust in His mercy.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII:3:14

“Today, the Lord said to me, ‘Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul.’”
   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1602a)

“When we do the will of others, we must realize we are doing God's will, which is manifested for us in the will of our Superiors and neighbor.”    St. Pio of Pietrecina

“Even while living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness and compassion for men that no one ever suffered so much for their own pains, as Mary suffered for the pains of her children.”   - Saint Jerome

“Pleasure is associated with the body; for instance, we feel pleasure after a good meal.  Joy is of the heart, and it comes from a good conscience.  Joy hears music on the inside even when discords are ringing outside.  Pleasure depends on outward circumstances, for example, wealth, friends, and wine, and therefore it can be obliterated by the slightest toothache.  Joy is independent of outward circumstances; it can be felt even in adversity and pain.” Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life is Worth Living)

The glorious Virgin was raised to the dignity of Mother of the King of kings. Accordingly, the Church honors her with the radiant title of Queen and asks us to do the same.   - St. Alphonsus Liguori

"Be a Catholic! When you kneel before the altar, do it in such a way that others may be able to recognize that you know before Whom you kneel."   -St. Maximilian Kolbe

"When we say, "My God, I believe, I believe firmly, " that is, without the least doubt, without the least hesitation. . . Oh, if we were penetrated with these words: "I firmly believe that Thou art present everywhere, that Thou seest me, that I am under Thine eyes, that one day I myself shall see Thee clearly, that I shall enjoy all the good things Thou hast promised me! O my God, I hope that Thou wilt reward me for all that I have done to please Thee! O my God, I love Thee; my heart is made to love Thee!" Oh, this act of faith, which is also an act of love, would suffice for everything! If we understood our own happiness in I being able to love God, we should remain motionless in ecstasy."   - St John Vianney.

“God does nothing without some good purpose.”  - St. Vincent de Paul

"He who has God has everything, and he who has not God has nothing." St. Augustine (354.-430.)

“Peace is built on the foundation of justice.” (Pope St. John Paul II; Encyclical – Centesimus annus, §5, May 1, 1991)

“To be submissive does not mean to be a slave, but to be free for holy advice.”   St. Pio of Pietrecina

"Do not be absorbed in your misery — you are still too weak to speak of it — but, rather, gaze on My Heart filled with goodness, and be imbued with My sentiments. Strive for meekness and humility; be merciful to others, as I am to you; and, when you feel your strength failing, if you come to the fountain of mercy to fortify your soul, you will not grow weary on your journey.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1486)

Their glory lies in being able some way to help the Crucified, especially when they see He is offended and that few there are who, detached from everything else, really look after His honor.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 3 : 6

“If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon our Lady, just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.' I must admit, this prayer has never failed me.”
- St. Teresa of Calcutta

“The revealing act of Harod is his treatment of John the Baptist.  He had invited John the Baptist into his palace not to hear the truth of his preaching but to enjoy the thrill of his oratory.  There are so many in the world that way: they do not want to be better; they want only to feel better.  But John was not the type of preacher who toned down his Gospel to suit the paganism of his hearers.  Because he condemned Herod’s second marriage, he lost his head.  Everyone in the world at one time loses his head, but it is better to lose one’s head John’s way in the defense of truth, rather than Harod’s way, to wine and passion.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation (Characters of Passion)

I want to be a devoted servant of the Heavenly Father. Therefore, I faithfully desire to be the servant of the Mother.    - St. Ildephonsus

“Let us pine for the City where we are citizens… By pining, we are already there; we have already cast our hope, like an anchor, on that coast. I sing of somewhere else, not of here; for I sing with my heart, not my flesh. The citizens of Babylon hear the sound of the flesh, the Founder of Jerusalem hears the tune of the heart.”   - St. Augustine of Hippo

“Christian is my name, and Catholic my surname. The one designates me, while the other makes me specific. Thus am I attested and set apart... When we are called Catholics it is by this appellation that our people are kept apart from any heretical name.”   St. Pacian of Barcelona, Letter to Sympronian, 375 A.D

“Afflictions are the most certain proofs that God can give us of His love for us.”    St. Vincent de Paul (1581.-1660.)

The soul's pain lies in seeing that what it can now do by its own efforts amounts to nothing.  For no earthly thing would it fail to do all it can and understands to be for the service of our Lord.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 3 : 3

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

“God enriches the soul that divests itself of everything.”    St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"The world being unworthy to receive the Son of God directly from the hands of the Father, he gave his Son to Mary for the world to receive him from her."

- Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

“In 397, or twelve years after his conversion, Augustine wrote his Confessions, the greatest spiritual autobiography ever written.  It is the work of a teacher who explains, a philosopher who thinks, a theologian who instructs, a poet who achieves chaste beauty in the writing, and a mystic who pours out thanks for having found himself in peace.  None of the Freuds or Jungs or Adlers of our generation has ever pierced the conscious and the unconscious mind with a rapier as keen as Augustine’s.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life is Worth Living)

Forgetfulness of self... employs all it has in procuring the honor of God ... For this purpose the soul would very willingly lay down its life.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - VII : 3 : 2

The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.   - St. Anthony of Padua

“Bitterness has never served any purpose but to embitter.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"Even if Catholics faithful to Tradition are reduced to a handful, they are the ones who are the true Church of Jesus Christ."   -St. Athanasius

“Humility is truth, truth is humility.”     St. Pio of Pietrelcina

While I was saying the chaplet, I heard a voice which said, "Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who say this chaplet; the very depths of My tender mercy are stirred for the sake of those who say the chaplet. Write down these words, My daughter. Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth for them". O human souls, where are you going to hide on the day of God's anger: Take refuge now in the fount of God's mercy. O what a great multitude of souls I see! They worshiped the Divine Mercy and will be singing the hymn of praise for all eternity.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 848)

“We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love.”    -  St. Teresa of Calcutta

“O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all your necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity.”   - Saint Basil the Great

“As the spokes of a wheel are united because they all are united in the hub, so we can be united only in our center who is God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Seven Pillars of Peace)

The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.   - St. Anthony of Padua

Praise be to Mary! Let all hearts give themselves to Mary so that she may fill them with her Heart and the Heart of Jesus!    - St. John Eudes

"In the light of faith you see things quite differently."   -St. John Baptist de La Salle

As the Queen of Mercy, Mary throws open the abyss of God’s mercies to anyone she pleases, when she pleases, and as she pleases. Hence, there are no sinners who will be lost when she intercedes for them! —St. Bernard

“A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the Angels in the sunshine of eternity.”   -  Saint John Vianney.

“The worst kind of heretic is the one who, while teaching mostly true Catholic doctrine, add a word of heresy, like a drop of poison in a cup of water.”   - Pope Leo XIII

“Self-esteem, the offspring of pride, is more malicious than the mother herself.”   - St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Today I heard the words: In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. 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, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy. I replied, "O my Jesus, speak to souls Yourself, because my words are insignificant."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1588)  

This state is the place where the little butterfly we mentioned dies, and with the greatest joy  because its life is now Christ.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 2 : 5

"The title of Mary as our mother is not merely symbolic. Mary is our mother in the most real and lofty sense, a sense which surpasses that of earthly maternity. She begot our life of grace for us because she offered up her entire being, body and soul, as the Mother of God."   - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Let us not accept violence as the way of peace. Let us instead begin by respecting true freedom: the resulting peace will be able to satisfy the world's expectations, for it will be a peace built on justice, a peace founded on the incomparable dignity of the free human being.  Pope St. John Paul II

“A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the Angels in the sunshine of eternity.”   -  Saint John Vianney.

“Judas was more zealous in the cause of the enemy than he was in the cause of Our Lord.  Men who leave the Church in like manner seek to atone for their uneasy consciences by attacking the Church.  Since their consciences will not leave them alone, they will not leave the Guide of their consciences alone.  The Voltaire who left the Church was the Voltaire who scoffed.  Their hatred is not due to their unbelief, but their unbelief is due to their hatred.  The Church makes them uneasy in their sin and they fell that if they could drive the Church from the world they could sin with impunity.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Characters of the Passion)

"Moreover the strongest support is provided not only to protect the young from evil, but also to rouse them and attract them more easily and gently to the performance of good works. Like the twigs of plants, the young are easily influenced, as long as someone works to change their souls. But if they are allowed to grow hard, we know well that the possibility of one day bending them diminishes a great deal and is sometimes utterly lost."    - St. Joseph Calasanz

"The most beautiful day: Today
The easiest thing: Equivocate
The biggest obstacle: Fear
The gravest error: give up, to despair
The root of all evils: Egoism
The most beautiful occupation: Work
The worst route to follow: Faintheartedness
The best teachers: Children
The first necessity: TO communicate
The greatest happiness: To be useful to others
The greatest mystery: Death
The worst defect: Bad temper
The most dangerous being: The liar'
The most wretched feeling: The grudge
The most beautiful gift: Forgiveness
The most indispensable: home
The quickest way: The correct one
The most comfortable feeling: Interior peace
The most powerful weapon: The smile
The best remedy: Optimism
The greatest satisfaction: The duty done
The most powerful force: Faith
The most needed beings: The parents
The most beautiful of all: Love."

- St. Teresa of Calcutta

The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history.   - Pope St. John Paul II

"If God send thee adversity, receive it in patience and give thanks to our Saviour and bethink thee that thou hast deserved it, and that He will make it turn to thine advantage. If He send thee prosperity, then thank Him humbly, so that thou becomest not worse from pride or any other cause, when thou oughtest to be better. For we should not fight against God with his own gifts."   - St. Loius , King of France

"When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness; welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence."   - St. Francis de Sales

Between the spiritual betrothal 

and the spiritual marriage the difference is as great as that which exists between two who are betrothed and two who can no longer be separated.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 2 : 2

“Love and practice simplicity and humility and don't worry about the opinion of the world, because if this world had nothing to say against us, we would not be real servants of God.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"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"   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST FAUSTINA   (Diary 1146).

“Seek God in all things. In all your actions submit your motives to this unerring test: will this be approved by his all-seeing eye?”   – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

“Pain in itself is not unbearable; it is the failure to understand its meaning that is unbearable.  If that thief did not see purpose in pain he would never have saved his soul.  Pain can be the death of our soul, or it can be its life.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Rainbow of Sorrow)

When the Blessed Virgin conceived the Eternal Word in her womb and gave Him birth, she obtained half the Kingdom of God. She became Queen of Mercy, and her Son remained King of Justice!     - St. Thomas Aquinas

The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.   - St. Anthony of Padua

Mary consented to be the Mother of the Eternal Word. At that very moment, she merited to be made the Queen of the world and all creatures. —St. Alphonsus Liguori

“There is no charity without justice, nor does it permit us to do more than we reasonably can.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

The best, the surest and the most effective way of establishing PEACE on the face of the earth is through the great power of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  Pope St. John Paul II

Our Lady of La Salette to Maximian: “If the people persist in disregarding the laws which they are bound to observe [not working on Sunday; not blaspheming], they may sow their corn if they will, it will come to nothing, the worms and insects shall devour it in the blade, and the blight shall consume the little that falls into ear. The grapes shall rot and fall off; the nut trees shall be blasted. Then shall follow a famine, when convulsions shall seize upon the little children, and they shall die in the arms 0f their mothers and nurses.”

“When we leave the holy banquet, we are as happy as the Wise Men would have been, if they could have carried away the Infant Jesus.”    -St. Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney, Cure d’Ars

Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor… Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.    St. Teresa of Calcutta

Nothing is impossible for God and Mary Help of Christians   - St. John Bosco

The Lord represented Himself to her, just after she had received Communion, in the form of shining splendor, beauty, and majesty, as He was after His resurrection, and told her that now it was time that she consider as her own what belonged to Him and that He would take care of what was hers.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII:2:1

“The world does not esteem us because we are children of God; let us console ourselves that at least once in a while it recognizes the truth and does not lie.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Wednesday, August 23 Tell My Priests Hardened Sinners Will Repent  The Lord said to me, My daughter, do not tire of proclaiming My mercy. In this way you will refresh this Heart of Mine, which burns with a flame of pity for sinners. Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 1521).

“Believe me, there is no more powerful means to obtain God’s grace than to employ the intercessions of the Holy Virgin.”    - St. Philip Neri

“It is a common human standard to judge virtues by the vices from which we abstain; and to find the wickedness of others an excuse for our own: ‘I am just as good as the next fellow’”.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Love One Another)

Mary sits at the right hand of Jesus like a Queen. She is the most safe refuge for and the most fruitful helper of all who are in danger, so there is no reason to fear.    Pope St. Pius X

It has strong confidence that since God has granted this favor He will not allow it to lose the favor. Though the soul thinks this, it goes about with greater care than ever not to displease Him in anything.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - VII : 1 : 8

“If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins "you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory." Even ifyou are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if - and mark well what I say - if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.”     St. Louis Marie de Montfort

“Ask God to sanctify your dear soul more and more so that, always and in all things, you may act in a holy manner.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“When we serve the poor and the sick we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.”   - St. Rose of Lima

“If you persevere in reciting the Rosary, this will be a most probable sign of your eternal salvation.”   - Blessed Alan de la Roche

“Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggles increase.”    - St. Rose of Lima

"The Holy Rosary is a powerful weapon use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the result."    -St Josemaria Escriva

"We can only lead others to what we practice ourselves.."    St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

“Be careful never to become discouraged when you are surrounded by spiritual infirmities. If God allows you to fall in some weakness it is not to abandon you, but only to establish you in humility and make you more careful in the future.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties, obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul".   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1777)

“The day of the Nativity of the Mother of God is a day of universal joy, because through the Mother of God, the entire human race was renewed, and the sorrow of the first mother, Eve, was transformed into joy.”    - St. John Damascene

Every act of reverence, every genuflection that you make before the Blessed Sacrament is important because it is an act of faith in Christ, and act of love for Christ. And every sign of the cross and gesture of respect made each time you pass a church is also an act of faith.  Pope St. John Paul II

“We are living in perilous times when the hearts and souls of men are sorely tried. Never before has the future been so utterly unpredictable; we are not so much in a period of transition with belief in progress to push us on, rather we seem to be entering the realm of the unknown, joylessly, disillusioned, and without hope.  The whole world seems to be in a state of spiritual widowhood, possessed of the harrowing devastation of one who set out on life’s course joyously in intimate comradeship with another, and then is bereft of that companion forever.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Prodigal World)

Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on His Mother. The more Mary is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son.    - St. Bernard

“Charity is like a flame which soars aloft. When present in a soul, charity raises it aloft to God and draws God to it in such a way that if you could see the beauty of it, you would fall in love with it and be transported with astonishment.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"How much malice there is in me!"   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

 Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary  “I tell myself: A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set the whole world on fire with God's love. Nothing daunts him; he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander, and rejoices in suffering. His only concern is how he can best follow Jesus Christ and imitate Him in working, suffering, and striving constantly and single-mindedly for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls.”  St. Anthony Mary Claret

"I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally....My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath.".  - St. John Vianney.

“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 close she is to us, and by means of aspirations. She will defend us and lead us to the light.”    St. Josemaría Escrivá

Here all three Persons communicate themselves to it, speak to it, and explain those words of the Lord in the Gospel : that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit will come to dwell with the soul that loves Him and keeps His commandments.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 1 : 6

Jesus: My daughter, do you think you have written enough about My mercy? What you have written is but a drop compared to the ocean. I am Love and Mercy Itself. There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted – it increases. The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I Myself take care of it.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1273)

“Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Deuteronomy 22:5
"A woman shall not be clothed with manly apparel, nor shall a man make use of feminine apparel. For whoever does these things is abominable with God."

“Mary receives praise as a mirror receives light: She stores it not, nor even acknowledged it, but makes it pass from her to God to whom is due all praise, all honor and thanksgiving.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (World’s First Love)

As long as there is violence in the womb there will be no peace on earth. Period.  St Teresa of Calcutta

“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers, it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God … and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”   Pope St. Pius X

“Abandon yourself to God’s paternal embrace in the hope that He Himself will accomplish in you what He expects of you and will bless whatever you do for Him. Therefore keep your heart ready to receive peace and joy of the Holy Spirit.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"Whoever bears the mark of devotion to Mary, God recognizes
as His own."   - St Alphonsus Liguori

“We cannot with all our heart forgive someone who does us wrong unless we possess real knowledge. For this knowledge shows us that we deserve all we experience.”    St. Mark the Ascetic (5th c.)

When our Lord is pleased to have pity in this soul that He has already taken spiritually as His Spouse because of what it suffers and has suffered through its desires, He brings it, before the spiritual marriage is consummated, into His dwelling place which is this seventh.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 1 : 3

"My daughter, if I demand through you that people revere My mercy, you should be the first to distinguish yourself by this confidence in My mercy. I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbours always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it"   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 742)

“If God were to take away all that He has given us, we would be in rags.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

”There is no surer or easier way than Mary in uniting all men with Christ.”    – Pope St. Pius X

“We cannot claim our share in the forgiveness of the first word from the Cross, unless we are ready to make excuses for others, as our Lord made them for us.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Seven Capital Sins)

The Heart of Mary is a sun that spreads its rays and its warmth throughout the world. It is constantly working in every possible way for the salvation of souls.    -St. John Eudes

The true measure of loving GOD is to love HIM without measure   St Bernard of  Clairvaux

“Our Lord always has a share in replies which we make honestly, stating things just as they are, and He blesses them.”   - St. Vincent de Paul

“When we leave the holy banquet, we are as happy as the Wise Men would have been, if they could have carried away the Infant Jesus.”    St. Jean-Baptiste Marie Vianney, Cure d’Ars

“I do not want to curse anybody, nor take vengeance, I want to be good towards everyone.”   - Blessed Georg Häfner, OCDS

"Peace is built on the foundation of justice.” (Saint John Paul II; Encyclical – Centesimus annus, §5, May 1, 1991)

What God wants from you, you need try to find out from Him face to face.   St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

“And I saw a river over which every soul must pass to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, and the name of that river was suffering … and then I saw a boat which carried souls across the river, and the name of that boat was Love”   - Saint John of the Cross

"I tell you that it is enough to recognize one's nothingness and to abandon one's self like a child in the arms of God."   -  St. Therese of Lisieux

“Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.”   - St. Ignatius of Loyola

“What can I do? Everything comes from God. I possess one thing only, infinite misery.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"My daughter, do you think you have written enough about My mercy? What you have written is but a drop compared to the ocean. I am Love and Mercy itself. There is no misery that could be a match for My mercy, neither will misery exhaust it, because as it is being granted - it increases. The soul that trusts in My mercy is most fortunate, because I myself take care of it"   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1273)

“O Holy Mary! My Mother; into thy blessed trust and special custody, and into the bosom of thy mercy, I this day, and every day, and in the hour of my death, commend my soul and body. To thee I commit all my anxieties and sorrows, my life and the end of my life, that by thy most holy intercession, and by thy merits, all my actions may be directed and governed by thy will and that of thy Son.”   - St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Each one of us has a soul, but since we do not prize souls as it deserved by creatures made in the image of God we do not understand the deep secrets that lie in them.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VII : 1 : 1

When we pray to the Mother of God, we are heard more quickly than when we call directly on Jesus—for He is not only our Lord but also our Judge. However, Mary has no other office except to show compassion. —St. Anselm

O Blessed Virgin, nothing resists your power. God the Father looks upon your glory as if it were His own. And God the Son takes delight in glorifying you and grants your every petition as if He were paying a debt. —St. Gregory of Nicomedia

“The love of husband and wife is less of a continuing thing than it is, like Calvary and the Resurrection, the finding of new life at a moment when it was believed that satiety was the master.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Three to Get Married)

“Mary being in heaven nearer to God and more united to Him, knows our miseries better, compassionates them more, and can more efficaciously assist us.”   -St. Alphonsus de Liguori~

“If you are inclined toward evil you know that God is incomparably more inclined to do good and to do it even in and through you.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus has devotion to Mary”   St. John  Eudes

“To be without Jesus is a grievous hell, and to be with Jesus a sweet paradise.”    –St. Therese of Lisieux

"In one day the Eucharist will make you produce more for the glory of God than a whole lifetime without it."   - St. Peter Julian Eymard

He who wounds the soul draws out the arrow, it indeed seems, in accord with the deep love the soul feels, that God is drawing these very depths after Him.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - VI : 2 : 4

“You should humble yourself before God instead of becoming dejected if He reserves for you the sufferings of his Son and wants you to feel your weakness; you must pray to Him with resignation and hope when you fall through weakness and thank Him for the many benefits with which He enriches you.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

My daughter, consider the life of God which is found in the Church for the salvation and the sanctification of your soul. Consider the use that you make of these treasures of grace, of these efforts of My love   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1758).

“God communicates himself more fully to the soul deprived of human consolation.”   – St. Louise de Marillac

“Man is the shadow, who would be the substance; the pendulum who would swing without being suspended from the clock; the painting which would deny that an artist’s hand ever touched it. The most daring of all sins is that of self-deification, and it is possible only because of a divine creation for who would want to be God unless he had come from the hand of God?” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The World’s First Love)

“Have great confidence in God and never distrust His mercy, which infinitely surpasses all our misery.”   -St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

“…what the Old Testament promised, the New Testament made visible; what the former announces in a hidden way, the latter openly proclaims as present. Therefore the Old Testament is a prophecy of the New Testament; and the best commentary on the Old Testament is the New Testament.”   (Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church, Homiliae in Ezechielem I, VI, 15: PL 76, 836B.)

If you want to grow in perfection, you cannot advance by yourselves—you need a guide. Hence, when you go to God, go through Mary and with Mary!    - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Mary sowed much in tears while on earth, and now she is reaping much in heavenly joy. The same will be true for us. The more spiritual victories we obtain while on earth, the more we will receive in heaven.    - St. Bernard

"Perform big, important works according to your vocation. But never forget... [to] practice those little, humble virtues which grow like flowers at the foot of the cross: helping the poor, visiting the sick, and taking care of your family."   - Saint Francis de Sales

“Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”   St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions – Book I. Chapter I.

“The difference between LOVE and DEVOTION is just that which exists between fire and flame;—love being a spiritual fire which becomes devotion when it is fanned into a flame;—and what devotion adds to the fire of love is that flame which makes it eager, energetic and diligent, not merely in obeying God’s Commandments, but in fulfilling His Divine Counsels and inspirations.”—St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Pt. I, Ch. 1

“It suffices that God sees our hearts.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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

“One word or a pleasing smile is often enough to raise up a saddened and wounded soul.”    -St. Therese of Lisieux

I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Ask yourself  "How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way? ” Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery.   St. Teresa of Calcutta

It does great harm not to believe that God has the power to do thing that our intellects do not understand.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VI : 3 : 7

The heavenly host came forth rejoicing in festal array, to meet the Mother of God. Surrounded with effulgent light, Mary was led amid praises and canticles to the throne prepared for her from the world’s beginning. —St. Jerome

"Write, My daughter, that I am mercy itself for the contrite soul. A soul's greatest wretchedness does not enkindle Me with wrath; but rather, My Heart is moved towards it with great mercy."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 1739)

“In all the events of life, you must recognize the Divine will. Adore and bless it, especially in the things which are the hardest for you.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Mary, mother of our Redeemer… through you, God’s holy people, His Church on earth, appeals for light and strength in this pilgrimage of faith. You have gone before us on the same journey and are now glorified in heaven. Be for us who are still on that journey of faith a true Star of the Sea, leading us to the presence of your Son where He sits at the right hand of the Father, enthroned in glory.”   - Pope St. John Paul II

“True love always imposes restrictions on itself – for the sake of others – whether it be the saint who detaches himself from the world in order more readily to adhere to Christ, or the husband who detaches himself from former acquaintances to belong more readily to the spouse of his choice.  True love, by its nature, is uncompromising; it is the freeing of self from selfishness and egotism.  Real love uses freedom to attach itself unchangeably to another.  If you love God you will never do anything to wound Him.  In married love, likewise, there is perfect freedom, and yet one limitation which preserves that love, and that is the refusal to hurt the beloved.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The World’s First Love)

'But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially break out in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel; that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all, like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly.'--St. Louis de Montfort~

“You have good reason to mistrust yourself, but you have greater reason to put your trust in God.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

" Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. Amen."   St. Teresa of Calcutta

“One man sets great value on fasting, and believes himself to be leading a very devout life, so long as he fasts rigorously, although the while his heart is full of bitterness;—and while he will not moisten his lips with wine, perhaps not even with water, in his great abstinence, he does not scruple to steep them in his neighbour’s blood, through slander and detraction.”   - St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, Introduction to the Devout Life, Ch. 1

“Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.”   - St. Charles Borromeo

“In the evening, Jesus gave me the subject for meditation. At the first moment, my heart was filled with fear and joy. Then I pressed myself close to His Heart, and the fear vanished; only joy remained. I felt entirely like a child of God, and the Lord said to me, ‘Fear nothing. What has been forbidden to others has been given to you. The graces that are not given to other souls to discern, not even from a distance, nourish you every day, like the daily bread.’”    WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1753)

If we don't want to have anything more to do with our own lowliness and misery and if we understand that we are unworthy of being servants of a Lord who is so great we cannot comprehend His wonders !   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - V : 1 : 13

O Mary, may all nations glorify your Immaculate Heart! May the whole earth invoke and bless your Immaculate Heart!    - St. John Vianney

“Let us first look up and then at ourselves. The infinite distance between the azure and the abyss generates humility.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“The day of the Nativity of the Mother of God is a day of universal joy, because through the Mother of God, the entire human race was renewed, and the sorrow of the first mother, Eve, was transformed into joy.”    - St. John Damascene

“The complexes, anxieties, and fears of the modern soul did not exist to such an extent in previous generations because they were shaken off and integrated in Christian civilization.  They are, however, so much a part of modern man that one would think they were tattooed on him.  Whatever his condition, the modern man must be brought back to God and happiness.  If the modern man wants to go to God from the devil, why, then we will even start with the devil: that is what the Divine Lord began with Magdalene, and He told His followers that, with prayer and fasting, they too could start their evangelical work there.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Go to Heaven)

"Our Blessed Lady ought to be our love and our consolation."    - St. Philip Neri

“Take God for your spouse and friend and walk with Him continually, and you will not sin and will learn to love, and the things you must do will work out prosperously for you.”   - St. John of the Cross

“The work of Our Lord is dependent less upon many workers, than upon the fidelity of the few He calls.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"As sailors are guided by a star to the port, so are Christians guided to Heaven by Mary.   - Saint Thomas Aquinas

O Mary, you who are the Mother of Life had to remain always with Life. For you, death could never be anything more than sleep and the Assumption anything more than an act of waking up.   —St. Germanus

"I do not have any other means to prove my love to You, but to throw flowers, that is to let no little sacrifice, no look, no word pass, to take advantage of all the littlest of things and to do them out of love...Hence, I pluck every flower I find on my way, for Jesus. And then as I strew my flowers before Him I desire to sing, although I have had to pluck them among thorns. And the sharper and longer the thorns, the sweeter is my song."   - St. Therese of Lisieux

 His majesty will awaken the soul. His action is as quick as a falling comet. And as clearly as it hears a thunder clap, And even though no sound is heard, the soul understands that it was called by God.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - VI : 2 : 2

My daugther, encourage souls to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace and the hour of their death will be a happy one.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1541)

“Always be lovingly humble before God and man, because God speaks to those whose hearts are truly humble and enriches them with his gifts.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“This is true contentment – to hope for nothing, desire nothing, expect nothing.”   – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Do not forget that true love sets no conditions; it does not calculate or complain, but simply loves. Pope St. John Paul II

“Our Blessed Lord began His public life on the Mount of Beatitudes, by preaching: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.”  He finished His Public Life on the Hill of Calvary by practicing that meekness: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Cross and the Beatitudes)

“Virtue is not found in extremes, but in prudence.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“Indeed, just as her virginity remained intact when she gave birth, so her body, even after death, was preserved from decay and transferred to a better and more divine dwelling place. There it is no longer subject to death but abides for all ages.” (St. John Damascene, priest and Doctor of the Church, Homily 2 on the Dormition)

"Taken up into heaven, Mary shows us the way to God, the way to heaven, the way to life." -Pope St. John Paul II

It always brings profit to other souls during the time that it continues to live virtuously.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - V:3:1

"My child, unite yourself closely to Me during the Sacrifice and offer My Blood and My Wounds to My Father in expiation for the sins of that city. Repeat this without interruption throughout the entire Holy Mass. Do this for seven days."    WORDS OF JESUS  TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 39)

“Humility and charity go together. One glorifies and the other sanctifies. Humility and purity are wings that raise us to God and make us almost divine.” St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

"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

O Mary, Mother of Love, love your Jesus and mine for me. And make me share the love that you bear for Him! —St. John Eudes

“What the Ascension was to our Lord, that the Assumption is to our Lady. Certainly she, the new Garden of Paradise, in which grew the Lily of divine sinlessness and the red Rose of the Church, should not be delivered over and forgotten by the heavenly Gardener. She, in whose womb was celebrated the nuptials of eternity and time is more of eternity than time. If husband and wife in marriage are made two in one flesh, then shall not she who is the new Eve of the new Adam, be not two in one spirit with Him? As Christ ascended into heaven to the unity of the divine nature, so Mary is assumed into heaven in the unity of Christ’s human nature. Her mystical flight is the event to which our whole generation moves. Our age of carnalities, which loves the body beautiful is lifted out of its despair by the Assumption, to honor a body that is beautiful because it is a temple of God, a gate through which the Word of heaven passed to earth, a Tower of Ivory up which climbed divine Love to kiss upon the lips of His Mother a mystic rose.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Fifteen Mysteries)

ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY "AS the most glorious Mother of Christ, our Saviour and God and Giver of life and immortality, has been endowed with life by Him, she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body together with Him Who has raised her up from the tomb and has taken her up from the tomb and has taken her up to Himself in a way known only to Him." ~St. Modestus of Jerusalem

“Allow yourself to be led by His fatherly love, for He does love us and is far from rejecting a righteous man; He will not even abandon a wicked man who hopes in His mercy.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“I am no longer sad, for the Lord has done me the favor to assure me that to-day shall not pass without my being freed from all anxiety.” - St. Camillus of Lellis

“Prayer is powerful beyond limits when we turn to the Immaculata who is queen even of God's heart.”    - St. Maximilian Kolbe

“Have the mentality of an exile in the place where you live, do not desire to be listened to and you will have peace.”   -  St. Poemen (c. 340–450)

“If a man wishes to be sure of the road, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.”   - St. John of the Cross

The sorrow proceeds from the deep pain it feels at seeing that God is offened and little esteemed in this world.....It fears that many are being condemned.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - V : 2 : 10

“Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties, obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul".   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1783)

“The honor of Mary is so intimately connected with the honor and glory of Jesus that to deny the one is at the same time a denial of the other.”   -  Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

“Mary becomes the first human person to realize the historical destiny of the faithful as members of Christ’s mystical Body, beyond time, beyond death, and beyond judgment. By her Assumption she goes ahead like her Son to prepare a place for us.  Mary always seems to be the Advent of what is in store for man. She anticipates Christ for nine months, as she bears Heaven within her; she anticipates His Passion at Cana and His Church at Pentecost. Now in the last great Doctrine of the Assumption, she anticipates heavenly glory, and the definition comes at a time when men think of it least. Archbishop Fulton Sheen (World’s First Love)

St. Clare of Assisi: “I belong to the Lord; my vows are irrevocable, and nothing can detach me from His service!” (Vita S. Claræ, c. ii.)

If we have received from God such great blessings and graces, it is fitting that we should joyfully accept temporal suffering.”  - Our Lady of America

“Continue to offer God your work and to raise your heart to Him, asking Him to bless you and telling Him that you want to be faithful to Him always.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"Don't give in to discouragement....... If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers. Never bother about people's opinions. Be obedient to truth. For with humble obedience, you will never be disturbed."   - Saint Teresa of Calcutta

"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."   St. Isidore of Seville

Through this Virgin, the whole earth is filled with the glory of God. Through this Virgin, all have known the great God. All have seen the salvation of God.    - St. Ildephonsus

“Things were in God's plan which I had not planned at all. I am coming to the living faith and conviction that - from God's point of view - there is no chance and that the whole of my life, down to every detail, has been mapped out in God's divine providence and makes complete and perfect sense in God's all-seeing eyes.”   - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Sein)

Everything wearies the soul, for it has learned through experience that creatures cannot give it true rest.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Interior Castle - V : 2v: 8

On one occasion, I saw Jesus in a bright garment; this was in the greenhouse. [He said to me,] Write what I say to you. My delight is to be united with you. With great desire, I wait and long for the time when I shall take up My residence sacramentally in your convent. My spirit will rest in that convent and I will bless its neighborhood in a special way. Out of love for you all, I will avert any punishments which are rightly meted out by My Father’s justice. My daughter, I have inclined My heart to your requests. Your assignment and duty here on earth is to beg for mercy for the whole world. No soul will be justified until it turns with confidence to My mercy, and this is why the first Sunday after Easter is to be the Feast of Mercy. On that day, priests are to tell everyone about My great and unfathomable mercy. I am making you the administrator of My mercy. Tell the confessor that the Image is to be on view in the church and not within the enclosure in that convent. By means of this Image I shall be granting many graces to souls; so, let every soul have access to it.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 570)

“What is happiness if not the possession of every good that renders man completely content? But can we ever find anyone who is completely happy on this earth? Certainly not. Man would have been happy if he had remained faithful to God. But given that man is full of crime, that is, sin, he can never be totally happy. Therefore, only in Heaven can happiness be found. There, there is no danger of losing God, no suffering, no death, but eternal life with Jesus Christ.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“The soul cannot live without having recourse to Mary and recommending itself to her. He falls and is lost who does not have recourse to Mary.”   - Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori

“There are in the sight of God only two classes of people; the once-born and the twice-born; those who are born of woman, and those who are born of the spirit of God.  The first are just men; the second are children of God; the first are humanists, the second are Christians; the first are of the world, the second are of the kingdom of God.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Mystical Body of Christ)

“We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our nothingness. We must invoke the help of the Holy Spirit and that of our good angel, and then remain still in God’s presence, full of faith that he is more in us than we are in ourselves.” (St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious)

“It is in silence that we can hear God speak to our hearts.”   -  St. Vincent de Paul

"If when we are ill, our recovery will contribute to the glory of God and the good of our soul, he who healed so many when he was on earth, will certainly heal us. If, on the contrary, the illness is more advantageous to us, he will instead give us the strength to suffer."    - St. John Vianney.

"You heard me, only Friend whom I love. To ravish my heart, you became man. You shed your blood, what a supreme mystery!... And you still live for me on the Altar. If I cannot see the brilliance of your Face Or hear your sweet voice, O my God, I can live by your grace, I can rest on your Sacred Heart!"   - St Therese of Lisieux

"God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night looks back and you see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it to Him – really rest – and start the next day as a new life."   - St. Theresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)

“The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at a heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb…It can be said that the rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter that discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church” (Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae).

“Not one of us deserves anything in this world; it is the Lord who is benevolent towards us and it is his infinite mercy that bestows everything because He forgives everything.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"...You will accomplish My will and My desires, and a faithful servant of Mine will help you to do this. Now, rest your head on My bosom, on My heart, and draw from it strength and power for these sufferings, because you will find neither relief nor help nor comfort anywhere else. Know that you will have much, much to suffer, but don't let this frighten you; I am with you."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 36)

If we don't want to have anything more to do with our own lowliness and misery and if we understand that we are unworthy of being servants of a Lord who is so great we cannot comprehend His wonders !   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - V : 1 : 13

“The Son of God became man for our salvation but only in Mary and through Mary.”   - Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

“Childlikeness is not childishness.  To be childish is to retain in maturity what should have been discarded as the threshold of manhood.  Childlikeness, on the contrary, implies that with the mental breadth and practical strength and wisdom of maturity, there is associated the humility, trustfulness, spontaneity, and obedience of the child.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (On Being Human)

"How consoling it is to suffer under the eyes of God, and to be able to say in the evening, at our examination of conscience: "Come, my soul! thou hast had today two or three hours of resemblance to Jesus Christ. Thou hast been scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified with Him!" Oh what a treasure for the hour of death! How sweet it is to die, when we have lived on the cross! We ought to run after crosses as the miser runs after money. . . . Nothing but crosses will reassure us at the Day of Judgment. When that day shall come, we shall be happy in our misfortunes, proud of our humiliations, and rich in our sacrifices!"    - St John Vianney.

We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel.    - Pope St. John Paul II

Things arrange themselves with time.  Only GOD can have everything to HIS liking   - St. Vincent de Paul

"If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me."    -St. Joan of Arc

Whatever you have little or much He wants everything for Himself.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Interior Castle - V:1:3

“As gifts increase in you, let your humility grow, for you must consider that everything is given to you on loan.”    St. Pio of Pietrelcina

O Mary, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life! These are the prayers by which you intervene on our behalf before God. Indeed, you never cease to work wonders for us.    - St. Germanus

"Today, I heard these words: Know, my child, that for your sake I grant blessings to this whole vicinity. But you ought to thank Me on their behalf, as they do not thank Me for the kindnesses I extend to them. For the sake of your gratitude, I will continue to bless them."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 719)

"The title of Mary as our mother is not merely symbolic. Mary is our mother in the most real and lofty sense, a sense which surpasses that of earthly maternity. She begot our life of grace for us because she offered up her entire being, body, and soul as the Mother of God." – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

“The reason why chastity is on the decline is that we live in a sensate culture.  In the Middle Ages there was an Age of Faith, then came the Age of Reason in the eighteenth century; now we are living in the Age of Feeling.”    Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Treasure in Clay)

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

The Eucharist is the full realization of the worship which humanity owes to God, and it cannot be compared to any other religious experience.... The risen Lord ... calls the faithful together to give them the light of His Word and the nourishment of His Body as the perennial sacramental wellspring of redemption. The grace flowing from this wellspring renews mankind, life, and history.   Pope St.  John Paul II

" These are the few ways we can practice humility:
To speak as little as possible of one's self.
To mind one's own business.
Not to want to manage other people's affairs.
To avoid curiosity.
To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.
To pass over the mistakes of others.
To accept insults and injuries.
To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked.
To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
Never to stand on one's dignity.
To choose always the hardest."

- St. Teresa of Calcutta

Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are anger and courage. Anger that things are the way they are. Courage to make them the way they ought to be    - St. Augustine

“The laws and maxims of Jesus are very mild and holy and reasonable. The standards of the world are laws and maxims of hell, and are diabolical, tyrannical, and finally unbearable.”   St. Jean Eudes (1601 – 1680)

But after received the Lord, since you have the Person Himself, strive to close the eyes of the body and open those of the soul and look into your own heart.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Way of Perfection - chapter 34 : 12

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. In order that you may know at least some of My pain, imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in a position to console her. This is but a feeble image and likeness of My love.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1447)

“Prayer is the best weapon we possess. It is the key that opens the heart of God.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Ask the Virgin Mary constantly to come to you with her glorious Son. Be bold. Ask her to give you her Son, Who in the Blessed Sacrament is truly the Food of your soul. She will give Him to you readily.    —St. Cajetan

"It is impossible to save one's soul without devotion to Mary and without her protection.”   - Saint Anselm

“The way to win friends and influence people is not to flatter them, but to be selfless.  The greatest happiness in life comes not from having, but from giving.  From the Christian point of view the true master is the servant.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Love One Another)

“You must accept your cross; if you bear it courageously it will carry you to heaven.” ― St. John Vianney.

"Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes."    - St. Dominic

St. John Eudes: “Mary is truly admirable in all her perfections and in all her virtues. But what is most admirable in her is her virginal heart. The heart of the Mother of God is a world of marvels, an abyss of wonders, the source and principle of all the virtues which we admire in our glorious Queen: ‘All the glory of the king’s daughter is within.’ It was through the humility, purity and love of her most holy Heart that she merited to become the Mother of God and to receive the graces and privileges with which God enriched her on earth. These same sublime virtues of her immaculate Heart have rendered her worthy of the glory and happiness that sur. round her in heaven, and of the great marvels that God has wrought in and through her.” (pg. 14 from “The Admirable Heart of Mary” by St. John Eudes)

“In the heart of Jesus, which was pierced, the kingdom of heaven and the land of earth are bound together. Here is for us the source of life. This heart is the heart of the Triune Divinity, and the center of all human hearts… It draws us to itself with secret power, it conceals us in itself in the Father’s bosom and floods us with the Holy Spirit. This heart, it beats for us in a small tabernacle where it remains mysteriously hidden in that still, white host.” (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross — Edith Stein)

The hunger for Love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.    - St. Teresa of Calcutta

You will be more quickly freed from temptation when close to the Lord than when far. Beseech Him and ask Him to deliver you from evil as you do so often each day in the (Our Father).   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Way of Perfection - chapter 39 : 7

“True humility of the heart is that felt and lived rather than shown. We must always humble ourselves before God, but not with that false humility which brings discouragement, generating dejection and despair.  We must have a low opinion of ourselves. We must believe we are inferior to everyone else. We must not put our interests before those of others.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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. In order that you may know at least some of My pain, imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in a position to console her. This is but a feeble image and likeness of My love.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1447)

“For if we are bidden to honor carnal fathers and mothers, how much more the spiritual? ... If this virtue of charity has been overlooked, a man will lose any fruit of salvation in any good he may do.”   - Pope Saint Gregory VII

“The root principle of birth-control is unsound.  It is a glorification of the means and a contempt of the end; it says that the pleasure which is a means to the procreation of children is good, but the children themselves are no good.  In other words, to be logical, the philosophy of birth-control would commit us to a world in which trees were always blooming but never giving fruit, a world full of sign-posts that were leading nowhere.  In this cosmos every tree would be a barren fig tree and for that reason would have upon it the curse of God.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“We must conform ourselves to the will of God and adore the wisdom of God’s ways.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness: I shall not tire of repeating this warning to those who, for one reason or another, nourish feelings of hatred, a desire for revenge or the will to destroy. ” (Pope St. John Paul II; World Day of Peace; January 1, 2002)

“He walks with God in the light who desires to possess nothing in this world and who has fixed his heart on God in heaven, for there alone is the soul’s hidden treasure, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all good things are found.”   —Thomas à Kempis, from the book “Bountiful Goodness”.

"The window of the soul cleansed perfectly and made completely transparent by the divine light."   -St. John of the Cross

The thought and the countenance of Mary inspire the purity of life that is the first dignity of human beings. They also constitute the salvation of those who struggle against evil and those who are called to greater perfection of life. —Pope Pius XI