“Try to live content among your reasons for discontent and always honor the inactivity and unknown condition of the Son of God.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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

“Well then did the Lord say: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’ (Matthew 16:24) For they who are dead and buried in Christ ought not again to make their conclusions as though living in the world. ‘Touch not,’ it is said, ‘nor attend to those things which tend to corruption by their very use, for the very customs of this life corrupt integrity.’”   St. Ambrose, Concerning Repentance (Book II), par. 97

"Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause."   -St. John of Kanty

“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

“Obedience will enable you to advance untiringly, and to gain more readily the road to Heaven; inasmuch as you will be journeying, in a manner, under the guidance of another, and not by your own will and judgment.”   St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491.-1556.)

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

January 28, 1938. Today the Lord said to me, My daughter, write down these words: All those souls who will glorify My mercy and spread its worship, encouraging others to trust in My mercy, will not experience terror at the hour of death. My mercy will shield them in that final battle...   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1540)

“ I must not let the first month of the year pass without sending your soul greetings from mine, and to assure you more and more of the affection my heart nurtures for yours, never ceasing to desire for it, all sorts of blessings and spiritual happiness. But I warmly recommend that poor heart of yours, to you. Take care to render it daily, more and more pleasing to our most sweet Savior, and see to it that the present year is more fertile in good works than the last, as, with the same speed with which the years pass by and eternity becomes closer, we must redouble our courage and raise our spirit to God, serving Him with greater diligence in everything that our vocation and Christian profession require of us.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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

“If my own eternal salvation were conditioned upon saving the soul of one self-wise man who prided himself on his learning, or one hundred of the most morally corrupt men and women of the streets, I should choose the easier task of converting the hundred.  Nothing is more difficult to conquer in all the world than intellectual pride.  If battleships could be lined with it instead of with armor, no shell could ever pierce them.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Seven Capital Sins)

"He loves, He hopes, He waits. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep us waiting an instant"   - St. Maria Goretti

“To love God is something greater than to know Him.”    (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church)

“Let us be more careful to extend the empire of Jesus Christ than our own possessions.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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

"The Rosary is my favorite prayer."    - St. Pope John Paul II

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

The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.
- St. Teresa of Calcutta

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

"With a humble person, whether he is laughed at or esteemed, praised or blamed, honored or despised, whether people pay attention to him or pass him by, it is all the same to him".    - St. John Vianney--Catechism on Pride

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

“My daughter, you do not live for yourself but for souls; write for their benefit. You know that My will as to your writing has been confirmed many times by your confessors. You know what is pleasing to me.”   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST     (Diary 895)

“We don't reach salvation without crossing the stormy sea continually threatened with disaster. Calvary is the hill of the saints, but from there we pass on to another mountain which is called Tabor.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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

“You have five senses which put you in touch with the material and sensate passing world about you.  But did you ever notice that when you wish to do deep thinking you shut your eyes, close the doors of the ear to the rattles of earth, for the more you shut out the things of earth, the more the Spirit of God speaks within you.  You will learn more truth from the Spirit than from books, as the Apostles on Pentecost learned more about the Life of Christ than they did from three years of living with Him in an earthly way.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Lenten & Easter Inspirations)

"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."--St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the "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."-  - St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the Church

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

"Yes, without doubt, my brethren, we have never really understood what a precious gift the word of God is.  Ah, my brethren, if we rightly understood it, with what reverence and love should we not listen to it!  Let us not deceive ourselves.  The word of God must of necessity bear within us either good or bad fruit."   - St. John Vianney

The fruit of silence is prayer,
the fruit of prayer is faith,
the fruit of faith is love,
the fruit of love is service,
the fruit of service is peace.
- St. Teresa of Calcutta

"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

Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation of cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.   - St. John Chrysostom

“It is consoling that He, who must judge us ,dwells in us to save us always from all of our miseries, and to pardon us.”   - St. Therese of the Child Jesus

“Now I shall show them, that as the mother-of-pearl fish lives in the sea without taking in a drop of salt-water, and as there are near the Chelidonian islands springs of fresh water in the midst of the sea, and as the fire-flies fly in the flames without singeing their wings, so a strong and steadfast soul can live in the world without imbibing any worldly humour — can find springs of sweet piety in the middle of the salt-waters of the age— and fly amidst the flames of earthly lusts without burning the wings of the holy desires of the devout life.”   - St. Francis de Sales

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

"My loving host, pray for priests, especially during this time of harvest. My Heart is pleased with you, and for your sake I am blessing the earth."    WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Jesus, 980)

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

"All the sins of your life seem to be rising up against you. Don't give up hope! On the contrary, call your holy mother, Mary, with the faith and abandonment of a child. She will bring peace to your soul."   - St. Josemaría Escrivá

“Could you not watch one hour with me? Peter had given up both watching and praying.  Most souls still feeling the necessity of doing something for God and the Church turn to the solace of activity.  Instead of going from prayer to action, they neglect the prayer and become busy about many things.  It is easy to think we are doing God’s work when we are only in motion or being fussy.  Peter is no exception…who had already been armed with two swords, allows his usual impetuosity to get the better of him.  What he strikes is not a soldier at all, but a slave of the High Priest. The slave steps aside and the blow aimed at the crown of his head merely cuts off his ear.  Our Blessed Lord restored the ear by a miracle, and then turning to Peter said, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword”.  Divinity has no need of it.  He could summon twelve legions of angels to His aid if He wished.  The Church must never fight with the weapons of the world.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Characters of the Passion)

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

"The things that we love tell us what we are."    - Thomas Aquinas

"No loss is greater than that of time ; for, it was given to us by Divine Goodness to work out our salvation, and, once lost, it can never be recalled."    - St. Bonaventure

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

"The Sacraments which Our Lord instituted would not have saved us without the Holy Spirit. Even the death of Our Lord would have been useless to us without Him. Therefore Our Lord said to His Apostles, “It is good for you that I should go away; for if I did not go, the Consoler would not come.” The descent of the Holy Spirit was required, to render fruitful that harvest of graces. It is like a grain of wheat – you cast it into the ground; yes, but it must have sun and rain to make it grow and come into ear. We should say every morning, “O God, send me Your Spirit to teach me what I am and what You are.”    - St John Vianney.

“Love is the most necessary of all virtues. Love in the person who preaches the word of God is like fire in a musket. If a person were to throw a bullet with his hands, he would hardly make a dent in anything; but if the person takes the same bullet and ignites some gunpowder behind it, it can kill. It is much the same with the word of God. If it is spoken by someone who is filled with the fire of charity- the fire of love of God and neighbor- it will work wonders.”    - St. Anthony Mary Claret

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

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

Tell souls not to place within their own hearts obstacles to My mercy, which so greatly wants to act within them. My mercy works in all those hearts which open their doors to it. Both the sinner and the righteous person have need of My mercy. Conversion, as well as perseverance, is a grace of My mercy   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 1577).

“Learn to better recognize and adore the divine will in all the events of life.”     St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.   - Saint Francis de Sales

“In boxing, if a boxer is guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct he may be exiled from holding a bout in certain states… Hockey, a player can be put in a hot seat for two minutes.  Football, thrown off the field for unsportsmanlike conduct.  So on for other sports…  Now, should not politics play just as fair a game as a sport?”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen

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

“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

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

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

Whether, therefore, we receive what we ask for, or do not receive it, let us still continue steadfast in prayer. For to fail in obtaining the desires of our heart, when God so wills it, is not worse than to receive it; for we know not as He does, what is profitable to us.    - St. John Chrysostom

“Among the great billows of the sea of life, here and there whipped up by wild winds... one thing alone is dear to me, my only treasure, comfort and oblivion in my struggle, the light of the Blessed Trinity.”    - St. Gregory of Nazianzus

”It is not a loss of patience if one asks Jesus to take away pain, when this becomes insupportable to us and beyond our strength, nor does one lose the merit of the suffering which is offered, by asking this of God.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Say unceasingly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if her were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST FAUSTINA   (Diary, 687)

"If the hurricanes of temptation rise against you, or you are running upon the rocks of trouble, look to the star - call on Mary!"    - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

“The great fallacy of all revolutionary movements is that the value of great lives is nullified, either through persecution or character assassination, in the interests of fallacious promises and illusory hopes.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The World’s First Love)

“A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members; and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying.”    Pooe St. John Paul II's Address to the New Ambassador of New Zealand to the Holy See May 25, 2000

“Our business is to gain heaven; everything else is a sheer waste of time.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“He called the bread His living body and He filled it with Himself and His Spirit... He who eats it with faith, eats Fire and Spirit... Take and eat this, all of you, and eat with it the Holy Spirit. For it is truly My body and whoever eats it will have eternal life.”    - St. Ephraim of Syria

“A married woman must, when called upon, quit her devotions to God at the altar to find him in her household affairs.”   - St Frances of Rome

Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.    - St. John Climacus

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

"You will not be alone, because I am with you always and everywhere. Near to My Heart, fear nothing... Know that My eyes follow every move of your heart with great attention."    WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 797)

“Learn to better recognize and  adore the divine will in all the events of life.”   St. Pio of  Pietrelcina    (Letters III, p. 57).

“Let us ask Our Lady to be with us. Let us ask her to give us her heart so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate – her heart so full of love and humility that we may be able to receive Jesus as the bread of life, that we may love Him as she loved Him and serve Him in the distressing disguise of the poor."   - St. Teresa of Calcutta

“It is not the sanctuary that is in danger; it is civilization.  It is not infallibility that may go down; it is personal rights.  It is not the Eucharist that may pass away; it is freedom of conscience.  It is not divine justice that may evaporate; it is the courts of human justice.  It is not that God may be driven from His throne; it is that men may lose the meaning of home; For peace on earth will come only to those who give glory to God! It is not the Church that is in danger, it is the world!”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Seven Pillars of Peace)

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

I place trust in God, my creator, in all things; I love Him with all my heart.    -St. Joan of Arc

"Do you want to know if your faith is dead or dying? Examine your works and actions."   - St. Francis de Sales

JESUS CHRIST, after having given us all He could give, that is to say, the merit of his toils, His sufferings, and His bitter death; after having given us His Adorable Body and Blood to be the Food of our souls, willed also to give us the most precious thing He had left, His holy Mother.    -St. John Vianney

It is better to say one Our Father fervently and devoutly than a thousand with no devotion and full of distraction.    - St. Edmund

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

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

“If we want a harvest, planting is not so important as sowing the seeds in a good field, When these become plants, care great must be taken that the tender little plants are not suffocated by weeds.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina    (AdFP, 561).

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

“’I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest.’  Saul is persecuting the Church of Damascus and Christians of Damascus, and Christ says to Saul: ‘Why persecutest thou Me?’  Christ and the Church, are they the same thing?  Precisely, the Church is Christ and Christ is the Church – such is the Divine Equation.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen

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

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

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

“The cross is a precious treasure to be kept secret, lest we be robbed of it.”    St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-2

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

“In the spiritual life one must always go on pushing ahead and never go backwards; if not, the same thing happens as to a boat which when it loses headway gets blown backwards with the wind.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"I promise that the soul that will venerate this image (of the Divine Mercy) will not perish.” (Diary, 48)….“The two rays denote Blood and Water….These two rays issued from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father.”   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 299)

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

“How we make crosses: The vertical bar pointing to the heavens is God’s Will.  The horizontal bar contradicting it is our will.  When our will is in conflict with God’s Will, we have a cross.  A cross in the mind is fear, anxiety, unhappiness.  A Cross in the body is pain.  How God Makes Crosses: Our life is going in a certain direction, maybe towards God.  But it is a crooked way, or a slow road, or we tarry too long on the road.  So God cuts another road cross-way to ours.  As we cross His Will by sin, so He crosses our will be love to make us perfect, and when He does it comes out as pain, sacrifice, sorrow, bereavement, trials and grief.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (About Crosses)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion for sinners. Know, my daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.”    WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1397)

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

“The new compassion that has crept into our courts and into our literature and drama is the compassion for the breakers of the law, for the thieves, the dope fiends, the murderers, the rapists.  This false compassion for the criminal and the readiness to blame the law and the police, has passed from the ‘sob-sisters’ to black –robed justices who, fearful of restraining a liberty turned into license, pardon the mugger and ignore the mugged.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)

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

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

“It is the will of God that we shall receive everything through Mary.”     - St. Bernard of Clairvaux

"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?..."   St. Teresa of Calcutta

" A Nation that kills its own children has no future."   Pope St. John Paul II

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

"When the clock struck twelve, my soul immersed itself more deeply in recollection, and I heard a voice in my soul, "Do not fear, My little child, you are not alone. Fight bravely, because My arm is supporting you; fight for the salvation of souls, exhorting them to trust in My mercy, as that is your task in this life and in the life to come". After these words, I received a deeper understanding of divine mercy. Only that soul who wants it will be damned, for God condemns no one."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 1452)

“In the spiritual life, the faster we run, the less tired we feel; actually, peace, the prelude to eternal happiness, will come to us and will make us happy and strong, in proportion to how we allow Jesus to live in us, mortifying ourselves.”    St. Pio of Pio

“O Virgin Mary, change my heart into a beautiful pure corporal, to receive that white Host in which our sweet Lamb hides Himself.”   - St Therese of Lisieux
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“Christ does not force our will, He only takes what we give Him. But He does not give Himself entirely until He sees that we yield ourselves entirely to Him.”    - St. Teresa of Avila

“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

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

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

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

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

“The devil strains every nerve to secure the souls which belong to Christ. We should not grudge our toil in wresting them from Satan and giving them back to God.”    - St. Sebastian

“Sooner or later, good works speak a far more advantageous language than whatever is done for ostentation and display.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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

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

"This earth is a bridge to cross the water; it serves only to support our steps. . . . We are in this world, but we are not of this world, since we say every day, 'Our Father, Who art in Heaven. ' We must wait, then, for our reward till we are at home, in our Father's house. This is the reason why good Christians suffer crosses, contradictions, adversities, contempt, calumnies - so much the better! . . . But people are astonished at this. They seem to think that because we love the good God a little, we ought to have nothing to contradict us, nothing to make us suffer. . . . We say, 'There is a person who is not good, and yet everything goes well with him; but with me, it is of no use doing my best; everything goes wrong. It is because we do not understand the value and the happiness of crosses. We say sometimes that God chastises those whom He loves. That is not true. Trials are not chastisements; they are graces to those whom God loves. . . . We must not consider the labor, but the recompense. A merchant does not consider the trouble he undergoes in his commerce, but the profit he gains by it. . . . What are twenty years, thirty years, compared to eternity? What, then, have we to suffer? A few humiliations, a few annoyances, a few sharp words; that will not kill us." - St John Vianney.

Devotion is a certain act of the will by which man gives himself promptly to divine service.   –St. Thomas Aquinas

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

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

“Only a general knows how and when to use one of his soldiers. Wait, your turn will come.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Do not fear, My little child, you are not alone. Fight bravely, because My arm is supporting you; fight for the salvation of souls, exhorting them to trust in My mercy, as that is your task in this life and in the life to come". After these words, I received a deeper understanding of divine mercy. Only that soul who wants it will be damned, for God condemns no one.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 1452)

"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

“Courtesy is not condescension of a superior to an inferior, or a patronizing interest in another’s affairs.  It is the homage of the heart to the sacredness of human worth.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Thoughts for Daily Living)

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

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

St. Vincent de Paul Quote of the Day

January 19, 2016

“Honor God’s holy Providence in your conduct by not hurrying or bustling about.”    – St. Vincent De Paul

From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone.    - Pope St. John Paul II

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

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

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

I Myself will defend as My own glory, during their lifetime, and especially at the hour of their death, those souls who will venerate My fathomless mercy.   WORDS  OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (DIARY, 1225)

“ Give praise to God alone and not to man; honor the Creator and not the creature. During your life, learn to endure bitterness, in order to participate in the sufferings of Christ.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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

“He used His Body not only to teach but also to govern and to found a Kingdom.  Gathering the elements of His first Kingdom, consisting mostly of ignorant men, He chose from the twelve of them one as their chief and guide – Peter the Rock, on whom He said He would build His Church, and to whom He committed the supreme power of feeding His lambs and feeding His sheep…This new body, sometimes called a mystical body, is to be understood after the analogy of the human body which is made up of many members performing different functions and yet all cooperating toward the harmony of the whole.  The hand is not the foot, the eye is not the ear, the heart is not the lung.  So, too, the priest is not the layman, the apostle is not the disciple, the Vicar of Christ is not the deacon, and yet all are one in the same Spirit.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Divine Romance)

“Let us rely on Our Lord and allow Him to act, since it is He who governs and not we.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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

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

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

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

"The virtue of obedience makes the will supple… It inspires the courage with which to fulfill the most difficult tasks."    - St John Vianney.

Charity and devotion differ no more, the one from the other, than the flame from the fire.    - St. Francis de Sales

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

“Give praise to God alone and not to man; honor the Creator and not the creature. During your life, learn to endure bitterness, in order to participate in the sufferings of Christ.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy"   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 1146)

“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

“The Church never suits the particular mood of any age, because it was made for all ages. A Catholic knows that if the Church married the mood of any age in which it lived, it would be a widow in the next age.  The mark of the true Church is that it will never get on well with the passing moods of the world” (I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you – John 15:19) Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Love One Another)

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

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

“So you have failed? You cannot fail. You have not failed; you have gained experience. Forward!”   -  St. Josemaria Escriva

Become a great Saint and do so quickly!   - Pope St. John Paul II

With Him we shall always live, having become sons of God through Him; with Him we shall always rejoice, having been restored by His blood.    - St. Cyprian of Carthage

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

"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

“You do not need many words when you pray. We believe on faith that the good and gracious God is there in the tabernacle; we open our souls to Him; and feel happy that He allows us to come before Him; this is the best way to pray.”    - St John Vianney.

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

“Terrible is the justice of God. But let us not forget also that his mercy is infinite.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice"  WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1146)

“In that first ‘fusion’ with Jesus (holy communion), it was my Heavenly Mother again who accompanied me to the altar for it was she herself who placed her Jesus into my soul.”   - Saint Therese of Lisieux

“Freedom is not just something with which we are born; it is something we achieve.  America did not receive a perpetual endowment of freedom; it has had to struggle and fight to preserve it.  Freedom is not an heirloom or an antique; it is a life that must fight against the corrosive powers of death and nourish itself on the daily bread of goodness and virtue.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (On Being Human)

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

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

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

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

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

“Be humble so that God guards and strengthens you, because God looks to the humble. Be humble so that God fills you with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, because it is written that He guides the humble and teaches His ways to the meek.”    -  St. Pachomius the Great

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

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

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

“If we approach with faith, we too will see Jesus….;  for the Eucharistic table
takes the place of the crib. Here the Body of the Lord is present,
wrapped not in swaddling clothes but in the rays of the Holy Spirit.”   -?St. John Chrysostom

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

“ I feel a great desire to abandon myself with greater trust, to the divine mercy, and to place my hope in God alone.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"My daughter, encourage souls to say the 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. Write this for the benefit of distressed souls; when a soul sees and realises the gravity of it sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. These souls have a right of priority to My compassionate Heart, they have first access to My mercy. Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul which has placed its trust in My goodness. Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Saviour"    WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1541)

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

“God leaves each one free to reject his infusion of love – for gifts cease to be gifts if they are forced on us.  God respects our freedom of will; he did not even enter into this human order of ours without consulting a woman.  So neither does he elevate us to partake of his divine nature without our free consent.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Lift Up Your Heart)

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

“The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.”    - St. Vincent de Paul

Heaven for me is hidden in a little Host Where Jesus, my Spouse, is veiled for love. I go to that Divine Furnace to draw out life, and there my Sweet Saviour listens to me night and day.    -St Therese of Lisieux

"Now that the soul is clothed in these other garments of dryness and desolation, and that its former lights have been darkened, it possesses more authentic lights in this most excellent and necessary virtue of self-knowledge."   -St. John of the Cross

“When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, remember Him who has given it to you for your enjoyment and as a relief in illness. When you get dressed, thank Him for His kindness in supplying you with clothing. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God’s feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. In the same way, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator.”    -? St. Basil the Great

In so far as divine love beautifies our souls. And makes us pleasing to His divine Majesty, it is called grace; in so far as it gives us strength to do good, it is called charity; but when it reaches such a degree of perfection, that it makes us not only do the good, but do so carefully, frequently and readily, then it is called devotion.    - St. Francis de Sales

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

“Never fall back on yourself alone, but place all your trust in God. “   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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

“To desire grace without recourse to the Virgin Mother is to desire to fly without wings.”   - Pope St Pius X

“I will love the sinner, but hate the sin; love the thief, but hate the robbery.  The Church, therefore, will always accept the heretic back into the treasury of her souls, but never the heresy into the treasury of her wisdom.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Power of Love)

“Let us try to act rightly that we shall have reason to trust in the infinite goodness of the Auditor of our Life, our Sovereign Judge.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"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

“My most loving Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ, I thy miserable servant, well knowing what pleasure he gives Thee who endeavours to exalt thy most holy Mother, whom Thou lovest so much; knowing, too, how much Thou desirest to see her loved and honoured by all...”    - St. Alphonsus de Liguori   (Excerpt from Prayer to Jesus and Mary, from “The Glories of Mary”)

“I am a Catholic; I will not be a heretic: I am a Christian, and not an Arian: I would rather lose my life, than allow the tyranny of any man to corrupt the purity of my faith.”   – St. Hilary of Poitiers

“Learning without humility has always been pernicious to the Church; and as pride precipitated the rebellious angels from heaven, it frequently causes the loss of learned men.”    - St. Vincent de Paul

The nothing that we are, and even less than nothing.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 14:9

“Temptation is a sure sign the soul is very pleasing to the Lord.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

During one of the adorations, Jesus promised me that: With souls that have recourse to My mercy and with those that glorify and proclaim My great mercy to others, I will deal according to My infinite mercy at the hour of their death.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 379)

"I recollect one saying among others of my confessor, a Jesuit father, one of the holiest, most prudent men I ever knew. He said that we could not love the Blessed Mother too much if we loved Our Lord a great deal more."   - Blessed John Henry Newman

“When others visit violence upon us we too often forget how little we know about their hearts and yet in exactly the same circumstances, Jesus found an excuse: “They know not what they do.”  We know nothing of the inside of our neighbors heart, and hence, we refuse to forgive.  Jesus knew the heart inside out, and because He did know, He forgave.  Take any scene of action, let five people look upon it, and you will get five different stories of what happened.  No one of them sees all sides.  Our Lord does, and that is why He forgives.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Victory over Vice)

“The good works which we do of our own will, are not so meritorious as those that are done under obedience.”    St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)

"If you learn everything except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing except Christ, you learn everything."   - St. Bonaventure

“We have all been called by God to work on a masterpiece.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

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

“If a priest is determined not to lose his soul, so soon as any disorder arises in the parish, he must trample underfoot all human considerations as well as the fear of the contempt and hatred of his people. He must not allow anything to bar his way in the discharge of duty, even were he certain of being murdered on coming down from the pulpit. A pastor who wants to do his duty must keep his sword in hand at all times. Did not St. Paul himself write to the faithful of Corinth: ‘I most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your souls, although loving you more, I be loved less.’” - St John Vianney. “If a priest is determined not to lose his soul, so soon as any disorder arises in the parish, he must trample underfoot all human considerations as well as the fear of the contempt and hatred of his people. He must not allow anything to bar his way in the discharge of duty, even were he certain of being murdered on coming down from the pulpit. A pastor who wants to do his duty must keep his sword in hand at all times. Did not St. Paul himself write to the faithful of Corinth: ‘I most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your souls, although loving you more, I be loved less.’”    -  St John Vianney.

The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being.   - Pope St. John Paul II

A scrap of knowledge about sublime things is worth more than any amount about trivialities.    –St. Thomas Aquinas

So it is very important that the master have prudence - I mean that he have good judgement - and experience; if besides these he has learning, so much the better.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:16

“Do not halt in seeking the truth, in discovering God. Be docile to the influence of grace, following its inspiration and attraction. Do not be ashamed of Christ and His doctrine.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Today, I heard these words: The graces I grant you are not for you alone, but for a great number of other souls as well…. And your heart is My constant dwelling place, despite the misery that you are. I united Myself with you, take away your misery and give you My mercy. I perform works of mercy in every soul. The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy. My mercy is confirmed in every work of My hands. He who trusts in My mercy will not perish, for all his affairs are mine, and his enemies will be shattered at the base of My footstool."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 723)

“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

“The animals which nourish man do not live in another world.  If Christ then was to be the life of the world, He must be tabernacle among men as Emmanuel or “God with us”, supplying a life for the soul as earthly bread is the life of the body.  As man died spiritually by physically eating in the garden of Eden, so he would live again spiritually through eating the fruit of the tree of life.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life of Christ)

Only God knows the good that can come about by reading one good Catholic book.    - St. John Bosco

“If the servant of God would fain walk with more security through so many snares scattered in every place, he should have our Blessed Lady as his mediatrix with her Son.”   St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“Let us take care of His affairs and He will take care of ours.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"We should daily ask God with our whole hearts for humility, for the grace to know that we are nothing of ourselves, and that our corporal as well as our spiritual welfare proceeds from him alone.  Let us, therefore, practice humility as much as we are able.  There is no virtue more pleasing to God than that of humility, and in possessing it we shall possess all the other virtues."    - St John Vianney.

“Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear.”   - St Mary Magdalen de Pazzi

"I (pray) like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me." - St. Therese of Lisieux

Discretion is required in everything.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:1

In the evening, I saw the Lord Jesus upon the cross. From His hands, feet and side, the Most Sacred Blood was flowing. After some time, Jesus said to me, "All this is for the salvation of souls. Consider well, My daughter, what you are doing for their salvation". I answered, 'Jesus, when I look at Your suffering, I see that I am doing next to nothing for the salvation of souls'. And the Lord said to me, "Know, My daughter, that your silent day-to-day martyrdom in complete submission to My will ushers many souls into heaven. And when it seems to you that your suffering exceeds your strength, contemplate My wounds, and you will rise above human scorn and judgment. Meditation on My Passion will help you rise above all things". I understood many things I had been unable to comprehend before.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1184)

“We must always strictly observe these two virtues: kindness with our neighbors and holy humility with God.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina     (Letters III, p. 952)

“We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus, her Son."   - St. Louis Marie de Montfort

"The reason Our Lord was baptized was because it was part of the whole process of emptying, of humiliation, of the Incarnation. How could He be poor with us, if He did not in some way conform to our poverty? How could He come among sinful men to redeem them, if He did not also reveal the necessity of being purged from sin? There was no need of Our Blessed Mother to submit to the rite of purification, as there was no need of Our Lord to submit to the rite of Baptism by John. He had no need personally of having sins remitted, but He assumed a nature which was related to sinful humanity. Though He was without sin, He appeared to all men as a sinner, as He did on the cross. That was why He walked into the Jordan with all the rest of the sinners to demand the baptism of penance "in remission of sins. '" Archbishop Fulton Sheen (THESE ARE THE SACRAMENTS)

"Men do not fear a powerful hostile army as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary."   -St. Bonaventure

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

“When you are at Mass, be there as if you were on Calvary. For it is the same sacrifice and the same Jesus Christ who is doing for you what He did on the cross for all human beings.”   -  St. John Baptist de la Salle

"As all Heaven entered my soul when I received Jesus...... It was joy alone, deep ineffable joy that filled my heart”   -St. Therese of Lisieux

“He who wishes to find Jesus should seek Him, not in the delights and pleasures of the world, but in mortification of the senses.”    St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

He will not refuse it to anyone who does his best.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:10

“Souls are not given as a gift; they are bought. Don’t you know what they cost Jesus? They must be paid for with the same coin.”     St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"The souls that say this chaplet will be embraced by My mercy during their lifetime and especially at the hour of their death."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary754)

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

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

“You should realize that someone appointed by God to serve others is not put out by the demands made on him.   – St. Vincent de Paul

“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 Gonzaga.  Religious and Confessor

“How I wept when I heard those hymns and chants, thrilled by the sweet sound of thy Church. The music sounded in my ears, and thy truth then spoke to my heart; religion burned in me, my tears flowed, and yet I was glad in them.”   - St. Augustine (354.-430.)

"A person likes to remain alone in loving awareness of God, without particular considerations, in interior peace and quiet and repose."   -St. John of the Cross

"He who prays most receives most."   - St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

"Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice: ‘O my Jesus, this is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.' "   - Our Lady of Fatima

The safe path for the soul that practices prayer will be not to bother about anything or anyone and to pay attention to itself and to pleasing God.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:10

“ Don't let the many snares of this infernal beast frighten you. Jesus, who is always with you, and who will fight with and for you, will never permit you to be tricked and overcome.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Today the Lord said to me,"I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust. Sinners will attain justification, and the just will be confirmed in good. Whoever places his trust in My mercy will be filled with My divine peace at the hour of death".   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary 1520)

"Let us live as the Blessed Virgin lived: loving God only, desiring God only, trying to please God only in all that we do."   - St. John Vianney

“The Sacrament of the Eucharist has two sides: it is both a sacrifice and a sacrament.  Inasmuch as biological life is nothing but a reflection, a dim echo, and a shadow of the divine life, one can find analogies in the natural order for the beauties of the divine.  Does not nature itself have a double aspect: a sacrifice and a sacrament?  The vegetables which are served at table, the meat which is presented on the platter, are the natural sacraments of the body of man.  By them he lives.  If they were endowed with speech, they would say: ‘Unless you have communion with me, you will not live.’
 But if one inquires as to how the lower creation of chemicals, vegetables or meats came to be the sacrament or the communion of man, one is immediately introduced to the idea of sacrifice.  Did not the vegetables have to be pulled up by their roots from the earth, submitted to the law of death, and then pass through the ordeal of fire before they could become the sacrament of physical life, or have communion with the body?  Was not the meat on the platter once a living thing, and was it not submitted to the knife, its blood shed on the soil of a natural Gethsemane and Calvary before it was fit to be presented to man?  Nature, therefore suggests that a sacrifice must precede a sacrament; death is the prelude to a communion.  In some way, unless the thing dies, it does not begin to live in a higher kingdom.  To have, for example, a communion service without a sacrifice would be, in the natural order, like eating our vegetables uncooked, and our meat in the raw.  When we come face to face with the realities of life, we see that we live by what we slay.  It was our sins that slew Christ on Calvary, and yet by the power of God risen from the dead and reigning gloriously in Heaven, He now becomes our life and has communion with us and we with Him.  In the divine order, there must be the Sacrifice or the Consecration of the Mass before there can be the sacrament or the Communion of the soul and God.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (These are the Sacraments)

“God makes use of the humblest instruments, for the extraordinary operation of His grace.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

"On the Way of the Cross, you see, my children, only the first step is painful. Our greatest cross is the fear of crosses. . . We have not the courage to carry our cross, and we are very much mistaken; for, whatever we do, the cross holds us tight - we cannot escape from it. What, then, have we to lose? Why not love our crosses, and make use of them to take us to heaven?"    - St John Vianney.

"Listen to everything that is being sung . . . in his heart. It is Love, the infinite love that envelops us and desires to give us a share . . . in all His blessedness."   - St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

"Mary seeks for those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children."    - Saint Bonaventure

“Be not anxious about what you have, but about what you are.”   -  St. Gregory the Great

Always, as long as we live, even for the sake of humility, it is good to know our miserable nature.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 13:1

Today the Lord said to me, I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust. Sinners will attain justification, and the just will be confirmed in good. Whoever places his trust in My mercy will be filled with My Divine peace at the hour of death.   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary, 1520)

“ Oh how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it, because, on the day of judgment, all will have to render a strict account of it to the supreme Judge. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner!”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner."   - Saint Anthony of Padua

“Before I went to school I was free to believe, for example, that Shakespeare was born in 1224. But finally, I was told that Shakespeare was not born in 1224 but rather in 1564. I found out that education in truth was really restricting my freedom to fall into error.  Before I went to school I also thought that “H2O” was really the initials of a spy. Then I fell into the hands of a reactionary teacher. He stopped all of my liberalism. Do you know what he told me H2O meant? He said it was the symbol for water. Thus, the more I studied, the freer I became to know error.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“The apostolic life does not exclude contemplation but encompasses it and profits by it.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“It was my first encounter with the cross and the divine power that it bestows on those who carry it. For the first time, I was seeing with my very eyes the church, born from its Redeemer’s sufferings, triumphant over the sting of death. That was the moment my unbelief collapsed and Christ shone forth—in the mystery of the cross.”    - Edith Stein + St Teresa de Benedicta of the Cross

“If a little flower could speak, it seems to me that it  would tell us quite simply all that God has done for it, without hiding  any of its gifts. It would not, under the pretext of humility, say that  it was not pretty, or that it had not a sweet scent, that the sun had  withered its petals, or the storm bruised its stem, if it knew that such  were not the case.”   - St. Thérèse de Lisieux

“Just as a man cannot live in the flesh unless he is born in the flesh, even so a man cannot have the spiritual life of grace unless he is born again spiritually. This regeneration is effected by Baptism: ‘Unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’”   - St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church;

The Lord would not allow any harm to come to someone who strives humbly to reach Him.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 12:7

"After Holy Communion, I saw the Lord Jesus, who said these words to me: Today, penetrate into the spirit of My poverty and arrange everything in such a way that the most destitute will have no reason to envoy you. I find pleasure, not in large buildings and magnificent structures, but in a pure and humble heart."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 532)

“We must always strictly observe these two virtues: kindness with our neighbors and holy humility with God.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“No man is delivered or preserved from the worldwide snares of Satan save through Mary; and God grants His graces to no one except through her alone.”    - St. Germanus

Gratitude is characteristic only of the humble.  The egotistic are so impressed by their own importance that they take everything given them as if it were their due.  They have no room in their hearts for recollection of the underserved favors they received.”    Archbishop Fulton Sheen (On Being Human)

Knowledge must then lead to education in self-control.   - Pope St. John Paul II

“It is consoling that He, who must judge us ,dwells in us to save us always from all of our miseries, and to pardon us.”- St. Therese of the Child Jesus (of Lisieux)

"The soul feels a strange delight in the breathing of the Holy Spirit... in which it is sovereignly glorified and taken with love."   -  St. John of the Cross

“Those who go often to Mass during the week, do their work very much better than those who, for want of faith, think they have no time for it.”    - St John Vianney.

“If they be faithful and seek no satisfaction in creatures, they pass from pure suffering to the pure love of God. But the fortunate souls who succeed thus far are very few.”   -  St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

“We must not judge the designs of God according to human reason, although our puny minds incline us to do so.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

Not ascending to God unless He raises one up.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 12:5

My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from this fountain. My daughter, I desire that your heart be an abiding place of My mercy. I desire that this mercy flow out upon the whole world through your heart. Let no one who approaches you go away without that trust in My mercy which I so ardently desire for souls.
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 moments 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)

“ Love does not tolerate delay and immediately upon arrival, the Magi did everything within their power to make Him known; He who had conquered their hearts through the influence of grace, wounding them with the kind of charity which must overflow, because it cannot be contained in the small structure of the heart and must therefore be communicated.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

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

“Every word that comes to us about the uncomfortable, the homeless, the lepers, is the Son of God passing by.  If we let him pass, he may never be recalled.  Graces unused are not often repeated; whispers ignored do not become shouts.  All through life, our hands will stretch forth empty of the richest blessings of wisdom and truth unless they are first used to clutch as the sleeve of the Divine who “makes as if he would pass us by.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)

Keeping Christ present is what we of ourselves can do.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - chapter 12: 4

“Our mission is to make God known to poor persons; to announce Jesus Christ to them; to tell them that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that it is for persons who are poor.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

People who really and truly love each other are the happiest people in the world.   -St. Teresa of Calcutta

“The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills it; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.”     - Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

“Meditate frequently on the sorrows of the Mother of God-sorrows inseparable from those of her beloved Son. If you go to the crucifix, you will there find the Mother, and, on the other hand, wherever the Mother is, there, also, is the Son.”   - St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)

“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 souls.”   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA    (Diary, 1074)

“ Let us begin today, my brothers, to do good, because up to now, we have done nothing." These words, which the Seraphic Father, St. Francis, in his humility applied to himself, should be made ours, at the beginning of this new year. We truly have done nothing to date, or perhaps, very little; the years have followed one another and from beginning to end, we have never asked ourselves how we have spent them, whether there was something to be rectified, to be added or obliterated from our conduct. We have lived thoughtlessly, as if the Eternal Judge were not going to call us to Himself one day and ask us to account for our deeds and for the way we have spent our time.

And yet, we must give an exact account of every moment, of every grace, of every holy inspiration, of every opportunity to do good. The slightest transgression of God's holy laws, will be taken into consideration!”    St. Pio of Pirtrelcina

“Through Mary, we come to her Son more easily.”   - Pope St. John Paul II

“The really great things of the world are not always the immense things; great men are always little men in the sense that they are humble, as Cardinal Mercier was.  They are so big they can always be seeming little, because it is only ‘seems’.  Greatness is not in size.  Little things are much more impressive.  Man never stumbles over a cosmos, though he does stumble over a rug.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Old Errors and New Labels)

“O Lord, we cannot go to the pool of Siloe to which you sent the blind man. But we have the chalice of Your Precious Blood, filled with life and light. The purer we are, the more we receive.”   - St. Ephrem of Syria  (306 – 373)

“It is important for us to work constantly at our growth in holiness.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“Not all, nor even a majority, are saved. . . They are indeed many, if regarded by themselves, but they are few in comparison with the far larger number of those who shall be punished with the devil.”   - St. Augustine (354.-430.)

"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."   - St. Basil the Great

"A God who became so small could only be mercy and love."   - St. Therese of Lisieux

If people wish to gain freedom of spirit and not be always troubled, let them begin by not being frightened by the cross, and they will see the Lord also helps them carry it and they will gain satisfaction and profit from everything.    St. Teresa of Jesus of Avila   The Book of Her Life - Ch 11:17

“I feel a great desire to abandon myself with greater trust to the Divine Mercy and to place my hope in God alone.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

"Jesus said, "I am very pleased that you confide your fears to Me...Speak to Me about everything in a completely simply and human way; by this you will give me great joy. I understand you because I am God-Man. This simple language of your heart is more pleasing to Me than the hymns composed in My honor... the simpler your speech is, the more you attract Me to yourself. And now, be at peace close to My Heart."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 797)

“The Magi came from the East.  How did they know about Christ?  Probably from the prophecy of Daniel concerning the seventy weeks of the years; they counted the revolution of the stars.  In any case, they knew, and they brought gold because he was a king, incense because he was a priest, but also myrrh.  That’s the way he was buried, with a hundred pounds of spices and myrrh.  What would our mothers have thought if the neighbors brought in embalming fluid when we were born?”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Through the Year with Fulton Sheen)

“With reason did the Most Holy Virgin predict that all generations would call her blessed, for all the Elect obtain eternal salvation through the means of Mary."   - Saint Ildephonsus, Bishop 

"......The Sacraments which Our Lord instituted would not have saved us without the Holy Spirit. Even the death of Our Lord would have been useless to us without Him. Therefore Our Lord said to His Apostles, “It is good for you that I should go away; for if I did not go, the Consoler would not come. ” The descent of the Holy Ghost was required, to render fruitful that harvest of graces. It is like a grain of wheat–you cast it into the ground; yes, but it must have sun and rain to make it grow and come into ear. We should say every morning, “O God, send me Thy Spirit to teach me what I am and what Thou art......"    - St John Vianney.

“How admirable and adorable are the ways by which God leads his own.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills it; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.”    - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Pray very much the prayers of the rosary. I alone am able to save you from the calamities.   -  Blessed Virgin Mary in Akita, Japan

"All perfection consists in the love of God; and the perfection of divine love consists in the union of our will with that of God…."   - St. Alphonsus

It isn't always good to abandon prayer when there is great distraction and disturbance in the intellect just as it isn't always good to torture the soul into doing what it cannot do.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The  Book of Her Life - Ch 11: 16

“Let us say to ourselves with the full conviction of telling the truth, "My soul, begin today to do the good works which to this day you have not done." Let us be moved by the presence of God. Let us often say to ourselves, "God sees me, and as He looks at me He also judges me." Let us act in such a way that He sees only good in us.”   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).

"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

“Grace does not work like a penny in a slot machine.  Grace will move you only when you want it to move you, and only when you let it move you.  The supernatural order supposes the freedom of the natural order, but it does not destroy it.”  Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Preface to Religion)

“Let us give ourselves to God so that He will grant us the grace to stand fast.”   – St. Vincent de Paul

“The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works, and nourishes pure affection. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus.”    - St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot, Doctor of the Church

"Fear gradually diminishes as love grows."    -Pope St. John Paul II, from his book Love & Responsibility

"More merciful to me even than to His beloved disciples, Our Lord Himself took the net, cast it, and drew it out full of fishes. He made me a fisher of men. Love and a spirit of self-forgetfulness took possession of me, and from that time I was perfectly happy."   - St Therese of Lisieux

“'Seek to learn on earth those truths which will remain ever valid in Heaven”    St. Jerome (347-420)

The love of God ...... consists in serving with justice and fortitude of soul and in humility.   St Teresa of Jesus of Avila    The  Book of Her Life - Ch 11: 13

“ We shall not see each other again in this world; but when I am no longer here, do not forget me in your prayers before the Almighty and I shall continue as your guide from Heaven.”   St. Pio of Pietrelcina

“When you reflect upon what I tell you in the depths of your heart, you profit more than if you had read many books. Oh, if souls would only want to listen to My voice when I am speaking in the depths of their hearts, they would reach the peak of holiness in a short time."   WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA   (Diary 584)