St. Bernard of Clairvaux: The Way to the Kingdom

Present tribulation is the way to glory – the way to the kingdom.  

-St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard of Clairvaux on Suffering

We must begin with patience and detachment, and at last we shall learn to love the sufferings which liken us to the Passion of our Redeemer.  

- St. Bernard of Clairvaux 

St. Teresa of Avila about St. Joseph

I do not remember to this day ever having asked St. Joseph for anything that he did not grant me... I wish that I could persuade everyone to venerate this glorious saint, for I have great experience of the blessings that he obtains from God... he gives very real help to the souls who commend themselves to him.
- St. Teresa of Avila

St. John Chrysostom: Suffering Thankfully Profits Us

If you suffer thankfully your profit will increase in proportion to the greatness of what you suffer.  

- St. John Chrysostom

St. Francis de Sales: Choose Some Saints

Choose some particular saints that you may enter more deeply into their spirit and imitate them, and have a special confidence in their intercession. 

 - St. Francis de Sales

St. Augustine about Saints

God, who created all things, is in all places, and is everywhere to be worshiped. Yet his infinite wisdom thinks fit to work wonders at the intercession of his saints.  

- St. Augustine of Hippo

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Become a child in God's hands

"Unless you become a little child . . . " I am sure you will understand beautifully everything if you would only "become" a little child in God's hands. Your longing for God is so deep, and yet He keeps Himself away from you. He must be forcing Himself to do so, because He loves you so much - as to give Jesus to die for you and for me. Christ is longing to be your Food. Surrounded with fullness of living Food, you allow yourself to starve. The personal love Christ has for you is infinite; the small difficulty you have regarding His Church is finite. Overcome the finite with the infinite. Christ has created you because He wanted you. I know what you feel - terrible longing with dark emptiness. And yet, He is the one in love with you.

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Faith is a gospel of love

Our holy faith is nothing but a gospel of love, revealing to us God's love for men and claiming in return man's love for God.

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: To see Christ in the poor

We need the eyes of deep faith to see Christ in the broken body and dirty clothes under which the most beautiful One among the sons of men hides. We shall need the hands of Christ to touch those bodies wounded by pain and suffering.

How pure our hands must be if we have to touch Christi's Body as the priest touches Him in the appearance of bread at the altar. With what love and devotion and faith he lifts the sacred Host! These same feelings we too must have when we lift the body of the sick poor.

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Not called to be successful

We do nothing. He does everything. All glory must be returned to Him.

God has not called me to be successful. He called me to be faithful.

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Faith is a gift of God

Faith is a gift of God. Without it there would be no life. And our work, to be fruitful, and to be all for God, and to be beautiful, has to be built on faith - faith in Christ, who has said, "I was hungry, I was naked, I was sick and I was homeless, and you ministered to Me." On these words of His all our work is based.

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Wednesday With St. Anthony of Padua

Prayer

Most Holy Trinity, one God, let me never forget your goodness. Help me to trust you more than I have ever done before. Please teach me through the example of St. Anthony how I may best serve you in the future. May his prayers secure for me the help I need.

Reflection: Your hope in the Holy Trinity rests on the promises of Christ, and on His merits rather than on your own resources. That is why St. Anthony wishes you to give your heart to God alone.

Practice: Ask St. Anthony to help you abandon yourself completely to God's provident care for this day.

Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Receive, Lord, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. You have given me all that I have, all that I am, and I surrender all to your divine will, in order that you may dispose of me. Give me only your love and your grace. With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask.

- Saint Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola Quotation for November 5, 2013

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. All other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him fulfill the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use these things to the extent that they will help him to attain his end. Likewise, he must rid himself of them in so far as they prevent him from attaining it.

Therefore we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, in so far as it is left to the choice of our free will and is not forbidden. Acting accordingly, for our part, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short one. And so in all things we should desire and choose only those things that will best help us attain the end for which we are created.

- Saint Ignatius of Loyola

St. Anthony of Egypt: Things That Make the Devil Afraid

The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.

- St. Anthony of Egypt (251-356)

St. Therese of Lisieux: The Lord Cherishes Simplicity

Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.

- St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Charles of Sezze: What God Commands

God does not command us to live in hair shirts and chains, or to chastise our flesh with scourges, but to love Him above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.

- St. Charles of Sezze 

Saint Dwynwen: Cheerfulness Wins Hearts!

Nothing wins hearts like cheerfulness.

- Saint Dwynwen (d. 460)

St. Joseph Sebastian Pelczar Quotation

One of the most ardent desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is that his Most Holy Mother be venerated and loved by all:  firstly, because the Lord himself has ineffable love for her, and then because he made her the mother of all men, so that with her sweetness she might attract to herself even those who flee the Holy Cross, and bring them to the Divine Heart.

- St. Joseph Sebastian Pelczar

Blessed Laura Vicuna: A Cheerful Attitude

A cheerful attitude will sustain you in all your difficulties, trials and sufferings in life.

- Blessed Laura Vicuna 

Mother Teresa: Believe In God's Love More Than Your Weakness!!

Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.

- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Pope John Paul II: Suffering and Healing, A Double Lesson

The Gospel often shows Jesus in the act of bending over sick people, to comfort them and also, not infrequently, to cure them. 

The Redeemer himself did not escape suffering, and he taught that pain has a value in the work of salvation, yet "he went about doing good and healing all." A double lesson can be seen in this behavior: that human pain has a precise rose to play in God's plan, and that, nevertheless, it moves the heart of Jesus to compassion,for he knows well how profoundly suffering can upset frail humanity and how severely it can test it. Thus he never withholds his understanding and comfort from the sick person who turns trustingly to him.

It is very important, in fact crucial, to accept suffering with Jesus, like Jesus, and for his love, because this conforms in a special way with him and his mission. In this regard St. Maximus the Confessor teaches that God, in his inscrutable plan of love, allows suffering to strike mankind not only as a punishment but as a medicine.

The plea to be cured is still legitimate, because health, too, is a great gift of God, thanks to which we may render valuable services to our neighbor. No divine gift, in fact, is ever bestowed for our exclusive personal advantage but "so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

- Blessed Pope John Paul II

St. Pio of Pietrelcina: Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry!

I want to be only a poor Friar who prays. Pray, hope and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayers. Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should speak to Him only with your hearts."

- St. Pio of Pietrelcina

St. Therese of Lisieux on Confidence in Jesus

I am certain that even if I had on my conscience every imaginable crime, I should lose nothing of my confidence; rather I would hurry, with a heart broken with sorrow, to throw myself into the Arms of my Jesus.

- St. Therese of Lisieux

Pope John Paul II: What Really Matters In Life

What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ, and that we love him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And without the love of Jesus, everything else is useless.

- Blessed Pope John Paul II

Thoughts from St. Faustina's Diary

Most sweet Jesus, set on fire my love for You and transform me into Yourself. Divinize me that my deeds may be pleasing to You. May this be accomplished by the power of the Holy Communion which I receive daily. Oh, how greatly I desire to be wholly transformed into You, O Lord!       (1289)

      When I received Holy Communion, I said to Him, "Jesus, I thought about You so many times last night," and Jesus answered me, And I thought of you before I called you into being. "Jesus, in what way were You thinking about me?" In terms of admitting you to My eternal happiness. After these words, my soul was flooded with the love of God. I could not stop marveling at how much God loves us.       (1292) 

- St. Faustina Kowalska

St. Francis de Sales: Tranquility

It is necessary before all things to obtain tranquility, not because it is the mother of contentment, but because it is the daughter of the love of God and of the resignation of our own will.

- Saint Francis de Sales

Wisdom from St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

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.

- Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891-1942)

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Hunger

There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness, and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much.

- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

St. Bernard of Clairvaux: All God Desires

For when God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return. The sole purpose of his love is to be loved, in the knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him.

- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Wisdom from St. Teresa of Avila

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.

- Saint Teresa of Avila

Pope John Paul II: God's Love for Us Is Freely Given and Unearned

God's love for us is freely given and unearned, surpassing all we could ever hope for or imagine. He does not love us because we have merited it or are worthy of it. God loves us, rather, because he is true to his own nature. As Saint John puts it, "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1Jn 4:16).

- Blessed Pope John Paul II 

Pope John Paul II: Why?

Human suffering is a continent that none of us have reached the borders of: yet, traversing the pavilions of this "Little House," we have covered enough territory to get an idea of its impressive proportions. And the question again rises in our hearts: why?

In this unique environment, let's listen again to the response given by faith: the life of historical man, polluted by sin, unfolds under the sign of Christ's Cross. In the Cross, God turned the meaning of suffering upside down: suffering which was the result and evidence of sin, has now become a sharing in the redemptive expiation brought about by Christ. As such, it carries in itself, even now, the anticipation of the ultimate victory over sin and its consequences, through sharing in the glorious resurrection of the Savior.

A few days ago, with the Liturgy leading us by the hand, we relived the dramatic moments of the Passion and death of the Lord, and we listened again to the triumphal Alleluia of the Resurrection. You see, the paschal mystery contains the ultimate word on human suffering. Jesus assumes the pain of each of us in the mystery of his Passion and transforms it into a regenerative force for those who suffer and for all mankind, with the prospect of the ultimate triumph of the resurrection, when "even so, through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

- Pope John Paul II the Great 

Mother Teresa: The Kiss from the Cross

Suffering has to come because if you look at the cross, he has got his head bending down - he wants to kiss you - and he has both hands open wide - he wants to embrace you. He has his heart opened wide to receive you. Then when you feel miserable inside, look at the cross and you will know what is happening. Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close that he can kiss you. Do you understand, brothers, sisters, or whoever you may be? Suffering, pain, humiliation - this is the kiss of Jesus. At times you come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you. I once told this to a lady who was suffering very much. She answered, "Tell Jesus not to kiss me - to stop kissing me." That suffering has to come that came into the life of Our Lady, that came in the life of Jesus - it has to come in our life also. Only never put on a long face. Suffering is a gift from God. It is between you and Jesus alone inside.

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A Number of St. Therese of Lisieux Quotes

How often have I thought that I may owe all the graces I've received to the prayers of a person who begged them from God for me, and whom I shall know only in heaven.

 ***

Jesus does not ask for great achievements: only surrender and gratitude.

***

Yes, all is well when we seek only the will of Jesus.

***

Jesus works miracles for His dearest friends only after He has tested their faith. He let Lazarus die, even though Martha and Mary sent word that he was sick. But after the trial, what rewards! Lazarus rises from the dead.

 ***

Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be.

***

I do everything for God, and in this way I lose nothing, and I'm always well repaid for the trouble I go to for other people.

- St. Therese of Lisieux

---

Bl. Pope John XXIII: Discerning the Signs of the Times

Blessed John XXIII (1881-1963), Pope
Address for the opening of the Second Vatican Council 

 

Discerning the signs of the times: an important theme of the Second Vatican Council

In the daily exercise of our apostolic ministry, we are often offended when we learn what certain people are saying, who are filled with religious zeal yet lack correct judgment and level-headedness in their way of seeing things. They see only ruins and calamities in society's present situation. They are used to saying that our day and age has worsened profoundly in comparison with past centuries. They behave as if history, which is the teacher of life, had nothing to teach them and as if at the time of past Councils, everything had been perfect where Christian doctrine, customs and the Church's just freedom were concerned.

It seems to us that we must state our complete disagreement with the prophets of misfortune, who always announce catastrophes as if the world were close to its end.

In the present course of events when society seems to be at a turning point, it is better to acknowledge the mysterious plans of divine Providence which, through the succession of times and the work of human beings and most of the time against all expectations, reach their goal and arrange everything with wisdom for the good of the Church, even the events that are in opposition to it.

- Blessed Pope John XXIII

Bl. Gaetano Errico Exhortation

Let us kindle the love of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the hearts of all people.

- Bl. Gaetano Errico (1791-1860)

St. Albert the Great Quotation

An egg given during life for love of God is more profitable for eternity than a cathedral full of gold given after death.

- St. Albert the Great (1206-1280)

Mother Cabrini: Jesus Alone

We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success, nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone.

- St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

St. John of Kanty: Fighting Error

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 (1390-1473)

Giving Pleasure to Jesus

Let us give pleasure to Jesus; let us save souls for Him by our sacrifices.

- St. Therese of Lisieux

Sobering Words from Venerable Louis of Granada

If all the calamities which have existed in the world since the creation and all the sufferings of hell were put into one side of a scale, and put one mortal sin into the other, it would outweigh all these evils, for it is incomparably greater.

- Venerable Louis of Granada (1504-1588)

 

Live in Abandonment!

Live in abandonment to God and in the hands of Mary Immaculate.

- Blessed Eugenia Ravasco (1845-1900)