Examine your heart often to see if it is such toward your neighbour as you would like his to be toward you, were you in his place. This is the touchstone of true reason.
Our possessions are not ours- God has given them to us to cultivate, that we may make them fruitful and profitable in His Service, and so doing we shall please Him.
Humility consists in not esteeming ourselves above other men, and in not seeking to be esteemed above them.
Do not think that you will be able to succeed in your affairs by your own efforts, but only by the assistance of God; and on setting out, consign yourself to His care, believing that He will do that which will be best for you.
If you have firm trust in God, the success that comes to you will always be that which is most useful for you whether it appears good or bad in your private judgment.
Let us walk ... joyously, dear souls, among the difficulties of this passing life. These pains will have an end when our life ends, after which there will be only joy, only contentment, only eternal consolation.
Be patient and one day you will be in Heaven, where there will be only peace and joy ... You will possess an enduring tranquillity and rest.
Let us make our way through these low valleys of the humble and little virtues. We shall see in them the roses amid the thorns, charity that shows its beauty among interior and exterior afflictions, the lilies of purity.
One single day of devotion is worth more than a thousand years of worldly life.
He will unfailingly be pleased with our patience and take note of our diligence and perseverance.
If we walk steadily and faithfully...God will lift us up to greater things.
He would never exhort the faithful to persevere if he were not ready to give them the power to do so.
Lately I was near the beehives and some of the bees flew onto my face. I wanted to raise my hand, and brush them off. ‘No,’ said a peasant to me, ‘do not be afraid, and do not touch them. They will not sting you at all, if you touch them they will bite you.’ I trusted him; not one bit me. Trust me; do not fear these temptations. Do not touch them; they will not hurt you.
Ought we not to love dearly the neighbour, who truly represents to us the sacred Person of our Master? And is this not one of the most powerful motives we could have for loving each other with an ardently burning love?”
When we find that we have been aroused to anger we must call for God’s help like the apostles when they were tossed about by the wind and storm on the waters. He will command your passions to cease and there will be a great calm.
Everybody finds themselves sometimes deficient in what they need, and put to inconvenience ... the richest people may easily be without something they want, and that is practically to suffer poverty. Accept such occurrences cheerfully, rejoice in them, bear them willingly.
Although, dear Lord, I have no feeling of confidence in Thee, I know all the same that Thou art my God, that I am wholly thine, and that I have no hope but in Thy goodness; therefore I abandon myself entirely into Thy hands.
One of the best exercises in meekness we can perform is when the subject is in ourselves. We must not fret over our own imperfections. Although reason requires that we must be displeased and sorry whenever we commit a fault we must refrain from bitter, gloomy, spiteful, and emotional displeasure. Many people are greatly at fault in this way. When overcome by anger they become angry at being angry, disturbed at being disturbed and vexed at being vexed. By such means they keep their hearts drenched and steeped in passion.
He enables [his children] to walk before him; he holds their hand in difficulties; he himself carries them along in hardships that he sees as being otherwise unbearable to them.
The body is poisoned through the mouth, even so is the heart through the ear ... And even if we do mean no harm, the Evil One means a great deal, and he will use those idle words as a sharp weapon against some neighbour’s heart.
When we abandon all to Him, He takes a tender care of us, and His Providence for us is great or small according to the measure of our abandonment.
Take patiently the petty annoyances, the trifling discomforts, the unimportant losses which come upon all of us daily; for by means of these little matters, lovingly and freely accepted, you will give Him your whole heart, and win His.
The acts of daily forbearance, the headache, or toothache, or heavy cold; the tiresome peculiarities of husband or wife, the broken glass...all of these sufferings, small as they are, if accepted lovingly, are most pleasing to God’s Goodness.
We must unceasingly ask for perseverance by making use of the means which God has taught us for obtaining it: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, frequenting the sacraments, association with good companions, and hearing and reading Holy Scripture.
Frequently give up some of your property by giving it with a generous heart to the poor ... It is true that God will repay us not only in the next world but even in this.
If after all your efforts you cannot succeed, you could not please our Lord more than by sacrificing to Him your will, and remaining in tranquillity, humility, and devotion, entirely conformed and submissive to His divine will and good pleasure.
There are two sorts of good wills. The one says, “I would do well, but it gives me trouble, and I will not do it.” The other, “I wish to do well, but I have not as much power as I have will; it is this which holds me back.” The first fills Hell, the second Paradise.
From the heights of heaven Jesus Christ mercifully looks down upon you and gracious¬ly invites you there.
See, this divine lover is at the gate. He does not merely knock, but He remains there knocking. He calls to the soul.
When human aid fails us, all is not wanting; for God takes over and takes care of us by His special Providence.
Stretch out your hand to Him like a little child to his father so that He may lead you on.
Books | Quotes | 27 Volumes | Pictures | Videos | Audio Books | Articles | Prayers