Love is a movement, an effusion and a step from the heart towards goodness.
We don’t have the love needed to love God as He deserves.
The soul cannot live without love. All depends on providing a worthy object to love.
How is it possible to have a heart and not love with infinite goodness?
Oh, eternal love! My soul requires you and chooses you eternally. Oh, to love or to die; or to die or to love.
Holy love establishes its dwelling in the highest and most eminent, region of the spirit.
The pleasure and the movement of the will towards kind things is properly speaking, Love.
I wanted to love not knowing what to love. I have found he who my soul searched for!
Complacency is an awareness of the heart; love is the action.
A sign that we love truly love God is that we love Him the same in all occasions.
A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship, as experience shows that the callosity formed around a broken bone makes it stronger than before.
The elephant, not only the largest but the most intelligent of animals, provides us with an excellent example. It is faithful and tenderly loving to the female of its choice, mating only every third year and then for no more than five days, and so secretly as never to be seen, until, on the sixth day, it appears and goes at once to wash its whole body in the river, unwilling to return to the herd until thus purified. Such good and modest habits are an example to husband and wife.
Marital intercourse is certainly holy, lawful and praiseworthy in itself and profitable to society, yet in certain circumstances it can prove dangerous, as when through excess the soul is made sick with venial sin, or through the violation and perversion of its primary end, killed by mortal sin; such perversion, detestable in proportion to its departure from the true order, being always mortal sin, for it is never lawful to exclude the primary end of marriage which is the procreation of children.
Have patience to walk with short steps until you have wings to fly.
The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying, not ‘What a lovely sermon’ but, ‘I will do something!’
Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.
First of all on awakening, we are to direct our minds completely to God by some holy thought such as the following: Sleep is the image of death and awakening that of the resurrection.
Imitate little children who, as they with one hand hold fast by their father, and with the other gather strawberries or blackberries along the hedges; so you, gathering and handling the goods of this world with one hand, must with the other always hold fast the hand of your heavenly Father, turning yourself to-wards him from time to time to see if your actions or occupations be pleasing to him; but above all things take heed that you never leave his protecting hand nor think to gather more, for should he forsake you, you will not be able to go a step further without falling to the ground.
He who is able to procure pearls does not burden himself with shells. Similarly, those who are intent on virtue are not eager for honours.
Crocodiles harm only those who fear them and similarly calumny hurts only those who are troubled about it. The excessive fear of losing our good name indicates a great lack of confidence about its foundation which is the genuineness of a good life.
Reputation is like a signboard which indicates where virtue resides. Virtue should be preferred always and everywhere.
When we see ourselves agitated by anger, we must implore the help of God, following the example of the Apostles tossed about by the wind and the storm of the waters (Mt. 8, 24¬26).
Do not allow anyone, to touch you in an unbecoming manner either playfully or out of fondness. Although chastity may perhaps be preserved among these actions, rather thoughtless than malicious, yet the freshness and flowering of chastity always receives some damage and loss. But to allow oneself to be touched immodestly is the total ruin of chastity.
Fits of anger, vexation and bitterness against ourselves tend to pride and they spring from no other source than self-love, which is disturbed and upset at seeing that it is imperfect.
For he will command our passions to be still and there will be a great calm. But I wish to make you aware that the prayer which is made against a present pressing anger ought to be gentle, tranquil and not violent. This is to be followed in all the remedies we use against evil.
Truly it is a blessed thing to love on earth as we hope to love in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here which is to endure for ever there.
While gathering and managing the goods of this world with one hand, hold fast with the other to the hand of your heavenly Father, turning to him from time to time to see if your actions or occupations are pleasing to him. Take care, above all, that you do not leave his hand and protection thinking of collecting and gathering more
God will work with you in you and for you and your work will be followed by consolation.
False friendship provokes dizziness of spirit which makes persons waver in chastity and devotion
Those who foster a delicate conscience are rarely liable to rash judgment. It is the occupation of an idle person to be busy with scrutinizing the life of another.
Do not frequent immodest persons especially if they are also shameless of being immodest, as they are almost always. The he-goats touching sweet almond trees with their tongues make them bitter. Similarly these depraved persons with corrupt hearts can scarcely speak to anyone, either of the same or of the opposite sex, without causing them to fall off from chastity to some extent. They have poison in their eyes and breath, like basilisks.
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