All posts by Vicki Scheenstra

Vicki Scheenstra is a former Catholic Bookstore owner and has been active in Catholic Education.
Featured, Mercy, Quotes of the Saints, Spirituality

Twenty Five Quotes from St. John Paul II

Karol Wojtyla was ordained a priest in Poland on All Saints Day 1946. On Divine Mercy Sunday 2014 the Church gave him the title of Saint John Paul the Great.

St. John Paul the Great was known as the patron of the youth. He began the tradition of having World Youth Days. The following quotes remind us of the powerful teachings of St. John Paul the Great.

1. The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without down, nor storm without haven.

St. John Paul the Great

2. The most beautiful and stirring adventure that can happen to you is the personal meeting with Jesus, who is the only one who gives real meaning to our lives.

St. John Paul the Great

3. Do not be afraid of getting lost. The more we give of ourselves, the more we will find ourselves.

St. John Paul the Great

4. The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being.

St. John Paul the Great

5. How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray;

St. John Paul the Great

6. Future begins today, not tomorrow.

St. John Paul the Great

7. Darkness can only be scattered by light. Hatred can only be conquered by love.

8. Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.

St. John Paul the Great

9. Faith leads us beyond ourselves. It leads us directly to God.

St. John Paul the Great

10. Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

St. John Paul the Great

11. As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.

St. John Paul the Great

12. Remember that you are never alone. Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives.

St. John Paul the Great

13. In God’s plan, nothing happens by chance.

St. John Paul the Great

14. Confession is an act of honesty and courage–an act of entrusting ourselves beyond sin, to a loving and forgiving God.

St. John Paul the Great

15. We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures. We are the sum of the Father’s love for us.

St. John Paul the Great

16. From Mary we learn to trust when all hope seems gone.

St. John Paul the Great

17. It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you.

St. John Paul the Great

18. There is no evil to be to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us and does not now bear with us.

19. If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much.

20. Let us remember the Past with Gratitude, Live the Present with Enthusiasm, and look forward to the Future with Confidence.

St. John Paul the Great

21. An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded.

St. John Paul the Great

22. Let Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament speak to your hearts. It is he who is the true answer of life that you seek.

23. Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and halleluiah is our song.

St. John Paul the Great

24. The worst prison would be a closed heart.

St. John Paul the Great

25. Freedom consist not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

St. John Paul the Great

Featured, Mystic, Quotes of the Saints, Saint of the Day, Spirituality, Visionary

Twenty Five Quotes from St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila was a Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic. She was born in Avila Spain on March 28, 1515, one of ten children. Her mother died when Teresa was 15.

Invoked against bodily ills, headaches, and sickness, St. Teresa was canonized a Saint by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622. The Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila is celebrated on October 15.


Saint Teresa of Ávila was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI on 27 September 1970.


St. Teresa has written many books. These include: The Interior Castle, The Life of Teresa of Jesus, and The Way of Perfection. Her spirituality has led many to a much deeper prayer life.

Reflecting on the life of this Carmelite nun, let’s ponder her many quotes which reveal her spirituality.

1. Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who has God, finds he lacks nothing. God alone suffices.

St. Teresa of Avila

2. Leave it all to God and leave your interests in His hands. He knows what is fitting for us.

St. Teresa of Avila

3. Often, the Lord allows a fall so that the soul will be more humble, and when it returns to the right way of acting and grows in self-knowledge, it advances further in the service of our Lord, as we see among many saints.

St. Teresa of Avila

4. We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.

St. Teresa of Avila

5. True humility consists in our being satisfied with what is given us.

St. Teresa of Avila

6. Tear your heart away from everything else, then seek God and you will surely find him.

St. Teresa of Avila

7. There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.

St. Teresa of Avila

8. Hope, O my soul, Hope! You know neither the day, nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience turns a very short time into a long one.

St. Teresa of Avila

9. The chief object of the devil’s work on earth is to fill us with pride.

St. Teresa of Avila

10. You pay God a great complement by asking great things of Him.

St. Teresa of Avila

11. Prayer is an act of Love, words are not needed.

St. Teresa of Avila

12. Be gentle to all and stern with yourself.

St. Teresa of Avila

13. To have courage for whatever comes in life…everything lies in that.

St. Teresa of Avila

14. The measure in which you desire God, is the measure in which you will find Him!

St. Teresa of Avila

15. Remember, that you have only one soul: that you have only one death to die: that you have only one life…if you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.

St. Teresa of Avila

16. Truth suffers, but never dies.

17. It is love alone that gives worth to all things.

St. Teresa of Avila

18. When we accept what happens to us and make the best of it, we are praising God.

St. Teresa of Avila

19. In this life our lot is not to enjoy God, but to do His Holy Will.

St. Teresa of Avila

20. Look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for all.

St. Teresa of Avila

21. The smallest thing when done for the love of God is priceless.

St. Teresa of Avila

22. Life is to live in such a way that we are not afraid to die.

St. Teresa of Avila

23. The feeling remains that God is on the journey too.

St. Teresa of Avila

24. Learn to suffer for Jesus Christ without letting others perceive it.

St. Teresa of Avila

25. Christ has no body on earth but yours. no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out to the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless others.

patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. John Henry Newman, Feast Day Oct. 9

St. John Henry Newman

St. John Henry Newman was born in London in 1801.  He was raised in the Anglican faith.  He first studied law and then decided to become a priest.  He was ordained in the Anglican Church after studying at Trinity College in Oxford.  As an Anglican priest, John Henry was influential in the Oxford Movement.  Eventually, he converted to the Roman Catholic faith and was ordained a priest in Rome in 1848.   Pope Leo XIII named him a cardinal.

St. John Henry Newman is the patron saint of catholic education and poets and writers.

St. John Henry Newman was known for writing 40 books and poetry including the poem Lead kindly light.

When Saint John Henry Newman was named a cardinal, he took as his motto “Cor ad cor loquitur”—“Heart speaks to heart.” 

He pondered and preached about many theological questions which included the Significance of Our Lady, the Authority in the church and Spirituality during difficult times.

St. John Henry Newman died in Birmingham in 1890.  He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.  He was canonized by Pope Francis on October 13, 2019.

Lead Kindly Light

Poem by St. John Henry Newman

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’ encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on;
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead Thou me on;
I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will; remember not past years.

So long Thy pow’r has blest me, sure it still
Wilt lead me on,
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile

Learn to do thy part and leave the rest to Heaven.

Quote of St. John Henry Newman

 
October is the Month of the Holy Rosary

Featured, Our Lady, Prayer, Quotes of the Saints

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about the Rosary

The Feast Day of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7th. The Rosary was a devotion begun by St. Dominic after experiencing a vision. The following quotes reveal the power the rosary had on the lives of the saints.

1. The Rosary is a fortress against evil. It is a sign to satan that you belong to Our Lady.

St. Dominic

2. If you say the Holy Rosary every day, with a spirt of faith and love, Our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her Son’s path.

St. Josemaria Esriva

3. Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my Blood.

St. Louis de Montfort

4. The Rosary is a school for learning true Christion perfection.

St. John XXIII

5. The Rosary is the weapon for these times.

St. Padre Pio

6. The Rosary is a prayer both so humble and simple and theologically rich in Biblical content. I beg you to pray it.

St. John Paul II

7. Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the World.

Our Lady of Fatima

8. The Rosary is a long chain that links heaven and earth. One end of it is in our hands and the other end is in the hands of the Holy Virgin. The Rosary prayer rises like incense to the feet of the Almighty.

St Therese of Lisieux

9. Where the Rosary is recited, there will be days of peace and tranquility.

St. John Bosco

10. The Holy Rosary is the best artillary against Demons and their followers.

St. Dominic

11. To recite the rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ.

St. John Paul II

12. The Rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known.

Bl. Fulton Sheen

14. There is no surer path to Heaven than aiding the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

St. Alphonsus Liguori

15. The Rosary is the prayer which sustains and increases our faith.

St. Lucia of Fatima+

16. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

St. Lucia of Fatima

17. In times of darkness, holding the Rosary beads is like holding your Blessed Mother’s hand. Pray the rosary everday, abandon yourself in the hands of Mary. She will take care of you.

St. Padre Pio

18. When people love and recite the Rosary the find it makes them better.

St. Anthony Mary Claret

19. Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.

Blessed Pius IX

20. Among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been so favored by so many miracles as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary.

Blessed Pius IX

21. When we say the Rosary, we are saying to the Holy Trinity, to the Incarnate Savior, to the Blessed Mothers. I love you, …I love you, I love you.

Blessed Fulton J. Sheen

22. So many rosaries means so many souls saved.

St. Maximillian Kolbe

23. The Rosary is my favorite prayer.

St. John Paul II

24. Blessed is the Rosary which gives us the knowledge of Our Blessed Lord by meditating on His life, death, passion, and glory.

St. Louis de Montfort

25. One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.

St. Dominic

Carmelite Saints, Doctor of the Church, Faith, Quotes of the Saints

Twenty Five Quotes from St. Therese of Lisieux

Marie Thérèse Martin was born at Alencon, France on Jan. 2, 1873. St Thérèse of Lisieux is the patron saint of florists, missionaries, pilots and against tuberculosis.

St. Thérèse felt called into the religious life at the age of 15.  She asked permission to enter the Carmel of Lisieux a Carmelite convent.  She took the name of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

St. Thérèse came down with tuberculosis and died after several years of suffering at the age of 24 on Sept. 30, 1897.  She was canonized in 1925. Her Feast Day is celebrated on October 1.

Popularly known as the Little Flower, Thérèse of Lisieux was canonized in 1925. On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II bestowed on her the title of Doctor of the Church.

The following quotes can inspire us to follow her “Little Way”.

1. Use the gifts you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

St. Thérèseof Lisieux

2. When you are angry with someone, the way to find peace is to pray for that person and ask God to reward him or her for making you suffer.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

3. Let us not grow tired of prayer: Confidence works miarcles.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

4. Jesus help me to simplify my life by learning what You want me to be and becoming that person.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

5. He guides and inspires me every moment of the day. Just when I need it, a new light shines on my problem.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

6. Hoiness consists simply in doing God’s will, and being just what God wants us to be.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

7. I will spend my Heaven ding good upon earth. I will let fall a shower of roses.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

8. What pleases the good God in my little soul is to see me love my littleness and my poverty, it is seeing the blind trust that I have in His Mercy.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

9. I beseech Thee, my Jesus, to send me some humiliation every time that I shall attempt to put myself above others.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

10. Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

11. Sufferings gladly borne for others convert more people than sermons.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

12. I understand that without LOVE even the most brilliant deeds count as nothing. These gifts, which Our Lord lavished upon me, far from doing me any harm, drew me towards Him; I saw that He alone is unchangeable. He alone can fill the vast abyss of my desires.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

13. Only God can see what is in the bottom of our hearts; we are half-blind.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

14. God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so, in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint.

15. I say an ‘Our Father’ or a ‘Halil Mary’ when I feel so spiritually barren that I cannot summon up a single worthwhie thought.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

16. Jesus has chosen to show me the only way which leads to the Divine Furnace of love; it is the way of childlike self-surrender, the way of a child who sleeps, afraid of nothing, in its father’s arms.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

17. Do not climb the difficult stairs of fear to God. Take the comfortable elevator of love.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

18. Everything is grace; everything is the direct effect of our Father’s love. Everything is grace because everything is God’s gift. Whatever be the character of life or its unexpected events-to the heart that loves, all is well.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

19. You returned to Your realm of light and still remain hidden here to nourish us, in our vale of tears, with Holy Communion.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

20. It isn’t enough to love: We must prove it.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

21. The Rosary is a long chain that links heaven and earth. One end of it is in our hand and the other end is in the hands of the Holy Virgin. The Rosary prayer rises like incense to the feet of the Almighty.

St. Therese of Lisieux

22. My little way is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute self-surrender.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

23. For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look toward heaven; it is a cry of recognition and love; embracing both trial and joy.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

24. Kneeling before the tabernacle, I can think of only one thing to say to Our Lord: My God, You know that I love You! And I feel that my prayer does not weary Jesus; knowing my weakness He is satisfied with my Good Will.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

25. You cannot be Half a Saint; You must be a whole saint or no saint at all.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Franciscan Saints, Quotes of the Saints

Twenty Five Quotes from St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis is the patron saint of the environment, peace, poverty and animals. The Feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi is celebrated on October 4 because that day marks the anniversary of his passing in 1226. 

On September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Francis experienced a vision of a seraph with six fiery wings, which bore the image of the crucified Christ. After the vision he received the stigmata, which is the five wounds of Christ. The Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis is celebrated on September 17.

The following 25 quotes of St. Francis enlighten us to his spirituality.

1. Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

St. Francis of Assisi

2. I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone

3. All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.

St. Francis of Assisi

12. When I think of the happiness that is in store for me, my sorrow, every pain becomes dear to me.

St. Francis of Assisi

4. Remember, when you leave this earth, you can take nothing with you which you have received, only that which you have been given; a heart full, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.

St. Francis Assisi

5. I am as I am in the eyes of God. Nothing more, nothing less.

St. Francis of Assisi

6. Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words.

St. Francis of Assisi

7. Where there is Charity and Wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.

St. Francis of Assisi

8. Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.

St. Francis of Assisi

9. A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.

St. Francis of Assisi

10. We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.

St. Francis of Assisi

11. The deeds you do may be the only sermon some person will hear today.

St. Francis of Assisi

12. I beg you, Lord, let the fiery gentle power of your love take possession of my soul, and snatch it away from everything under heaven, that I may die for love of your love as you saw fit to die for love of mine.

St. Francis of Assisi

13. Jesus is happy to come with us, as Faith is happy to be spoken, as life to be lived, as light to be lit, as love is to be loved, as joy to be given, as Peace to be spread.

St. Francis of Assisi

14. While you are proclaiming peace with your lips be careful to have it even more fully in your hearts.

St. Francis of Assisi

15. Let your way of life among the people be such that whoever sees or hears you will glorify and praise our Heavenly Father.

St. Francis of Assisi

16. Nor did demons crucify Him; it is you who have crucified Him and crucify Him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.

St. Francis of Assisi

17. Lord, make me a channel of Your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, Faith. Where there is despair, hop. Where there is darkness light, and where there is sadness, joy.

St. Francis of Assisi

18. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning, that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi

19. Lord, help me to live this day, quietly easily, to lean upon thy great strength, trustfully, restfully, to wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow confidently, courageously

St. Francis of Assisi

20. It was easy to love God in all that was beautiful. The lessons of deeper knowledge, they instructed me to embrace God in all things.

St. Francis of Assisi

21. Most high glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, sure hope and perfect charity. Fill me with understanding and knowledge that I may fulfill Your command.

St. Francis of Assisi

22. The only thing ever achieved in life without effort is failure.

St. Francis of
Assisi

23. By the anxieties and worries of this life, Satan tries to dull man’s heart and make a dwelling for himself there.

St. Francis of Assisi

24. Your God is of your flesh, He lives in your nearest neighbor, in every man.

St. Francis of Assisi

25. Be praise, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of You; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy are those who endure in peace, for by You, Most High they will be crowned.

St. Francis of Assisi

Faith, patron saints, Quotes of the Saints, Spirituality, Virtues

Twenty Five Quotes from Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Soon, Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be given the title of Blessed. On September 24, 2026. he will be beatified at 2 pm Central time at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. This means there is only one more step until he is officially a Saint.

Fulton John Sheen (born Peter John Sheen, May 8, 1895 – December 9, 1979) was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio.

He became known as a trailblazer for television evangelization with his Emmy-winning show “Life Is Worth Living.” The show aired on television from 1952 until 1957, discussing morality and Catholicism.

Patron of missions and Media

As we celebrate the event of his beatification, let’s reflect on his many quotes which made him loved by many.

1. You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

2. Before the sin, Satan assures us that it is of no consequence; after the sin, he persuades us that it is unforgiveable.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

3. It is not man who is on the quest for God. It is God who is on the quest for man.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

4. God does not love us because we are valuable. We are valuable because God loves us.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

5. It’s impossible to lose your footing when you’re on your knees.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

6. When you are getting kicked from the rear it means you are in front.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

7. Very few people believe in the devil these days, which suits the devil very well. He is always helping to circulate the news of his own death. The essence of God is existence, and He defines Himself as ‘I am Who am’. The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as: ‘I am who am not.’ Satan has very little trouble with those who do not believe in him; they are already on his side.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

8. Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

9. A Catholic may sin, and sin as badly as anyone else, but no genuine Catholic ever denies he is a sinner. A Catholic wants his sins forgiven – not excused or sublimated.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

10. Ever since the days of Adam, man has been hiding from God and saying, ‘God is hard to find’.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

11. Satan always tempts the pure – the others are already his.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

12. There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, ‘Good morning, God!’ and the other is to say, ‘Good God, morning!’

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

13. Humility is dependence on God as pride is independence of Him. The humble soul is always the thankful soul.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

14. When we die to something…something comes alive within us. If we die to self, charity come alive; if we die to pride, service comes alive; if we die to lust, reverence for personality comes alive; if we die to anger, love comes alive.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

15. Most of us do not like to look inside ourselves for the same reason we don’t like to open a letter that has bad news.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

16. Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

17. Skeptics always want miracles such as stepping down from the Cross, but never the greater miracle of forgiveness.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

18. Souls generally do not fall away from Christ because of the Creed; they first have difficulty with the commandments.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

19. In vocal prayer we go to God on foot. In meditation we go to God on horseback. In contemplation we go to God in a jet.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

20. Grace does not work like a penny in a slot machine. Grace will move you only when you want it to move you, and only when you let it move you. The supernatural order supposes the freedom of the natural order, but it does not destroy it.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

21. God, who made the sun, also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. All its light is reflected from the sun. So Mary reflects her Divine Son; without Him she is nothing. With Him, she is the mother of men.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

22. The only difference between a sinner and a saint is found in their attitude toward their sins-the one persisting in them; the other weeping bitterly.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

23. Heaven is a city on a hill; hence, we cannot coast into it, we have to climb.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

24. Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

25. If I were not a Catholic…and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Fulton Sheen
Faith, Gratitude, Prayer, Quotes of the Saints, Thanksgiving

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about Gratitude

As Thanksgiving approaches, we reflect on our blessings and give thanks to God for all He has done for us. Even during times of tribulation, sorrow and stress, if we look for the silver lining…we will find it!

The Saints were always grateful to God. Even during suffering they gave God glory and praise.

The following quotes help us on our journey of faith to always turn to God in gratitude and trust…asking God to lead us.

1. Remember the past with gratitude. Live the present with enthusiasm. Look forward to the future with confidence.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul the Great

2. Jesus does not demand great action from us but simply surrender and gratitude.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux

3. A single “Blessed be God” in adversity is worth more than a thousand acts of thanksgiving in prosperity.

St. John of Avila

St. John of Avila

4. Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to heaven. It is a way of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux

5. I ought to die of shame to think I have not already died of gratitude to my good God.

St. Julia Billiart

St. Julia Billiart

6. If the only prayer, you said in your life was “thank you”, that would suffice.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi

7. “Make it a habit to raise your heart to God, in acts of thanksgiving, many times a day. Because He gives you this and that… Because someone has despised you… Because you don’t have what you need, or because you do have it. And because He made His Mother, who is also your Mother, so beautiful. Because He created the sun and the moon and this animal or that plant. Because He made that man eloquent and you He left slow of speech… Thank Him for everything, because everything is good.”

St. Josemaria Escriva

St. Josemaria Escriva

8. Joy is prayer; joy is strength, joy is love. God loves a cheerful giver. The best way we can show gratitude to God and the people is to accept everything with joy.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

St. Teresa of Calcutta

9. Obedience shows whether you are grateful.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena

10. When you lie down on your bed to sleep, remember with thanksgiving the blessings and the providence of God.

St. Anthony the Great

St. Anthony the Great

11. I thank God for this illness and these physical discomforts, because I have the time to converse with the Lord Jesus.

St. Faustina

St. Faustina

12, Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom

13. I give thanks to God, who has granted me unshaken faith and fervent courage in times of adversity.

St. Patrick

St. Patrick of Ireland

14. Gratitude for suffering is a precious jewel for our heavenly crown. Man, should always firmly believe, that God sends just that trial which is most beneficial for him.

St. Gertrude the Great

St. Gertrude the Great

15. For me, prayer means launching out of the heart toward God; a cry of grateful love from the crest of joy or the trough of despair; it is a vast supernatural force that opens out my heart, and binds me close to Jesus.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux

16. My prayers are just an outpouring of gratitude for the assurance of that most completely desired Will of God, which will seem all the more desireable in all that is ahead.

St. Rose Duchesne

St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne

17. To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch heaven.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco

18. Let your whole life be spent in self-surrender, in prayer, in work, in humility, in giving thanks to our good God.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio

19. Believe and adore. Believe that Jesus Christ is in this sacrament as truly as He was nine months in the womb of Mary, as real as He was nailed to the Cross. Adore in humility and gratitude.

St. john Vianney

St. John Vianney

20. Gratitude is the memory of the Heart.

St. Mary Euphrosa Pelletier

St. Mary Euphrosa Pelletie

21. Everything fades away, but not our gratitude.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco

22. Would that I exhaust myself in acts of thanksgiving and gratitude toward this Divine Heart, for the great favor He shows us, in deining to accept our help to make Him known, loved and honored. He reserves innfinite blessings for all those who devote themselves to this work.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

23. Ingratitude is the soul’s enemy… Ingratitude is a burning wind that dries up the source of love, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard Clairvaux

24. O my God, let me remember with gratitude and confess to thee thy mercies toward me.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo

25. Embracing gratitude in the face of adversity requires a heart open to grace.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola
BibleLens
Franciscan Saints, Poetry, Spirituality

Three Prayers by St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi

Canticle of the Sun

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessings. To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no man is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures;
especially Brother Sun, who is the day, and through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor, and bears a likeness to You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night;
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us and who produces
varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You Most High, they shall be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living man can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord,
and give Him thanks,
and serve Him with great humility.
Amen.

PEACE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen

PRAYER INSPIRED BY THE OUR FATHER

Our Creator Redeemer, Comforter, and Savior

In The Angels and the Saints, enlightening them So that they may know YOU, for You, Lord, are Light;

Setting them Aflame so that they may Love YOU,

for YOU, Lord, are Love.

Dwelling in Them and Filling Them with Happiness,

For YOU, Lord are the Supreme Good. the Eternal Good, from whom all Good Comes and Without Whom no Good Exists.

May Knowledge of You Shine Within Us,

So that We may know the Greatness of Your blessings, the Breadth of Your Promises, the Height of Your Majesty, and the Depth of Your Judgments.

So that You may reign in us through grace and lead us to Your Kingdom, where we will see Your face without shadows, Love You perfectly, Live in Your Joyful Company, and Rejoice With You Forever,

So That We May Love You With All Our Heart, Always Thinking Of You;

With All Our Soul, Always Desiring You;

With All Our Mind, Directing Our Intentions Toward You and Seeking Your Honor in all Things;

And with All Our Strength,

Placing the Energies and Affections Of Body and Soul

At the Service of Your Love, and Nothing Else.

May We Love Our Neighbor as Ourselves, Drawing everyone, as far as we can, to Your Love;

Rejoicing in the Goodof Others as in Our Own,

Suffering With Them in Their Difficulties, and Offending No One.

Your Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, So that we may Remember, Understand and Revere, the Love He Had For Us and All that He Said, Did, and Suffered for Us.

Through Your Immeasurable Mercy, Through the Power of Your Beloved Son’s Passion, and Through the Merits and Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and All Your Elect.

And What We Have Not: Yet Forgiven Completely, Grant, Lord, That We May Forgive Entirely, So That We May Truly Love Our Enemies For Your Sake, Pray for Them Sincerely Before You, Return Evil for Evil to No One, and Seek to Do Good To Everyone in You.

Hidden or Visible,

Sudden or persistent,

Past, Present, and Future,

Amen

St. Francis of Assisi
Peace, Prayer, Quotes of Saints, Spirituality

Praying for Peace: Quotes from the Saints

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let not your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid.” John 14:27.

Quote of Jesus

Peace and serenity of heart are difficult to acquire.  The world is a chaotic place to live. Our emotions can make us feel quite helpless.  How do we find peace?  How do we live in peace?  Faith is a gift.  With faith, we can pray for peace

The following 25 quotes of the saints are ‘pearls of wisdom’ to help us on our journey

1. Lord, Make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

 St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi

2.  Keep your soul at peace, in order to be able to be attentive and very faithful to the inner movement of the Holy Spirit.


St. Peter Julian Eymard

St. Peter Eymard

3.  Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?”

St. Gerard Majella

St. Gerard Majella

4.  Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales

5.   From humility of heart proceed serenity of mind, gentleness of conduct, interior peace, and every good.”

 St. Paul of the Cross

St. Paul of the Cross
Public Domain Image

6.   While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it more fully in your heart.

Saint Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi

7. If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace truth.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II

8.  Joy, with peace, is the sister of charity. Serve the Lord with laughter.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
Public Domain Image

9.  Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.

St Faustina

St. Faustina

10.  Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal

St. Jane Frances de Chantal
Public Domain Image

11.  Let us not be justices of the peace, but angels of peace.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux

12.  But above all preserve peace of heart.  This is more valuable than any treasure.

St. Mary Margaret Alacoque

St. Mary Margaret Alacoque

13.  Peace in the society depends on peace in family.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine

14.  Be at Peace.  What God has started He will finish.
 

St Faustina

St. Faustina
Public Domain Image

15.  Let peace be your quest and aim.

St. Benedict

St. Benedict
Public Domain Image

16.  Be peace loving.Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal.  Live your life that you may receive the blessings of the Lord.  Then the peace of God the Father will be with you always.

St. Francis of Paola

St. Francis of Paola

17.  Maintain a spirit of peace and you will save a thousand souls.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim of Sarov

18.  Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.

St. Jerome

St. Jerome

19.  The only way to peace is forgiveness.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
Public Domain Image

20.  What can you do to promote world peace?  Go home and love your family.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa
Public Domain Image

21.  Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens, and you will serve God according to His good pleasure and rest in Him.

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

22.  If you remain constant in faith in the face of trial, the Lord will give you peace and rest for a time in this world and forever in the next.

St. Jerome

St. Jerome

23. Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ, just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey. They must have the Passion of Christ deeply embedded in their minds and hearts, because only from it, can they derive peace, grace, and truth.

St. Dominic

St. Dominic
Public Domain Image

24.  Strive to preserve your heart in peace; let no event of the world disturb it.

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

25.  Peace demands four essential conditions:  Truth, Justice, Love, and Freedom.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
Faith, Prayer, Quotes of Saints, Virtues

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about Patience

Do you struggle with impatience? Many of us are impulsive, wanting results right now! The saints are people who persevered and patiently waited for God’s help during good times and bad times.

The following quotes will help us to reflect before acting in small and big events of our lives.

1. Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is ‘timing’. It waits on the right time to act for the right principles and in the right way.

Ven. Fullton Sheen

Venerable Bishop Vulton Sheen

2. Have patience with all things, but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes, with your value as a human being.

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales

3. The reward of patience is patience.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine

4. Let us be glad and bear with patience everything the world throws at us, secure in the knowledge that it is then that we are most in the mind of God.

St. Basil the Great

St. Basil the Great

5. The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits. A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday with exactitude and to study and work, with all our strength.

St. Peter Damian

St. Peter Damian

6. It is patience that reveals every grace to you and it is through patience that the saints received all that was promised to them.

St. Pachomius the Great

St. Pachomius the Great

7. Be not perplexed. Be not afraid. Everything passes. God does not change. Patience wins all things. He who has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
Public Domain Image

8. The wicked exist in the wotld either to be converted or that through them the good man exercise patience.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine

9. Have patience to walk with short steps until you have wings to fly.

St. Francis de Sales

10. What we need is a cup of understanding, a barrel of love, and an ocean of patience.

St. France de Sales

St. Francis de Sales

11. Be patient because the weaknesses of the body are given to us in this world by God for the salvation of the soul, so they are of great merit when they are borne patiently.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi
Public Domain Image

12. We should take as a maxim never to be surprised at current difficulties, no more than at a a passing breeze, because with a little patience we shall see them disappear. Time changes everything.

St. Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent de Paul
Public Domain Image

13. There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand among sinners, but leap aside.

St. Basil the Great

St. Basil the Great

14. For a stalk to grow or a flower to open there must be time that cannot be forced; nine months must go by for the birth of a human child; to write a book or compose music often years must be dedicated to patient research. To find the mystery there must be patience, interior purification, silence, waiting.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul the Great

15. O Loving Jesus, increase my patience according as my sufferngs increase.

St. Rita

16. There is no sin or wrong that gives man a foretaste of Hell in this life as anger and impatience.

St. Catherine Siena

St. Catherine of Siena

17. When the night is darkest and thy burden feel too heavy,, hold on to patience, for the dawn is surely coming soon.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
Public Domain Image

18. Be humble and patient, and the Lord Jesus will give you the will and the means.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco

19. As patience leads to peace, and study to science, so are hmiliations the path that leads to humility.

St. Bernard Clairvieux

St. Bernard Clairvaux
Public Domain Image

20. Do not seek to escape your cross too quickly, for it is through the patient carrying of it that we find true grace.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux

21. Let your patience be a shield against the arrows of despair that seek to pierce the heart and the faithful believer.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola

22. Lord, give me patience in tribulation.

St. Thomas More, Martyr

St. Thomas More
Public Domain Image

23. Charity is the bond which unites brothers, the cement of peace, the cross beam which gives solidity to unity…Only take patience from it, however, and it will remain desolate; take from it the sap of suffering and of resignation and it will lose its roots and its vigor.

St. Cyprian

St. Cyprian

24. Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.

St. John Cantius

St. John Cantius

25. Gracious and Holy Father, give us the wisdom to discover You, the intelligence to understand You, the patience to wait for You, a heart to meditate upon You, Eyes to Behold You, a life to proclaim You, through the power of the Spirit of Jesus, Our Lord. Amen

St. Benedict

St. Benedict
Public Domain Image
Dominican, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips, Quotes; St. Hyacinth of Poland, Feast Day August 17



St. Hyacinth of Poland
Public Domain Image




St. Hyacinth of Poland

 
The Feast Day of St. Hyacinth of Poland is celebrated on August 17. 


St. Hyacinth was born in 1185 to noble parents in Odrowacz, Poland.  He was educated by his uncle who was a pious priest who eventually became the Bishop of Cracow.  He was a very happy and pious child with an early calling to the religious life.  He studied at Bologna earning the degree of Doctor of Canon Law and Divinity.


St. Hyacinth returned to Poland.  On a trip to Rome with his uncle he met St. Dominic.  He was one of the first to join the Order of Preachers, becoming a Dominican.  He returned to Poland to establish the Dominican Order.


St. Hyacinth was a wonderful preacher.  He converted many people and was able to build churches and convents.  He visited the sick and was a friend to the poor.  He became known for the many miracles which occurred.  The most famous happened during the Tartars siege of the city of Kiev.  Hyacinth had a tender devotion to the Mother of God.  After celebrating Mass unaware of the siege occurring, he retrieved the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Mary and fled with the community to the river Dnieper.  Although the river was deep he led them across the river walking on the water.  His footprints could be seen on the water for centuries.


The last years of St. Hyacinth’s life were lived in a convent at Cracow.  On the feast of St. Dominic, he fell ill with a fever.  He celebrated Mass on the Feast of the Assumption in spite of his illness.  He was anointed at the Altar and died later that day on August 15, 1257.


St. Hyacinth was canonized by Pope Clement VIII in 1594.
 
“The greater danger for most of us
is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it.”

Quote of Michelangelo
 


August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary