THE SAINTS SPEAK-ARCHIVE 2012-2013
Comments are closed for this blog post
-
Comment by Dawn Marie on May 17, 2013 at 7:26pm
-
'Do not let the devil frighten you. Keep yourself hidden in God, and nothing can hurt you.'
St. Paul of the Cross
'Silence is not a virtue when charity calls for speech.'
St. Poemen
'Come what may in the shape of temptation, attended by whatsoever of delectation, - so long as your will refuses consent, not merely to the temptation itself, but also to the delectation, you need have no fear, - God is not offended. When any one has swooned away, and gives no sign of life, we put our hand to his heart, and if we find the slightest fluttering there, we conclude that he still lives, and that, with the help of stimulants and counter-irritants, we may restore consciousness and power. Even so, sometimes amid the violence of temptation the soul seems altogether to faint away, and to lose all spiritual life and action. But if you would be sure how it really is, put your hand on the heart. See whether heart and will yet have any spiritual motion; that is to say, whether they fulfil their own special duty in refusing consent to and acceptance of temptation and its gratification; for so long as the power to refuse exists within the soul, we may be sure that Love, the life of the soul, is there, and that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is within, although, it may be, hidden; and that by means of stedfast perseverance in prayer, and the Sacraments, and confidence in God, strength will be restored, and the soul will live with a full and joyous life.'
St. Francis de Sales
-
-
'Do you call these torments? I, for my part, feel no pain: but this I know, that if I am not faithful to my God, I must expect real pains, such as cannot be conceived.'
St. Peter Balsam, tortured on the rack
'The more deeply the cross penetrates, the better; the more deprived suffering is of consolation the purer it will be; the more creatures oppose us, the more closely shall we be united to God.'
St. Paul of the Cross
'When the messenger came to announce to Job that the Sabeans had plundered his goods and slain his children, he said: "The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away." He did not say: "The Lord hath given me my children and my possessions, and the Sabeans have taken them away." He realized that adversity had come upon him by the will of God. Therefore he added: "As it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done. Blessed be the name of the Lord." We must not therefore consider the afflictions that come upon us as happening by chance or solely from the malice of men; we should be convinced that what happens, happens by the will of God. Apropos of this it is related that two martyrs, Epictetus and Atho, being put to the torture by having their bodies raked with iron hooks and burnt with flaming torches, kept repeating: "Work thy will upon us, O Lord." Arrived at the place of execution, they exclaimed: "Eternal God, be thou blessed in that thy will has been entirely accomplished in us."'
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
-
-
"Blessed Jane of the Cross prayed continually for those who gave her any displeasure. Hence her sisters in religion used to say: Whoever desires the prayers of Mother Jane must offer some insult to her. St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, after having prayed for a person who had offended her, heard from God the following words: Know that you never said a prayer more acceptable to me than that which you have just offered, and on account of this prayer I pardon all your sins. Imitate her example, and you shall certainly obtain the pardon and affection of your divine Spouse."
"In the face of the never-ceasing snares of the enemy, it is necessary to have each day a fixed hour for review, to enter into one's self and consider carefully, in presence of God, all one's thoughts, words, and actions."
"Let us trust in him who has placed this burden upon us. What we ourselves cannot bear let us bear with the help of Christ. For he is all-powerful, and he tells us: "My yoke is easy, and my burden light."
-
-
'We must submit to the Will of God and kiss the hand that strikes us, for we know it is better to suffer in this life than in the next, since one moment of suffering willingly accepted for the love of God, is worth an eternity of happiness.'
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
'Some say, "I do not make mental prayer, because I am subject to desolation, to distractions, and to temptations; I have a wandering mind that I cannot confine to the subject of meditation, and therefore I have given up mental prayer."
But to such persons St. Francis de Sales says, that if in their meditations they do nothing else than banish distractions and temptations, the meditation is well made, provided the distraction is not voluntary. The Lord is pleased with a good intention, with a patient endurance, during the whole time prescribed for meditation, and with the pain arising from distractions, and will bestow many graces in return. We ought to go to prayer, not to please ourselves, but to please God. Even holy souls generally suffer aridity in meditation, but because they persevere, God enriches them with his blessings.'St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
'I travel, work, suffer my weak health, meet with a thousand difficulties, but all these are nothing, for this world is so small. To me, space is an imperceptible object, as I am accustomed to dwell in eternity.'
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
-
-
'What toil we must endure, what fatigue, while we are attempting to climb hills and the summits of mountains! What, that we may ascend to heaven! If you consider the promised reward, what you endure is less. Immortality is given to the one who perseveres; everlasting life is offered; the Lord promises His Kingdom.'
St. Cyprian of Carthage
'One ought not to abstain from the Bread of Angels, because he does not feel his sentiments loving enough; that would be to wish to die of hunger because one has not honey.'
St. Ignatius of Loyola
'When you sin, blame your thought, not your action. For had your intellect not run ahead, your body would not have followed.'
St. Mark the Ascetic
-
-
'In all your doubts and anxieties, think of Mary, call upon her name.'
'You must expect then to be shaped, cut and chiseled under the hammer of the Cross, otherwise you would remain unpolished stone, of no value at all, to be disregarded and cast aside. Do not cause the hammer to recoil when it strikes you. Yield to the chisel that is carving you and the hand that is shaping you.'
'Distress reminds the wise of God, but crushes those who forget Him.'
St. Mark the Ascetic
-
-
'Discretion is necessary in spiritual life. It is its part to restrain the exercises in the way of perfection, so as to keep us between the two extremes.'
'Ah! the Blood of Jesus Christ, so much insulted, cries more powerfully for vengeance against the sacrilegious priest than the blood of Abel did against Cain. This Jesus Himself declared to St. Bridget. Oh! what horror must God and His Angels feel at the sight of a sacrilegious Mass!'
'To maintain a secular spirit under the habit of religion is apostasy at heart.'
-
-
'Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more? Let nothing else worry you or disturb you.'
'Have you ever noticed rocks in the sea, beaten by the tempest? A furious wave dashes against the rock, another and yet another does likewise, yet the rock is unmoved. But look at it after the storm has subsided, and you will see that the flood has but served to wash and purify it of the defilement it had contracted during the calm.'
'If you are faithful to your promises, He will be very liberal in His favors. He will give you peace after your struggles, and unknown to you, will bring you to the goal He has planned.'
-
-
The more deeply the Cross penetrates, the better; the more deprived suffering is of consolation the purer it will be; the more creatures oppose us, the more closely shall we be united to God.
St. Paul of the Cross'Where shalt thou rejoice? Upon the Cross, with the Spotless Lamb, seeking His honour and the salvation of souls, through continual, humble prayer. Now herein is all our perfection.'
'When I was calm (I speak thus because I had a little fear) the voice continued: "Oh Gemma, the Blessed Margaret is so afflicted because of you (at this point it seemed to me that I heard a sigh); she loves you, she would like to obtain for you so many favors, she would like to cure you, to make you all hers, but she cannot: the heart of Jesus restrains her because you pray so little, and with no devotion." Here the voice ceased. I felt happy, because I thought suddenly that Jesus is merciful, that He would have pardoned me; I wanted to say: "And if I pray with devotion from now on and if I begin the Novena again, if I become good, will Jesus cure me?" But I could not speak the words.'
-
-
'A man advises his neighbor according to his own understanding; but in the one who listens to such advice, God acts in proportion to his faith.'
St. Mark the Ascetic
'God, in permitting you to have this trial, wishes you to die mystically to all but Himself. He wishes you to consider yourself as dead; to have, as it were, neither tongue, nor eyes, nor ears. As you crush under your foot the crawling worm, so let yourself be trampled upon by everybody; let yourself be the despised and the outcast of the people, as if you were dead and buried.'
St. Paul of the Cross
'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
This blessedness, dearly beloved, does not derive from any casual agreement or from any and every kind of harmony, but it pertains to what the Apostle says: Be at peace before the Lord, and to the words of the prophet: Those who love your law shall enjoy abundant peace; for them it is no stumbling block. Even the most intimate bonds of friendship and the closest affinity of minds cannot truly lay claim to this peace if they are not in agreement with the will of God.
Alliances based on evil desires, covenants of crime and pacts of vice - all lie outside the scope of this peace. Love of the world cannot be reconciled with love of God, and the man who does not separate himself from the children of this generation cannot join the company of the sons of God. But those who keep God ever in their hearts, and are anxious to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, never dissent from the eternal law as they speak the prayer of faith. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'Pope St. Leo the Great
© 2025 Created by Dawn Marie.
Powered by
