St. Faustina

O my Jesus, I have only one task to carry out in my lifetime, in death, and throughout eternity, and that is to adore Your incomprehensible mercy. No mind, either of angel or of man, will ever fathom the mysteries of Your mercy, O God. The angels are lost in amazement before the mystery of divine mercy, but cannot comprehend it. Everything that has come from the Creator's hand is contained in this inconceivable mystery; that is to say, in the very depths of His tender mercy. When I meditate on this, my spirit swoons, and my heart dissolves with joy. O Jesus, it is through Your most compassionate Heart, as through a crystal, that the rays of divine mercy have come to us.

Jesus

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

St. Cyril of Alexandria

It was not otherwise possible for man, being of a nature which perishes, to escape death, unless he recovered that ancient grace, and partook once more of God who holds all things together in being and preserves them in life through the Son in the Spirit. Therefore His only-begotten Word has become a partaker of flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14), that is, He has become man, though being Life by nature, and begotten of the Life that is by nature, that is, of God the Father, so that, having united Himself with the flesh which perishes according to the law of its own nature...He might restore it to His own life and render it through Himself a partaker of God the Father....And He wears our nature, refashioning it to His own life. And He Himself is also in us, for we have all become partakers of Him, and have Him in ourselves through the Spirit. For this reason we have become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4), and are reckoned as sons, and so too have in ourselves the Father Himself through the Son.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Joy isn't found in the material objects surrounding us, but in the inner recesses of the soul. One can possess joy in a prison cell as well as in a palace.

A Prayer from the Divine Office

God our Father,
You conquer the darkness of ignorance
by the light of Your Word.
Strengthen within our hearts
the faith You have given us;
let not temptation ever quench the fire
that Your love has kindled within us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

St. Francis de Sales

Perfection of life is the perfection of love. For love is the life of the soul.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Jesus does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them.

Our Lady of Medjugorje

Dear children! Today I call you to have your life be connected with God the Creator, because only in this way will your life have meaning and you will comprehend that God is love. God sends me to you out of love, that I may help you to comprehend that without Him there is no future or joy and, above all, there is no eternal salvation. Little children, I call you to leave sin and to accept prayer at all times, that you may in prayer come to know the meaning of your life. God gives Himself to him who seeks Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Our Lady of Medjugorje

Dear children! In this time of grace, I call you anew to prayer and renunciation. May your day be interwoven with little ardent prayers for all those who have not come to know God's love. Thank you for having responded to my call.

St. Teresa of Avila

Truth suffers, but never dies.

Hesychius

Let mind and heart be in your song: this is to glorify God with your whole self.

St. Columbanus

Beloved Saviour, show yourself to us who beg a glimpse of you. Let us know you, let us love you, let us love only you, let us desire you alone, let us spend our days and nights meditating on you alone, let us always be thinking of you. Fill us with love of you, let us love you with all the love that is your right as our God. Let that love fill us and possess us, let it overwhelm our senses until we can love nothing but you, for you are eternal. Give us that love that all the waters of the sea, the earth, the sky cannot extinguish: as it is written, love that no flood can quench, no torrents drown. What is said in the Song of Songs can become true in us (at least in part) if you, our Lord Jesus Christ, give us that grace. To you be glory for ever and for ever. Amen.

St. Bonaventure

Since the whole divine nature was in the womb of the Virgin, I do not fear to teach that she has a certain jurisdiction over all the streams of grace; as her womb was, as it were, an ocean of the divine nature, whence all the streams of grace must emanate.

St. Augustine

Patience is the companion of wisdom.

John Paul II

May Mary, Seat of Wisdom, be a sure haven for all who devote their lives to the search for wisdom. May their journey into wisdom, sure and fi nal goal of all true knowing, be freed of every hindrance by the intercession of the one who, in giving birth to the Truth and treasuring it in her heart, has shared it forever with the world.

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Here a question arises, whether it is necessary to have recourse also to the intercession of the saints to obtain the grace of God.

That it is a lawful and useful thing to invoke the saints, as intercessors, to obtain for us, by the merits of Jesus Christ, that which we, by our demerits, are not worthy to receive, is a doctrine of the Church, declared by the Council of Trent: 'It is good and useful to invoke them by supplication, and to fly to their aid and assistance to obtain benefits from God through his Son Jesus Christ.'

Such invocation was condemned by the impious Calvin, but most illogically. For if it is lawful and profitable to invoke living saints to aid us, and to beseech them to assist us in prayers, as the prophet Baruch did: And pray ye for us to the Lord our God (Bar. 1,13) and St. Paul: Brethren, pray for us (1 Thes. 5,25); and as God himself commanded the friends of Job to recommend themselves to his prayers, that by the merits of Job he might look favorably on them: Go to my servant Job,...and my servant Job shall pray for you; his face I will accept (Job 42,8); if, then, it is lawful to recommend ourselves to the living, how can it be unlawful to invoke the saints who in heaven enjoy God face to face? This is not derogatory to the honor due to God, but it is doubling it; for it is honoring the king not only in his person but in his servants. Therefore, says St. Thomas, it is good to have recourse to many saints, 'because by the prayers of many we can sometimes obtain that which we cannot by the prayers of one.' And if anyone objects, But why have recourse to the saints to pray for us, when they are already praying for all who are worthy of it? The same Doctor answers, that no one can be said to be worthy that the saints should pray for him; but that 'he becomes worthy by having recourse to the saints with devotion.'

St. Augustine

God therefore does not command impossibilities; but in His command He counsels you both to do what you can for yourself, and to ask His aid in what you cannot do.

St. Catherine of Siena

You must never turn back for anything at all. You must not break away from holy prayer for any reason except obedience or charity. For often during the time scheduled for prayer the devil comes with all sorts of struggles and annoyances - even more than when you are not at prayer. He does this to make you weary of holy prayer. Often he will say, 'This sort of prayer is worthless to you. You should not think about or pay attention to anything except vocal prayer.' He makes it seem this way so that you will become weary and confused, and abandon the exercise of prayer. But prayer is a weapon with which you can defend yourself against every enemy. If you hold it with love's hand and the arm of free choice, this weapon, with the light of most holy faith, will be your defense.

Today's Morning Prayer from the Divine Office

Lord God,
king of heaven and earth,
direct our minds and bodies throughout this day,
and make us holy.
Keep us faithful to Your law in thought, word and deed.
Be our helper now and always,
free us from sin,
and bring us to salvation in that kingdom
where You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

St. Therese of Lisieux

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.