Padre Pio

The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain.

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

A soul united to Jesus is a living smile that radiates Him and gives Him.

St. Athanasius

The almighty and most holy Word of the Father pervades the whole of reality, everywhere unfolding his power and shining on all things visible and invisible. He sustains it all and binds it all together in himself. He leaves nothing devoid of his power but gives life and keeps it in being throughout all of creation and in each individual creature.

St. Ambrose

Most High God!
Thou that enkindlest
the fires of the shining stars!
O Jesus!
Thou that art peace and life and light and truth,
hear and grant our prayers.

Winston Churchill

We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.

Henry David Thoreau

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual…O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.”

St. Ambrose

The devil's snare doesn't catch you unless you're already nibbling on the devil's bait.

St. Clement of Rome

Grant unto us, Lord, that we may set our hope on Thy name…and open the eyes of our hearts, that we may know Thee.

A Prayer for the Church

We pray Thee, Almighty and Eternal God, Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy Mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Safe Travel

God's Angels guard and keep you
All the way that you must travel
Till earth's days are past
When blossoms fade and
Time is fleeting fast
In times of purest joy
Or pain and fear
God's Angels guard
And keep you safe.

St. Francis de Sales

Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: Now I begin to love my God.

Albus Dumbledore

There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

St. Thomas Aquinas

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

St. John Chrysostom

God asks little, but He gives much.

Blessed Mother Teresa

Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls.

St. Augustine

The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon Himself the death that He found in us, He has most faithfully promised to give us life in Him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.

Richard Crashaw

On the Water of our Lord's Baptism.

Each blest drop on each blest limb,
Is wash't itself, in washing Him :
'Tis a gem while it stays here ;
While it falls hence 'tis a tear.

St. Therese of Lisieux

In the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness: in the cross is strength of mind: in the cross is joy of spirit.

St. Francis of Assisi

Everyday, Jesus humbles himself just as He did when He came from His heavenly throne into the Virgin’s womb; everyday He comes to us and lets us see Him in abjection, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

From Sermon 21 on the Song of Songs:

Therefore when you feel weighed down by apathy, lukewarmness and fatigue, do not yield to cowardice or cease to study spiritual truths, but look for the hand of the one who can help you, begging like the bride, to be drawn, until finally, under the influence of grace, you feel again the vigorous pulse of life. Then you will run and shout out: "I run the way of your commandments since you have enlarged my heart." But while this state of happiness remains, you must not use it as if you possessed God's gift by right of inheritance, secure in the conviction that you could never lose it; for if he should suddenly withdraw his hand and withhold his gift, you would be plunged into dejection and excessive unhappiness. When you feel happy beware of boasting: "Nothing can ever shake me!" For you may be compelled to repeat for yourself the Psalmist's sad comment: "But then you hid your face and I was terrified." If you are wise you will try to follow the advice of the Wise Man: "in the time of adversity not to be unmindful of prosperity, and in the time of prosperity not to be forgetful of adversity."