Category Archives: Faith

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

Twenty Five Quotes from St. Therese of Lisieux

September 28, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

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

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

Twenty Five Quotes from Archbishop Fulton Sheen

September 12, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

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

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

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

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about Gratitude

September 6, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

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

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

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

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

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

St. Julia Billiart

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

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

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

9. Obedience shows whether you are grateful.

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

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

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

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

St. Patrick

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

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

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

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

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

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

20. Gratitude is the memory of the Heart.

St. Mary Euphrosa Pelletier

21. Everything fades away, but not our gratitude.

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

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

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

St. Augustine

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

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Faith, Prayer, Quotes of Saints, Virtues

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about Patience

August 26, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

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

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

3. The reward of patience is patience.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

22. Lord, give me patience in tribulation.

St. Thomas More, Martyr

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

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

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

Faith, Martyr, Saint of the Day, Visionary

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Stephen of Hungary, Feast Day August 16

August 14, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

St. Stephen of Hungary

The Feast Day of St. Stephen of Hungary is celebrated on August 16.

St. Stephen was born in the year 973. His mother was the Duchess Sarolt. She had had a vision in which the first St. Stephen, the first martyr of the church had appeared to her. She was told she would bear a son who would evangelize the land.

St. Stephen’s father was the Duke Geza. Both his mother and father were converted to Christianity by Bishop St. Adalbert of Prague. The Bishop baptized St. Stephen at the age of ten. St. Stephen married Gesela who was a sister to the Duke of Bavaria in 995. Sadly, he survived all his children. Only one child lived to be an adult. This son, Emeric, died in a hunting accident in 1031.

St. Stephen use their wealth to build a monastery and encouraged the people of the land to convert to Christianity. The laws of the land which St. Stephen enacted favored Christianity over paganism. He sent a request to Pope Sylvester II to proclaim him as King of Hungary. Pope Sylvester II was happy to oblige. He sent Stephen a crown and gold processional cross.

As King, St. Stephen was generous to the poor and sick. He was devoted to the Virgin Mary, building several churches in her honor. Mary is credited with preventing both a war and the assassination of King Stephen. While he was king, St. Stephen also established a monastery in Jerusalem.

St. Stephen died on August 15, 1038, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary after suffering an illness. He was buried next to his son Emerick. They were both canonized saints in 1083.

“It is a fact that people are always

well aware of what is due them.

Unfortunately, they remain oblivious

of what they owe to others.”

Quote of St. Francis de Sales; Feast Day January 24

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Faith, Grace, Prayer, Quotes of Saints, Spirituality

Inspired by Grace: Quotes of the Saints

August 6, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

Grace is a wonderful gift from God. It is not earned but given to us in love. When we become aware that God is with us, guiding us…everything changes. Grace is the present of God’ presence! God is not a distant God. He created us and loves us.

Let’s turn to the saints to find out how they felt about grace.

1. Let us not be afraid to suffer for the truth; for if we suffer for the truth, we shall find grace.

St. Hyacinth

2. Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.

St. Rose of Lima

3. How great it is to possess Divine Grace, How beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights!

St. Rose of Lima

4. The Grace of God does not find men fit for salvation, but makes them so.

St. Augustine

5. If only we would learn how great it is to possess Divine Grace and how many riches it has within itself, how many joys and delights. We would devote all our concern to winning for ourselves pains and aflictions in order to attain the unfathomable treasure of grace.

St. Rose of Lima

6. I am where God wills me to be. I have found rest and security. His wisdom governs me. His grace sanctifies me. His mercy encompasses me. His joy sustains me and all will be well with me.

St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne

7. The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith and this is not of ourselves.

St. Nicholas

8. Be attentive to the voice of grace.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

9. Grace is like the sun. It shines on all, but only those who open their eyes and look up receive the light. The soul must be willing and awake, or the light passes by unnoticed.

St. Macarius of Egypt

10. In trial, God grants His grace to those who trust in Him.

St. Rita Cascia

11. Let every journey be a prayer, and every road a path of grace.

St. Bona of Pisa

12. Lord, give me the grace to work for the things I pray for.

St. Thomas More

13. The greatest grace God can give someone is to send him a trial he cannot bear with his own powers…and then sustain him with His grace so he may endure to the end and be saved.

St. Justin Martyr

St. Justin Marty
by Theophanes the Cretan
Public Domain Image

14. Without grace there is no hope, but with it there is no shortage.

St. Barnabas

15. Rich is the mercy of our God, and abundantly does He bestow grace upon grace on those who love Him.

St. Elizabeth Schoenna

16. What is true in the order of nature is true in the order of super-nature or grace. Only those who use the graces they are given are given more.

Venerable Fulton Sheen

17. If I am in God’s good grace, may He.keep me there. If I am not, may He put me there.

St. Joan of Arc

18. To receive the grace of God you must go to the desert and stay awhile.

St. Charles de Foucauld

19. Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a grace it is to know God!

St. Josephina Bakhita

20. He who knows how to forgive, prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart.

St. Faustina

21. Let us ask three graces of Jesus, to avoid Purgatory, to learn from Purgatory, to empty Purgatory.

Blessed James Alberione

22. What grace is meant to do, is to help good people, not to escape their sufferings, but to bear them with a stout heart, with a fortitude that finds it’s strength in faith.

St. Augustine

I also understood that God’s love shows itself just as well in the simplest soul which puts up no resistance to His grace, as it does in the loftiest soul.

St. Therese of Lisieux

24. The more I reflect on the graces I have received,the more they astonish me and make me tremble.

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

St. Rose Phillippine Duchesne Public Domain Image

25. Take, O Lord and receive my liberty, my memory, my whole understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me. I surrender it all to You to be disposed acording to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace, with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Faith, Quote, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Alphonsa, Feast Day July 28

July 26, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

The Feast Day of St. Alphonsa is celebrated on July 28. She was born in Muttahupadathu, India in 1910. She is the second canonized saint of India.

Baptized with the name Anna, she had a difficult birth and childhood. Her mother died three months after she was born. She was raised by her maternal Aunt. After falling into a pit of burning chaff, her feet were badly burned leaving her disabled. At an early age, after reading the biography of St. Therese of Lisieux, she had a great desire to become a saint.

In 1927 at the age of 17 she joined the Poor Clares at Christ Convent at Bharananganam. She took the name Alphonsa. She completed her permanent vows in 1936. After completing her own education. Alphonsa taught school but she was plaqued by illness.She became known for her willingness to accept suffering. After enduring several different types of illnesses over many years St. Alphonsa died at the age of 35. Her tomb is a site for pilgrims due to the many reported miracles at the site. The miracle which was approved by the Vatican for her canonization was the curing of a child with a club foot. St. Alphonsa was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

Since only grief and suffering have fallen to the lot of my Spouse, I too lovingly embrace them and my soul is at peace, though the body continues to be tormented. For the last seven years I have ceased to be my own, being given over entirely to my Divine Spouse. You know all that and now let the Lord do as He will with me. It is not a cure I am anxious for but only that His Holy Will be fulfilled in me.

Quote of St. Aphonsa

July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood

Faith, Prayer, Quotes of Saints, Spirituality

Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints on Faith

July 9, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

Meditating on the following quotes from the saints
can lead us on our journey of faith.

It is by faith that God dwells in our hearts, in our memory, our intellect and penetrates even into our imagination.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard Clairvaux

2. The Lord is always near to all who call upon his help with sincerity, true faith, sure hope, and perfect love.
St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan

St. Ambrose,

3. The faith of those who live their faith is a serene faith. What you long for will be given to you, what you love, will be yours forever.
St Leo the Great , Bishop of Rome

St. Leo the Great

4. Jesus saved the thief on the holy hill at Golgotha because of one hour’s faith, will he not save you too since you have believed?
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

5. Faith is to believe what you do not see, the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.
Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine

6. Faith lifts the soul. Hope supports it. Experience says it must, and love says let it be!
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

7. Faith is a beam radiating from the face of God.
St. John Eudes

St. John Eudes

8. Live in faith and hope, though it may be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul. Cast your care upon God for you are His and He will not forget you. Do not think that He is leaving you alone for that would be to wrong Him.
St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

9. We walk by faith and not by sight.
St. Paul the Apostle

St. Paul the Apostle

10. The most beautiful act of faith is the one made in darkness, in sacrifice, and with extreme effort.
Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio

11. Faith furnishes prayer with wings, without which it cannot soar to heaven.
St. John Climacus.

St. John Climacus

12. Charity is the seed of faith, makes it alive, without love, faith dies.
St. Anthony of Padua

St. Anthony of Padua

13. For those with faith, no evidence is necessary, for those without it, no evidence will suffice.
St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas

14. May faith be the torch which illuminates, animates, and sustains you.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

St. Margaret Mary

15. Faith is like a bright ray of sunlight. It enables us to see God in all things, as well as all things in God.
St. Francis de Sales

S

t. Francis de Sales

16. Our door is faith. of it is strong enough, the entire house is safe.
St. Ambrose

St. Ambrose

17. By itself, faith accomplishes nothing, for even the devil believes and trembles. No, faith must be joined to an active love which is expressed in good works.
St. Maximus the Confessor

St. Maximus the Confessor

18, Faith is the light which guides you through the darkness.
Venerable Bishop Sheen

19. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.
St. Luke the Evangelist

St. Luke the Evangelist

20. Faith leads us beyond ourselves. It leads us directly to God.
St. John Paul II, Bishop of Rome

21. Your faith will help you realize that it is Jesus Himself who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, working working for you and calling you to spend one special hour with Hime each week.
St. John Paul II, Bishop of Rome

St. John Paul II

22. If faith is lacking, it is because there is too much selfishness., too much concern for personal gain. For faith to be true, it has to be genuine and loving. Love and faith go together…they complete each other.
St. Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa

23. Among the many signs of a lively faith is the hope we have in eternal life. One of the secrets is not being overly sad at the death of those whom we dearly love in our Lord.
St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius Loyola

24. Your soul must hold fast to Him. You must follow after Him in your thoughts, you must tread His way, by faith, not in outward show.
St. Ambrose

St. Ambrose

25. Faith fills a man with love for the beauty of its truth, with faith in the truth of its beauty.
St. Francis de Sales

Faith, Prayer, Quote, Quotes of Saints, Spirituality

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints about Prayer

June 30, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

Prayer is important in our faith journey. There are many prayer styles. Spending time with God is important whether it be alone, with nature, or with a group of many. We pray in our actions and in silence. We also make a joyful noise in praise and thanksgiving.

The following quotes help us to discover the prayer styles of the saints.

1. Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.

St. John Vianney

2. I pray like little children who do not know how to read. I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences and He always understands me.

St. Terese of Lisieux

3. Pray, Love, and don’t worry.

St. Padre Pio

4. Prayer is the place of refugefor ev for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.

St. John Chrysostom

5. Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition ofand of love, embracing both trial and joy.

St. Therese of Lisieux

6. Joy is prayer! Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

St. Theresa of Calcutta

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
U.S. Stamp
Public Domain Image

10. Those who pray from the heart do not think about the prayer they are saying, but about the God to whom they pray.

St. Francis de Sales

11. Without prayer, it is impossible to resist temptations and to keep the commandment.

St. Alphonsas Liguori

St. Alphonsus Liguori
Public Domain Image

12. Be Good. Love the Lord. Pray for those who do not know Him. What agreat grace it is to know God!

St. Josephine Bakhita

13. He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands.

St. Benedict

14. Prayer is the wing, wherewith the soul flies to heaven, and meditation the eye wherewith we see God.

St. Ambrose

15. Prayer is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.

St. John Chrysostom

16. The test of sincerity of one’s prayer is the willingness to labor on its behalf.

St. John Chrysostom

17. For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.

St. Teresa of Avila

18. Prayer is an act of love. Words are not needed.

St. Teresa of Avila

19. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn, I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.

St. Patrick

20. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

21. Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions, you should only speak to Him with your heart.

St. Padre Pio

22. To sing is to pray twice.

St. Augustine

23. Prayer is to the spiritual life, what the beating of the pulse and the drawing of the breath are to the life of the body.

St. John Henry Newman

24. Prayer begins by talking to God but it ends by listening to Him. In the face of Absolute Truth, silence is the soul’s language.

Ven. Fulton Sheen

25. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

St. Rita

Faith, Fear, Prayer, Quotes of Saints

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints about Fear

June 9, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

The opposite of fear is trust. All of us have fears…the fear of the unkniwn, death,, the future, failure and even success! To deal with our fears, we need to be aware of them. Only then can we pray for the courage and wisdom to overcome them.

The following quotes and prayers from the saints may help you to turn your fears into trust.

1. A soul in a state of grace has nothing to fear of demons who are cowards.

St. Thérése of Lisieux

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

St. Francis of Assisi

3. The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He us also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the sign of the cross.

St. Anthony of Padua

4. Di not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage to present yourselves to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness.

St. John Paul II

5. I am not afraid; I was born to do this.

St. Joan of Arc

6. 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 mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me.

St. Clare of Assisi

7. Satan fears and trembles before humble souls.

St. Padre Pio

8. Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but what is possible for you to do.

St. John XXIII

9. Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall a soul except sin. God commands you to pray, but He forbids you to worry.

St. Francis de Sales

10. The devil fears hearts on fire with love if God.

St. Catherine of Siena

11. Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much…You can never love her more than Jesus did.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

12. I fear nothing for God is with me

St. Joan of Arc

13. What do you have to fear? Nothing. Whom do you have to fear? No one. Why? Because whoever has joined forces with God obtains three great privileges: omnipotence without power, intoxication without wine and life without death.

St. Francis of Assisi

14. It is a fearful mistake to believe that because our wishes are not accomplished they can do no harm.

St. Gertrude the Great

15. Men do not fear a powerful hostile army as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary.

St. Bonaventure

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

St. John Paul II

17. If one fears men much, hevwill never do anything great for God. All that one does fir God causes persecution.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

18. We fight our battle between fear and hope; in the knowledge that hope is always the stronger because He who comes to our help is almighty.

St. Francis de Sales

19. Be not afraid. I plead with you…never, ever, give up on hope. Never doubt , never tire, and never be discouraged.

St. John Paul II

20. I do not fear at all what men can do to me for speaking the truth. I only fear what God would do if I were to lie.

St. John Bosco

21. When you are assailed by fears from the past…think of it as lost in the ocean of heavenly goodness.

St. Padre Pio

22. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.

St. Leo the Great

23. Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.

St. Teresa of Avila

24. O my Lord and Savior, in your arms I am safe. Keep me and I have nothing to fear. I know nothing about the future, but I rely upon You. I pray that You would give me what is good for me. Help me to know You, to believe in You, to love You, to serve You, to always aim at bringing You glory to Your precious name. Amen

St. John Henry Newman

25. Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied by mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets fir a catch.

St. John Paul II

Faith, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Quotes of Saints, Quotes of the Saints, Trinity

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints on the Trinity

May 30, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

The Feast of the Holy Trinity is celebrated on the Sunday following Pentecost. On this day we reflect on our relationship with three persons in one God.

Which person in the Holy Trinity do you feel closest to. In what order did you come to know the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

The following quotes from the saints share their spirituality regarding their love of the Trinity.

Let them lead us in our faith journey .

1. The Father loves not only the Son, but also himself and us, by the Holy Ghost.

St. Thomas Aquinas

2. Worship the Trinity, which I call the only true devotion and saving doctrine.

St. Gregory Nazianzus

3. Eternal Trinity…mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself, for You are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being.

3. St. Catherine of Siena

4. O Trinity, eternal Trinity! Fire, abyss of love…was it necessary that You should give even the Holy Trinity as food for souls? You gave us not only Your Word through the Redemption and the Eucharist, but You gave Yourself in the fullness of Love for Your creature.

St. Catherine of Siena

5. O Father Eternal God, grant me faith and courage; Son, wisdom of the Father, grant me light and make me wise; Holy Spirit, beloved of the Father and Son, inflame my heart and purify my soul, that I may approach this majestic Sacrament with faith and love.

St. Paschal Baylon

6. I have not even begun to think of unity when the Trinity bathes me in its splendor. I have not even begun to think of the Trinity when unity grasps me.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus

7. Every divine action begins with the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed by the Holy Spirit.

St. Basil

8. I vow and consecrate to God all that is in me: My memory and my actions to God the Father; My understanding and my works to the Son; My will and my thoughts to God the Holy Spirit.

St. Francis de Sales

9. O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so as to establish myself in You, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity.

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

10. If you try to understand the Trinity, you will lose your mind; if you reject it, you will lose your soul.

St. Augustine

11. Let all of us truly and humbly believe…and adore, serve, praise, bless, glorify, exalt…the Most High and Supreme Eternal God, Trinity and Unity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time, every day and continually.

St. Francis of Assisi

12. I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness, of the Creator of creation.

St. Patrick

13. O My God! Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to love You and make You loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory. I desire to accomplish your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your kingdom. I desire, in a word, to be a Saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God, to be Yourself my Sanctity!

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

14. Worship the Trinity, which I will call the only true devotion and saving doctrine.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus

15. The three persons are distinct from one another, a sublime knowledge is infused into the soul, embracing it with a certainty of the truth that the Three are of one substance, power and knowledge and are one God.

St. Theresa of Avila

16. Eternal God, eternal Trinity, you are a mystery as deep as the sea, the more I search, the more I Find and the more I find the more I search for You.

St. Catherine of Siena

17. When one of the Three Persons communicates with a soul, by the power of that one will, it finds itself united with the Three Persons and is inundated in the happiness flowing from the Most Holy Trinity, the same happiness that nourishes the saints. This same happiness streams from the Most Holy Trinity, makes all creation happy, from it springs that life which verifies and restores all life which takes its beginning from time.

St. Faustina

18. For to have the fruition of Gid the Trinity, after whose image we are made, is indeed the fullness of all our joy, than which there is no greater.

St. Augustine

19. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the live of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

St. Paul the Apostle

20. You came into this land of exile, willing to suffer and to die, in order to carry away every single soul and plunge it into the very heart of the Trinity – Love’s eternal home.

St. Therse of Lisieux

21. If you see Love…you see the Trinity.

St. Augustine

22. Then they are brought by us where there is water and are reborn by the same manner of rebirth by which we ourselves were reborn; for they are then washed in the water, ‘in the name of God the Father, and master of all, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. ‘

St. Justin Martyr

23. I understand nothing else than the Holy Trinity to be meant; for the third is the Holy Spirit, and the Son is the second, by whom all things were made according to the Father.

St. Clement of Alexandria

24. Those holy angels come to the knowledge of God not by audible word, but by the presence to their souls of immutable truth, …of the only begotten Word of God, and they know this Word Himself, and the Father, and their Holy Spirit, and that this Trinity is indivisible, and that the three persons of it are one substance, and that there are not three Gods but one God, and this they so know that it is better understood by them than we are by ourselves.

St. Augustine

25. The whole Trinity has marked mankind with its likeness. With the memory it resembles the Father, with the understanding it resembles the Son; by love it resembles the Holy Ghost.

St. Anthony of Padua

Faith, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Prayer, Quotes of Saints

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints on the Holy Spirit

May 19, 2026 Vicki Scheenstra

We celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday…fifty days after the crucifixion of Jesus. The Holy Spirit descended on the confused and frightened apostles. They were filled with courage and conviction.

Today, we receive the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of confirmation. We are sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit who guides us and fills us with joy.

The 7 gifts of the Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God.

The 12 fruits of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, Self-control, and chastity.

The following quotes from the saints inspire us with the joy and faith they received.

1. Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit.

St. Lucy

2. He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength. As the soul is to the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.

St. Peter Damien

3. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector … to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

4. Just as two rushing rivers intermingle in such a way that the smaller loses its name and is absorbed into the larger, so the Divine Spirit acts upon the soul and absorbes it.

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

5. Happy the man whose words come from the Holy Spirit and not from himself.

St. Anthony of Padua

6. O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there thy cheerful beams.

St. Augustine

7. The Holy Spirit is like a gardener cultivating our souls.

St. John Vianney

8. Pentecost offers us the chance to live in a new way; with the Holy Spirit as our guide.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

9. Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.

St. Augustine

10. The Holy Spirit leads us as a mother leads by the hand her child of two years old; as a person who can see leads one who is blind.

St. John Vianney

11. Rise, you who were lying fast asleep. Rise and hurry to the Church. Here is the Father. Here is the Son. Here is the Holy Spirit.

St. Ambrose

12. Acquire the Spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

13. I love you my Lord and my God, the eternal Paraclete, co-equal with the Father and the Son…It is by You that sinners are turned into saints.

St. John Henry Newman

14. Stretch every fiber of my being, dear Lord, that I may more easily fly towards you. May Your Spirit, which once breathed over the chaos of the earth, give life to all the powers of my soul.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

15. Every divine action begins with the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed by the Holy Spirit.

St. Basil the Great

16. The life of the spirit is not our life, but the life of God within us.

St. Teresa of Avila

17. Think of the Father as a spring of life begetting the Son like a river, and the Holy Ghost like a sea, for the spring and the river and the sea are all one nature. Think of the Father as a root, and the Son as a branch. and the Spirit as a fruit, for substance in these three is one. The Father is a sun with the Son as rays and the Holy Ghost as heat.

St. John Damascene

18. Every truth without exception- and whoever may utter it- is from the Holy Spirit.

St. Thomas Aquinas

19. Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God. The Father is your table. The Son is your food, and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes Hos dwelling in you.

St. Catherine of Siena

20. In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.

St. John of the Cross

21. Remember, then, that you received a spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear. Keep safe what you have received. God the Father sealed you. Christ the Lord strengthened you and sent the Spirit into your hearts as the pledge of what is to come.

St. Ambrose

22. The Spirit is the source of holiness, a spiritual light, and he offers his own light to every mind to help it in its search for truth.

St. Basil

23. The Spirit is the source of holiness…He is the love that draws them on, the sweetness that attracts them, the way in which a man approaches God.

St. Irenaeus

24. Spirit of truth. You are the reward of the saints, the comforter of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor, treasure to lovers, food for the hungry, comfort to those who are wandering; to sum up, you are the one in whom all treasures are contained.

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

25. Jesus to the Apostles on Pentecost: Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins their sins are forgiven, if you don’t forgive them they are not forgiven. ” JOHN 20: 21-23

“It is a fact that people are always

well aware of what is due them.

Unfortunately, they remain oblivious

of what they owe to others.”

Quote of St. Francis de Sales; Feast Day January 24

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

1. Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.

2. I pray like little children who do not know how to read. I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences and He always understands me.

3. Pray, Love, and don’t worry.

4. Prayer is the place of refugefor ev for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.

5. Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition ofand of love, embracing both trial and joy.

6. Joy is prayer! Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

7. Prayer is the oxygen of the soul.

8. We should seek not so much to pray but to become prayer.

9. He prays best who does not know that he is praying.

10. Those who pray from the heart do not think about the prayer they are saying, but about the God to whom they pray.

11. Without prayer, it is impossible to resist temptations and to keep the commandment.

12. Be Good. Love the Lord. Pray for those who do not know Him. What agreat grace it is to know God!

13. He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands.

14. Prayer is the wing, wherewith the soul flies to heaven, and meditation the eye wherewith we see God.

15. Prayer is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.

16. The test of sincerity of one’s prayer is the willingness to labor on its behalf.

17. For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.

18. Prayer is an act of love. Words are not needed.

19. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn, I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.

20. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.

21. Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions, you should only speak to Him with your heart.

22. To sing is to pray twice.

23. Prayer is to the spiritual life, what the beating of the pulse and the drawing of the breath are to the life of the body.

24. Prayer begins by talking to God but it ends by listening to Him. In the face of Absolute Truth, silence is the soul’s language.

25. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

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