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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
The Feast Day of St. Monica is celebrated on August 27. She is the patron saint of mothers, alcoholism and difficult marriages.
St. Monica was born of a Christian family in Tagaste in Africa in 331. She was given in marriage by her parents to a non-Christian named Patricius. He was known to have a a bad temper and alcoholism. They had three children who survived infancy. One of them was Augustine.
Monica was known for her pious nature. She prayed without ceasing for her family. A year before his death Patricius converted to Catholicism and was baptized. Augustine was 17 at the time of his father’s death. He left the faith and led an immoral life. By eighteen he had a mistress and a son. He joined a group called the Manichees. Manicheeism teaches that the material world is part of the realm of evil. There are two gods one good and one evil.
Monica never ceased praying for the return of her son to the Catholic faith. After more than 15 years of prayer, Augustine heard St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, preach. He decided to study the faith, and eventually returned, being baptized in 387. Eventually Augustine became a priest and then a bishop. St. Augustine is now considered a Doctor of the Church.
Monica is the patron of mothers due to her persistence in prayer.
“Nothing is far from God.”
Quote of St. Monica
August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Suffering comes in many forms. Pain, illness, loss, and death of a loved one all cause grief and sorrow. Turning to God during troubled times can be very difficult. Let the words of the Saints help you as you travel on your spiritual journey.
1. I’m suffering very much, but am I suffering very well?
5. O my Jesus, give me Your strength, when my weak nature rebels against the distress and sufferings of this life of exile, and enable me to accept everything with prosperity and peace.
With my whole strength, I cling to Your merits Your sufferings, Your atonement, and Your tears so that I may be able to cooperate with you in the work of Salvation.
6. The Passion of Jesus is a sea of sorrows, but it is also an ocean of love. Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this ocean. Dive into its depth. No matter how deep you go, you will never reach the bottom
11. Sorrow for sin is indeed necessary, but it should not be an endless preoccupation. You must dwell also on the glad remembrance of God’s loving kindness; otherwise, sadness will harden the heart and lead it more deeply into despair.
12. In every disappointment, great or small, let your heart fly directly to your dear Savior, throwing yourself against every pain and sorrow, Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.
16. He will either shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
17. In suffering God gives strength, but in action and in joy the soul does but show its own weakness and imperfection. And in suffering the soul practices and acquires virtue and becomes pure, wiser and more cautious.
Bl. Teresa of Calcutta U.S. Stamp Public Domain Image
20. All the science of the saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly.
21. We should strive to keep our hearts open to the suffering and wretchedness of other people, pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the Spirit of God.
22. To suffer and be happy through suffering, to have ones feet on the earth, to walk on the dirty and rough path of this earth and yet to be enthroned with Christ at the Father’s right hand, to laugh and cry with the children of this world and ceaselessly sing the praises of God with the choirs of angels–this is the life of the Christian until the morning of eternity breaks forth.
23. Those who pray and suffer, leaving action for others, will not shine here on earth; but what a radiant crown they will wear in the Kingdom of Life! Blessed be the “apostolic of suffering!”
24. Suffering is transformed and elevated when in these moments we become aware of God’s closeness and solidarity. This is the certainty that gives inner peace and spiritual joy to the person who suffers generously and offers his pain as a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12.)
25.My Lord Jesus Christ, two graces I beg of you before I die. The first is that in my lifetime I may feel in my soul and in my body, as far as possible, that sorrow which you, sweet Jesus, endured in the hour of your bitter passion. The second is that I may feel in my heart, as far as possible, that abundance of love with which you, Son of God, were inflamed, so as willing to endure so great a passion for us sinners.
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
St. Hyacinth of Poland
2. Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
21. Let us ask three graces of Jesus, to avoid Purgatory, to learn from Purgatory, to empty Purgatory.
Blessed James Alberione
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.
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.
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.
Pride often keeps us from having healthy relationships. It prevents us from asking for help when we need it. Turning to God is difficult to do when we have too much pride.
The saints can help us know when pride is detrimental and how to conquer it. The following quotes from the saints can inspire us to be humble of heart.
1. It was pride that changed angels into devils. It is humility that make men as angels.
3. Do you know where the tree of death is rooted? In the height of pride, which is nourished by their sensual selfishness. Its core is impatience and its offshoot is the lack of any discernment. These are the four chief vices, which together tell the souls of those I have called trees of death, since they have failed to feed on the life of grace.(Pride, selfishness, lack of discernment, impatience)
4. If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist.
St. Cyril of Alexandria
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
5. Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of Pride and anger. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit and raises man to Heaven.
6. You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy – the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good… for God resists the proud.
8. As pride is the beginning of all sin, so humility is the foundation of all virtue. Learn to be really humble, and not, as the hypocrite, humble in only appearance.
11. The proud person is like a grain of wheat thrown into water – it swells, it gets big. Expose that grain to the fire – it dries up – it burns. The humble soul is like a grain of wheat, thrown into the earth – it descends, it hides itself, it disappears, it dies but to revive in heaven.
St. Mary of Jesus Crucified
St. Mary of Jesus Crucified
12. For what else is pride but, as a saint has defined it, the love of one’s own excellence.
14. If you are discouraged, it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers. Your self-suffering, your selfishness, and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that.
16. We must all be on our guard against pride and empty boasting and beware of worldly or natural wisdom. A worldly spirit lives to talk a lot, but do nothing, striving for the exterior signs of holiness that people see, with no desire for true piety, and interior holiness of spirit.
19. How can one be pleasing to God when one is inflated with pride and self-love under the pretense of striving for God’s glory wile in fact one is seeking one’s own glory?
21. We put pride into everything like salt. We like to see that our good works are known. If our virtues are seen, we are pleased; if our faults are perceived, we are sad. I remark that in a great many people, if one says anything to them, it disturbs them, it annoys them. The saints were not like that- they were vexed if their virtues were known, and pleased that their imperfections should be seen.
23. We must observe also that among the heathen the names of the poor men are more likely to be known than of the rich. Now our Lord mentions the names of the poor, but not the names of the rich, because God knows and approves the humble, but not the proud.
24. Learn to love humility, for it will cover all your sins. All sins are repulsive before God, but the most repulsive of all is pride of the heart. Do not consider yourself learned and wise; otherwise, all your efforts will be destroyed, and your boat will reach the harbor empty. If you have great authority, do not threaten anyone with death. Know that, according to nature, you are susceptible to death, and that every soul sheds its body as its final garment.
25. Lord, free me from every pride, which is the source of all sins. Give me the grace to recognize sick and unbridled ambitions, that make me choose false greatness, or they cause complexes. Jesus, martyred on the cross, obedient to everything to the Father, I am asking for a humble heart like Your Heart. I am asking for humble eyes, who see themselves and others in truth. Amen
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
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
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
During our journey of faith, all of us at some time in our life need an extra dose of courage. To face our fears can be very daunting, requiring a decision from deep within ourselves not to run from adversity. Reflecting on the wisdom of the saints can help during those times. The following quotes are on the virtue of courage…another name for fortitude.
1. Grace and truth will in turn give rise to courage. Following Christ has always demanded courage.
2. Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.
5. We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage is steadfast and our trust is fixed on God.
10. True love is love that causes us pain, that hurts and yet brings us joy. That is why we must pray to God and ask Him to give us the courage to love.
11. Many people say “I don’t have the courage to make the sacrifice.” Let them do what I did: exert a great effort. God never refuses that first grace which gives one the courage to act. Afterward the heart is strenghthened.
12. Though the path is plain and smooth for men of good will, he who walks it will not travel far, and he will do so only with difficulty, if he does not have good feet; that is courage and a persevering spirit.
14. If one is to do good, he must have a little courage, be ready for sacrifice, deal affably with all and never slight anybody. By following this method, I have always had significant success, in fact, marvelous success!
16. Remember, that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing with you, nothing that you have received – only what you have given: a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.
18. Even if I must suffer greatly, thanks be to God’s mercy, I will not lack courage.
St. Genoveva Torres Morales
St. Genoveva Torres Morales
19. Courage, courage, my daughters. Remember that God does not give anyone more trials than can be suffered and that His Majesty is with the afflicted… for this is certain, there is no reason to fear God, but to hope in His mercy.
21. O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve you. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived, when the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will open before me and I shall meet with peace.
22. Let us never lose courage or despair of God’s mercy. We may not understand His will for us in time, but in eternity the veil will be drawn, and we shall see that He acted only for our happiness. Let us bear our cross and leave it to God to determine the length and the weight.
24. When I am weak, Help me find courage. When I am afraid of what the future holds, Help me find trust. When I cannot see God anymore in my life, Hel me find faith.
25. God of our life. There are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies gray and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage.
Flood the path with light, turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; turn our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so, quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to your honor and glory. Amen
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.
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.
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.
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary falls on the Saturday after The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which falls on the second Friday in June.
The following prayer is a prayer of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
O Mary, Virgin most powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to thine Immaculate Heart. We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that we are. To thee we give our bodies, our hearts, and our souls; to thee we give our homes, our families, our country. We desire that all that is in us and around us may belong to thee and may share in the benefits of thy motherly blessing. And that this act of consecration may be truly fruitful and lasting, we renew this day at thy feet the promises of our Baptism and our First Holy Communion. We pledge ourselves to profess courageously and at all times the truths of our holy Faith, and to live as befits Catholics, who are submissive to all directions of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him. We pledge ourselves to keep the Commandments of God and His Church, in particular to keep holy the Lord’s Day. We likewise pledge ourselves to make the consoling practices of the Christian religion, and above all, Holy Communion, an important part of our lives, in so far as we shall be able to do. Finally, we promise thee, O glorious Mother of God and loving Mother of men, to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the spreading of devotion to thy Immaculate Heart, in order to hasten and assure, through the queenly rule of thy Immaculate Heart, the coming of the kingdom of the Sacred Heart of thy adorable Son, in our own hearts and in those of all men, in our country, and in all the world, as in Heaven, so on earth. Amen
“Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”Our Lady of Fatima
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