Miscellaneous Quotes

Miscellaneous Quotes by the Saints

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

A self-indulgent heart becomes a prison and chain for the soul when it leaves this life; whereas an assiduous heart is an open door. -- St. Mark the Ascetic

All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted. -- Saint Teresa of Avila

 

Brothers, do not be surprised and do not be afraid. 

Unwittingly you have pursued falsehood thinking it to be the truth. If you had been taught the truth first you would have been found effortlessly tending toward salvation, just as you now effortlessly lean toward perdition. -- St. Norbert, to the people of Antwerp

A double-minded person is one who kneels down to ask God for things and beseeches Him to grant them, and yet feels so accused by his conscience that he distrusts his ability to pray. A double-minded person is also one who, when he does good deeds, looks for external approval rather than interior reward. The wise man is right when he says, "Woe to the sinner who walks along two ways!" (Sirach 2:12) People of this type are inconstant in all their ways, for they are very easily overpowered by adverse circumstance and entrapped by favorable ones, with the result that they stray from the true path. -- St. Bede the Venerable

As for joy, as little as one can have of it in this life, experience shows that it is not the idle who possess it, but those who are zealous in the service of God. -- St. Ignatius of Loyola

Let the sick man enter into the Side of Jesus and His most holy Wounds; let him not be afraid, but combat manfully, and he will come forth victorious. -- St. Philip Neri

Man acts so far as he can in accordance with his own wishes; but God decides the outcome in accordance with justice. -- St. Mark the Ascetic

We will either accuse ourselves or excuse ourselves. -- St. John Vianney

The man who loves God with a true heart, and prizes him above all things, sometimes sheds floods of tears at prayer, and has in abundance of favours and spiritual feelings coming upon him with such vehemence, that he is forced to cry out, "Lord! let me be quiet!" -- St. Philip Neri

The acknowledgment of and gratitude for favors and gifts received is loved and esteemed in Heaven and on earth. -- St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Holy Scriptures do not know any distinctions. They enjoin that all lead the life of monks. -- St. John Chrysostom

Blessed the one who has become a good spiritual net and caught many for the good Lord, such a one will greatly praised by the Lord. -- St. Ephrem of Syria 

Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ -- St. Jerome

When shall it be that we shall taste the sweetness of the Divine Will in all that happens to us, considering in everything only His good pleasure, by whom it is certain that adversity is sent with as much love as prosperity, and as much for our good? When shall we cast ourselves undeservedly into the arms of our most loving Father in Heaven, leaving to Him the care of ourselves and of our affairs, and reserving only the desire of pleasing Him, and of serving Him well in all that we can? -- St. Jane Frances de Chantal

Love overcomes, love delights, those who love the Sacred Heart rejoice. - St. Bernadette Soubirous

Celebrate the feast of Christmas every day, even every moment in the interior temple of your spirit, remaining like a baby in the bosom of the heavenly Father, where you will be reborn each moment in the Divine Word, Jesus Christ. -- St. Paul of the Cross

It is better to be the child of God than king of the whole world. -- St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Nothing is far from God. -- St. Monica

To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. -- Mother Teresa

'Luke 11:14. The Blessed Evangelist Matthew tells us, that this man was not alone dumb but blind also. And blind is every man who follows not after that Light Which says: I am the Light of the world; he that followeth Me walketh not in darkness, but shall have the Light of life (Jn. 8:12). And he is indeed dumb who confesses not his sins, and who knows not how to open his mouth to the praise of God. - St. Bruno

Whatever you do, think not of yourself, but of God. -- St. Vincent Ferrer

Christ said, "I am the Truth"; he did not say "I am the custom." -- St. Toribio

My daughter, I see more Pharisees among Christians than there were around Pilate. -- St. Margaret of Cortona

Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him. -- St. Dominic Savio

The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history. -- Pope John Paul II

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

O Jesus, if I but considered attentively your immense solicitude for me, how greatly should I not excel in every virtue? Pardon me, O Jesus, so much carelessness, pardon such great ignorance. My God, Jesus my Love, Uncreated Goodness, what would have become of me if you had not drawn me to yourself? Open your heart to me, open to me your sacramental breast; I open mine to you. -- St Gemma Galgani

The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive intheir heart the invitation of Christ. - Saint Anthony of Padua

Disorder in society is the result of disorder in the family.  -- St Angela Merici

The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter; the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin. Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this? Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common laborer; the wise, to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate; a child of a prince, to a peasant. -St. Anthony of Padua

Let my soul live as if separated from my body.  -- St. John of the Cross

This very moment I may, if I desire, become the friend of God. -- St. Augustine

You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions.  -- St. John Mary Vianney

Burning the candle at both ends for God's sake may be foolishness to the world, but it is a profitable Christian exercise-for so much better the light. Only one thing in life matters. Being found worthy of the Light of the World in the hour of His visitation. We need have no undue fear for our health if we work hard for the kingdom of God; God will take care of our health if we take care of His cause. In any case it is better to burn out than to rust out.  -- Bishop Fulton Sheen

You see then that the gift of discretion is no earthly thing and no slight matter, but the greatest prize of divine grace. And unless a monk has pursued it with all zeal, and secured a power of discerning with unerring judgment the spirits that rise up in him, he is sure to go wrong, as if in the darkness of night and dense blackness, and not merely to fall down dangerous pits and precipices, but also to make frequent mistakes in matters that are plain and straightforward. - St. Moses the Black Hermit

To abstain from sinful actions is not sufficient for the fulfillment of God's law. The very desire of what is forbidden is evil. - St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle

God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits of passion, jealousy, hatred and slandering the brethren; in short, everything that is characteristic of the old man. - St. Poemen

Since God wishes it - there is nothing to be done. . . Why should you thus torment yourself? Get rid of whatever He shows you to be an obstacle to His love, for His only desire is that you should live stripped of all that is not Himself. - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

For if our Lord and God was arrested for our sins, is it a great matter if we unprofitable servants should also be arrested for his sake? And if he was bound and led away and put in prison, is it so strange should we suffer the same treatment as the Master? Rather it would be exceedingly grievous not to encounter such things. But if we must be scourged, let us bear the scourges; and if we must be beaten, let us bear the beatings; and we have to be spat on, let us bear the spittings; and finally if we must be put to death, let us bear that revered death. And good it is if anyone were to be found worthy to become a partaker in Christ's sufferings. This is blessedness, this is immortality. Do we not hear what the Apostle says? From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body [Gal. 6:17]. As though he were saying: Let no one despise me, for I bear the adornments of Christ the universal King in my flesh. - St. Theodore the Studite

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