All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.

-- St. John Vianney

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What you do with those who beg from you is what God will do with His beggar, you! You are filled and you are empty. Fill your empty neighbor from your fullness, so that your emptiness may be filled from God's fullness.

-- St. Augustine

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The bread which you use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.

-- St. Basil

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We must never glance at what is good in ourselves, much less ponder over it, but we should search out what is wrong and what is lacking. This is an excellent way of remaining humble.

-- St. Vincent de Paul

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The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since It contains Christ Himself and his Passion.

-- St. Thomas Aquinas

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If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor. If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you. Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg. To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.

-- St. Thomas of Villanova

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To pray for those who are in mortal sin is the best kind of almsgiving. For the love of God, always remember such souls when you pray.

-- St. Teresa of Avila

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To think ourselves imperfect, and others perfect---- that is happiness. That creatures recognize we are without virtue takes nothing from us, makes us no poorer; it is they who by this lose interior joy; for there is nothing sweeter than to think well of our neighbor.

-- St. Therese of Lisieux

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Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: "Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven." When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me and seemed to place me in the middle of a street, so that I might say in a loud voice to people of every age, sex and status: "Hear, O people; hear, O nations. I am warning you about the commandment of Christ by using words that came from his own lips: We cannot obtain grace unless we suffer afflictions. We must heap trouble upon trouble to attain a deep participation in the divine nature, the glory of the sons of God and perfect happiness of soul."

-- St. Rose of Lima

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To purposely allow one's mind to wander in prayer is sinful and hinders the prayer from having fruit.

-- St. Thomas Aquinas

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Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits.

-- St. Philip Neri

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.

-- Prayer of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity.

We cannot be sure whether we are loving God, although we may have good reason that we are. But we can know quite well whether we are loving our neighbor.

-- St. Teresa of Avila

You must realize that when the Father shows His works to Christ's members, it is to Christ that He shows them. He shows them to the members through the Head. Suppose you wish to take hold of an object with your eyes closed. Your hand does not know where to go, yet your hand is your member. Open your eyes and your hand will now see where it must go. The member follows the way indicated by its head!

-- St. Augustine

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If we try to escape sadness by seeking our consolation in sleep,we will fail to find what we are seeking, for we will lose in sleep the consolation we might have recieved from God if we had stayed awake and prayed.

-- St. Thomas More

The first stage of contemplation, dear brothers, is constantly to consider what God wants, what is pleasing to him, and what is acceptable in his eyes. We all offend in many things; our strengths cannot match the rectitude of God's will, being neither one with it nor wholly in accord with it; let us then humble ourselves under the powerful hand of the most high God and be concerned to show ourselves unworthy before His merciful gaze, saying: Heal me, Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved. And again, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul because I have sinned against you.

-- St Bernard

The devil doesn't fear austerity but holy obedience.

-- St. Francis de Sales

Frequent and daily Communion is greatly desired by our Lord and the Church.

-- Pope St. Pius X

Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we have received from our forefathers.

-- St. Peter Damian

When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall one day enjoy.

-- St. Basil, De Spiritu Sancto

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The family is the most ancient institution which God founded in Paradise, when He called the first pair of human beings into existence. The first blessing which God gave was for the wellbeing of the family. With family life, the history of the world commences.

-- St. John Vianney

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Our Lord knew that to draw strength and efficacy from fasting, something more than abstinence from prohibited food is necessary. Thus He instructed His disciples and, consequently, disposed them to gather the fruits proper to fasting. Among many others are these four: fasting fortifies the spirit, mortifying the flesh and its sensuality; it raises the spirit to God; it fights concupiscence and gives power to conquer and deaden its passions; in short, it disposes the heart to seek to please only God with great purity of heart.

-- St. Francis de Sales

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Inordinate love for the flesh is cruelty, because under the appearance of pleasing the body, we kill the soul.

-- St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Laetáre, Jerúsalem: et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígites eam: gaudéte cum laetítia, qui in tristítia fuístis: ut exsultétis, et satiémini ab ubéribus consolatiónis vestrae. Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

-- Introit, Laetáre Sunday, St. Andrew's Missal, 1945

Irrational feeding darkens the soul and makes it unfit for spiritual experiences.

-- St. Thomas Aquinas

As iron is fashioned by fire and on the anvil, so in the fire of suffering and under the weight of trials, our souls receive that form which our Lord desires them to have.

-- St. Madeline Sophie Barat