Category Archives: Prayer

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints on the Trinity

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

St. Thomas Aquinas

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

St. Gregory Nazianzus

St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Bisop

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

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

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

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

St. Basil the Great

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

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

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

St. Augustine of Hippo
Public Domain Image

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

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. Thรฉrรจse of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux
Public Domain Image

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

St. Gregory of Nazianzus

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

St. Teresa 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

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

St. Faustina
Public Domain Image

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

St. Augustine of Hippo

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

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

St. THร‰RรˆSE of Lisiuex

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

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
Public Domain Image

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

St. Justin Marty
by Theophanes the Cretan
Public Domain Image

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

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

St. Augustine of Hippo

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

St. Anthony of Padua

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints on the Holy Spirit

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

St. Lucy
by Domenico di Pace Beccafumi

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

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

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

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

St. Anthony of Padua

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

St. Augustine of Hippo
by Sandro Botticelli

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

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney
Public Domain Image

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

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

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

St. Augustine of Hippo

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

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

St. Ambrose

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

St. Seraphim of Sarov

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

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

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

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

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

St. John Damascus

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

St. Thomas Aquinas

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

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

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

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

St. Basil the Great

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

St. Irenaeus of Lyons
Public Domain Image

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

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

Twenty Five Quotes From the Saints about Love

How does our love of God grow? If we spend time with God, we come to know Him better. We learn from our experiences. Our faith becomes stronger as we let Him lead us.

One of the fruits if the spirit us love. The Holy Spirit inflames our heart with love. Our doubts disappear and we are led by the Spirit of Love.

The Saints were on fire with the love of God. The following quotes enlighten us about their journey.

1. All things are possible for him who Believes, more to him who hopes, even more to him who loves.

St. Lawrence Brindisi

St. Lawrence Brindisi

2. Refuse God nothing…We must do all through love.

St. Jeanne Jugan

St. Jeanne Jugan
Public Domain Image

3. The proof of love is in the works. Where live exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.

St. Gregory the Great

St. Gregory the Great

4. I have come to know only love is if any value; love is greatness. Nothing, no works can compare with a single act of pure love of God.

Diary of St. Faustina, 1092

St. Faustina
Public Domain Image

5. Martyrdom is the heroic act of love.

St. Just Bretenie’res Korean Martyr

St. Just Bretenie’res

5. God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo

6. It is only by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If then, we possess charity, we possess God, for God is charity.

St. Albert the Great

St. Albert the Great

7. I love You, not because You have the power to give heaven or hell, but simply because You are You…my kin and my God.

St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier

8. Where there is no love, put love and you will find love.

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

9. Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side; Hope supports it on the other; Experience says it must be and Love says…Let it be.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

10. Remember, that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing of what you have received, but only what you have given; a heart full, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi

11. Desire more and more to grow in the love of God. Holy desires are like wings which transport the soul to heaven.

Bl. Angel Trustzkowska

Bl. Angel Trustkowska

12. Faith and Love are like the blind man’s guides. They will lead you along a path unknown to you, to the place where God is hidden.

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

13. Beneath the cross one learns to love.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio

14. Heaven is full of love but Hell is full of loneliness.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

St.. Teresa of Calcutta
U.S. Stamp

15. Darkness can only be scattered by light. Hatred can only be conquered by Love.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II

16. May my life be a continual prayer, a long act of love.

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

17. Kindness is my only guiding star. In its light, I sail a straight route. I have my motto written on my soul: ” To Live in Love.”

St Thรฉrรฉse of Lisieux

St. Thรฉrรจse of Lisiuex

18. Only one thing is needed to please God: to do even the smallest things out of great love. Love and always love.

St. Faustina

St. Faustina

19. Truly it us a blessed thing to Love on earth as we hope to live in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here which is to endure forever there.

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales

20. Prayer is an act of Love; words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts us from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to Love.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila

21. Faith gives Love it’s strength; Love gives Faith it’s beauty.

St. Valentine

St. Valentine

22. Ponder the fact that you were loved before you ever loved. For God looked within Himself and fell in love with the beauty of His creature and so created us.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena

23. As I adore You, I ask for a love that knows no limits, a love like a flame that consumes me. O Christ, O Lord, one gift I ask if you: Love for You ever increasing, ever growing, ever active on Your behalf.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Kateri

24. It is not enough to love the young. They mustknow they are loved.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco

25. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your Love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions.

St. Gertrude the Great

St. Gertrude the Great

Twenty Five Quotes From The Saints About Grace

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

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

St. Rose of Lima
Public Domain Image

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

St. Augustine of Hippo
Public Domain Image

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

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

St. Nicholas

8. Be attentive to the voice of grace.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Public Domain Image

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

St. Macarius of Egypt

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

St. Rita Cascia

St. Rita
Public Domain Image

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

St. Bona of Pisa

St. Bona of Pisa

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

St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More
Public Domain Image

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

St. Barnabas
Public Domain Image

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

St. Elizabeth Schoenna

St. Elizabeth of 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

Venerable Bishop 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

St. Joan of Arc
Burning at Stake
Public Domain Image

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

St. Charles de Foucauld

Bl. 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

St. Josephine 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

St. Faustina
Public Domain Image

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

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

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

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

Acts of Faith, Hope and Love

Faith, Hope and Love are three virtues which St. Paul in Corinthians tells us we must live by. We have three traditional prayers which we call Acts to help us. Whenever we need guidance and direction, praying one of these short Acts will help us.

We are also encouraged to pray without ceasing. Beginning your day with an Act oh faith, hope and love is one way to grow spiritually.

Prayers, Quips and Quotes; St. Bernadette of Lourdes, Feast Day April 16

The Feast day of St. Bernadette of Lourdes is celebrated on April 16.

St. Bernadetta was born in 1833 in France. Our Lady first appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes.
France on Feb. 11, 1858. Bernadette was a poor shepherdess who was only 14 years old. Our Lady actually appeared to her eighteen times.

During the first vision Bernadette saw a bright light and a beautiful lady dressed in a brilliant white dress adorned with a blue ribbon. A long veil covered her body from her head to her feet. Her hands were clasped as if praying and she carried a white and gold rosary with a gold cross in her hands. Bernadette took her rosary out of her pocket and guided by Our Lady they prayed the rosary. After praying, the vision ended.

St.Bernadette of Lourdes

Bernadette asked the girls with her if they had seen anything and they said no. She told them not to say anything, but her sister told their mother who did not believe the story.

On Feb. 14, Bernadette returned to the Grotto where the vision had happened. She asked those with her to pray the rosary. When Our Lady appeared again, Bernadette’s face was transfigured. She sprinkled the holy water which had been given her and said, “If you come from God, come near us.” The holy water touched Our Lady, and she smiled and came closer. They began to pray the rosary together.

On Feb. 18, after Mass she was accompanied by a lady and a religious. When she began praying, Our Lady appeared again and they all prayed the rosary. Our Lady asked Bernadette to return for 15 consecutive days. Benadette promised she would do so. Our Lady said;

Bernadette went to the Grotto with a lit candle for the next 15 days. Hundreds of people began coming with her. On Feb. 21, Bernadette observed that Our Lady seemed sad. She asked her, “What is wrong? What can I do?” Our Lady said,

“Pray for sinners.”

“I also promise to make you happy, not in this world, but in the next.”

A doctor examined Bernadette and concluded there was northing wrong with her. Bernadette was ridiculed nonetheless.

On Feb. 23, Our Lady requested that a Sanctuary be built on the site. She told Bernadette to talk to the priest. When the priest asked her the name of the lady, Bernadeete did not know. The priest told her he needed a miracle and she shoul ask the lady for the rose bush to blossom.

On Feb 26, Our Lady revealed to Bernadette her name saying:

“I am the Immaculate Conception”

During one apparition people witnessed Bernadette praying for fifteen minutes with the candle flame burning through her fingers. She remained unharmed. The last apparition occurred on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Many miracles of healing have been attributed to the healing waters of Lourdes.

St. Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity seeking God in the silence of the convent. St. Bernadette died on April 16, 1879.

The message of Our Lady Of Lourdes is timeless.

Pray for Sinners!

The incorrupt body of St. Bernadette of Lourdes may be viewed at St. Gildard Convent where it is kept uner glass. This is the Conven St. Bernadette spent the last nine years of her life in prayer with God.

Always stay very close to our Lord, present in the tabernacle. Be completely absorbed by devotion to Him there and never let go.

Quote of St. Bernadette

April is the Month of the Eucharist

Do Evil Spirirs Realy Exist?




ย 

The Fall of Man Michelangelo
The Fall of Man
Michelangelo

On Halloween, we see many representations of good and evil: angels, witches, devils, monsters, princesses, gangsters, rock stars, politicians, super heroes.

While we are made in the image of God, each of us has a temptation to do evil. Society glamorizes evil.

If we take the Bible seriously, we should not doubt the existence of Satan and evil spirits. Jesus refers to Satan and angels multiple times.

Satan is actually an angel. He fell from grace when he turned from God. He has been at war with God ever since.

It is only in modern times, that people have denied the existence of evil spirits. Halloween is a time when we should reflect on the good and evil evident around us.

Halloween (All Hallows Eve) comes on the night before All Saintโ€™s Day. Halloween is a display of both good and evil. All Saintโ€™s Day (November 1st) is a display of people who have overcome evil for the glory of God.

Angels have existed since the beginning of creation. They are servants and messengers of God. Unlike human beings they are pure spirits. During the life of Jesus they are always present. Archangel Gabriel announces his birth, they protect Jesus in his infancy, (Mat 4) serve him in the desert, and they strengthen him in his agony in the garden,

The Feast Day of the Archangels is celebrated on September 29.ย  The Feast Day of the Guardian Angels is celebrated on Oct. 2.

The Church teaches that Satan, in the beginning, was a good angel, but became evil by choice.ย  We learn in the bible that Jesus came to conquer evil.

“Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.ย  The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.โ€œย  1 John 8

When Jesus is praying in the Garden before his crucifixion, he prayed for unity among Christians.ย  He also prayed for protection against satan.

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”ย  (John 17:15)

The fallen angels have never repented for their fall from grace. Their hatred of God leads them to seduce men into choosing their evil ways.

We have free will. God did not create evil. On Halloween, we should reflect on which path we wish to follow…the path of God…or the path of evil.

Being neutral is not an option, it is evil; the sin of omission, laziness, and being lukewarm.

The devil is always trying to tempt us to do evil.ย  We need to turn to God with the Lord’s prayer when we need to be strengthened.

‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.ย ย  (Matthew 6:13)

We need to be aware of the evil around us and the temptations which may cause us to go astray.ย  How else can we choose to do good rather than evil?ย ย  Pray!ย  Pray!ย  Pray!

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Faustina, Feast Day October 5




St. Faustina
St. Faustina

The feast day of St. Faustina is celebrated on October 5.ย  She is considered the Apostle of Mercy.

St. Faustina was baptized Helena Kowalska.ย ย  She was born into a very poor family of ten childrenย  on August 25, 1905 in Glogowiec, Poland.ย  She lived on a farm receiving only three years of education.

St. Faustina worked as a housekeeper before joining the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925 at the age of 20.ย  For 13 years she prayed in the convent and worked as a cook, gardener and porter.

St. Faustina grew in holiness.ย  She had a very mystical interior life.ย  She had the gifts of visions, prophecy, the stigmata , bi-location, the gift of reading hearts and mystical marriage.

The vision which impacted the world was a vision of Jesus.ย  She tells the story in her Diary.

“In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, ‘paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'”

Some time later, Our Lord again spoke to her:

“The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender Mercy at that time when My agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the cross….Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.”

Divine Mercy
Divine Mercy

At the request of Jesus she willingly offered her sufferings in union with him to atone for the sins of others. He also asked her to remind the world of His Divine Mercy and He taught her a very special devotion to the Divine Mercy based on trust in Him. ย  She had a special devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Eucharist and the Sacrament of confession which strengthened her.

One of the vision she experienced was a visit to hell, which she shares in her diary.ย  She suffered greatly interiorly, however she only shared her suffering with her spiritual director.ย  At the request of Jesus and her confessors, St. Faustina kept a diary in which she shared her visions.

St. Faustina died of tuberculosis in Krakow, Poland at age 33 in 1938.ย  She was canonized by the first Polish Pope, Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000

Divine Mercy Sunday is now celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Easter.

“Jesus, I Trust In You”
Quote of St. Faustina
October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary

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Twenty Five Quotes from the Saints about Truth

 

Many in the world today are discovering that not everything we believe is actually true.ย  The following quotes are attributed to the Saints.ย  Hopefully they will help us to understand the meaning of Truth.

1.ย  ย Anyone who seeks Truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it.

St. Edith Stein

St. Edith Stein
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2.ย  Truth is not private property.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
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3.ย  Truth suffers but never dies.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
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4.ย  Proclaim the Truth and do not be silent through fear.

St. Catherine of Siena

4.ย  Proclaim the Truth and do not be silent through fear.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena

5.ย  Humility is nothing but truth, and pride is nothing but lying.

St. Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent de Paul
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6.ย  He is an all-powerful God, who is Truth

St. Faustina

St. Faustina
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7.ย  Faith and Reason are like two wings of the human spirit, which it sours to the Truth.

St. John Paul II

8.ย  There is no true peace without fairness, truth, justice and solidarity.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
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9.ย  I can nourish myself on nothing but Truth.

St. Therese of Lisieux

10.ย  Jesus said, ” I am the Truth” and it is your duty and mine to speak the truth, then it is up to the person who hears it whether to accept or reject it.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta
U.S. Stamp
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11.ย  When lies have been accepted for some time, Truth always stands with an air of novelty.

St. Clement of Alexandria…Church Father

12.ย  True happiness is to rejoice in the Truth, for to rejoice in theTruth is to rejoice in you, O God, who are the Truth, you my God, my true Light, to whom I look for salvation.

St. Augustine

13.ย  To lovers of the Truth, nothing can be put before God and Home in Him.

St. Basil

St. Basil the Great

14.ย  Do not accept anything as Love which lacks Truth.

St Edith Stein

15.ย  If I do not speak the truth, I become a slave of the father of lies and beome a member of the Father of lies.

St. Jerome Emiliani

St. Jerome Emilianiย  ย  ย  ย  Patron Saint of Orphans

16.ย  Speak the Truth in a million voices.ย  It is silence that kills.

St. Catherine of Siena

17.ย  Sin makes a man a coward, a life in the Truth of Christ makes him bold.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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18.ย  For He who is true God is also True man; and there is no deception in this union, where the loftiness of God and the lowliness of man are brought together.

St. Leo the Great

St. Leo the Great

19.ย  No one in the world can change Truth.ย  What we can do and should do is to seek Truth and to serve it when we have found it.

St. Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe
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20.ย  Serve the Lord in fear and Truth.

St. Polycarp…Church Father

St. Polycarp

21.ย  God is supreme Truth; and to be humble is to walk in Truth.

St. Teresa of Avila.

22.ย  Charity and kindness unwedded to Truth are not charity and kindness but deceit and vanity.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius Loyola
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23.ย  My longing for truth was a single prayer.

St Edith Stein

24.ย  Seek the Truth, Do the Good,ย  Love the Beautiful!

St. John Henry Newman

St. John Henry Newman

25.ย  What prayer could be more true before God the Father than that which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips?

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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Twenty-Five Quotes on the Cross from the Saints

When we think about the cross, we usually think about the suffering and tribulations of life.

The Way of the Cross is a powerful devotion in the church.ย  We meditate and ponder on the Stations of the Cross.ย  This devotion is often prayed in church on Fridays during lent.ย  It may also be prayed alone.ย  ย  When praying the Way of the Cross privately, it is helpful to use a written form of the devotion with meditations.

The 14 Stations of the Cross represent events from Jesusโ€™ passion and death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesusโ€™ suffering, Death, and Resurrection.

1ย  Jesus Is Condemned to Death.
2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross.
3. Jesus Falls the First Time.
4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother.
5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
7. Jesus Falls a Second Time.
8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time.
10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments.
.11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross.
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross.

13. Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.

14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.

As we reflect on the stations of the cross, perhaps the quotes of the saints will help us as we meditate onย the meaning of the cross.
  1. ย The Cross is the school of love.

St. Maxamilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe
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2.ย  Mount Calvary is the academy of Love.ย 

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales

3.ย  The road is narrow.ย  He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane.ย  In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.

St. John of the Cross.

St. John the Evangelist at the Cross

4.ย  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

St. Paul the Apostle

St. Paul the Apostle
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5.ย  Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ, doesn’t seek the glory of Christ.

St. John of the Cross

St. John the Evangelist at the Cross

6.ย  Our greatest cross is the fear of crosses.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney

7.ย  With the sign of the Cross, I shall more certainly break through the ranks of the enemy than if armed with shield and sword.

St. Martin of Tours

St. Martin of Tours

8.ย  The Cross is the way to Paradise, but only when it is done willingly.

St. Paul of the Cross

St. Paul of the Cross
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9.ย  No type of cruelty can tear down the religion established by the mystery of Christs’ Cross.
St. Leo the Great

St. Leo the Great

10.ย  Apart from the Cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.

St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima
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11. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him by word and deed.ย  Walk very simply with the Cross of the Lord.ย  and be at peace with yourself.

St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales

12.ย  Remember that when your heart feels restless, when your heart feels hurt, when your heart feels like breaking… I am precious to Him.ย  He has called me by name.ย  I am His.ย  He loves me.ย  And to prove that love He died on the cross.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa
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13.ย  You must accept your cross; if you bear it courageously, it will carry you to Heaven.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney

14.ย  The cross is the hope of Christians, the staff of the lame, the comfort of the poor, the destruction of all pride, the victory over devils, the guide of youth, the pilot of mariners, the refuge of those who are in danger, the counselor of the just, the rest of the afflicted, the physician of the sick the glory of Martyrs

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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15.ย  The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without haven.ย  The worst prison would be a closed heart.
St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
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16.ย  He who, when tempted, makes the Sign of the Cross with devotion, makes Hell tremble and Heaven rejoice.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney

17.ย  Beneath the cross, one learns to love.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
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18.ย  The lukewarm do not embrace the cross; they merely drag it along.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
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19.ย  The cross is our trophy raised against the demons, our sword against sin and the sword of Christ used to pierce the serpent.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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20.ย  If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas

21.ย  If you wish to be like Christ, call or look always for the cross.

St. John of the Cross

St. John the Evangelist at the Cross

22.ย  The Christian’s motto is the Cross.ย  You will recognize God’s love by this sign, by the suffering he sends you.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
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23. Suffering is a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa
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24.ย  Contradictions put us at the feet of the Cross and the cross lifts us up to heaven.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney

25.ย  It is in loving the cross that we find true peace, not running from it.

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney

July Prayer Intention and Prayer For Discernment by Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo invites us to pray with him for his monthly prayer intention.

The prayer intention for July is for Discernment in Formation.

“Let us pray that we might again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the Gospel.โ€

Prayer for Discernment by Pope Leo XIV

Holy Spirit, you, light of our understanding,
gentle breath that guides our decisions,
grant me the grace to listen attentively to your voice
and to discern the hidden paths of my heart,
so that I may grasp what truly matters to you,
and free my heart from its troubles.

I ask you for the grace to learn how to pause,
to become aware of the way I act,
of the feelings that dwell within me,
and of the thoughts that overwhelm me
which, so often, I fail to notice.

I long for my choices
to lead me to the joy of the Gospel.
Even if I must go through moments of doubt and fatigue,
even if I must struggle, reflect, search, and begin againโ€ฆ
Because, at the end of the journey,
your consolation is the fruit of the right decision.

Grant me a deeper understanding of what moves me,
so that I may reject what draws me away from Christ,
and love him and serve him more fully.

Amen.

Twenty-five Quotes about Heaven from the Saints

Have you pondered what heaven might be like.ย  We will only know for sure when we enter into the Kindom of Heaven.ย  The saints share their insights with us in the quotes below.

ย 1.ย  ย How insignificant earth seems to me, when I consider heaven.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola
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2.ย  The gate of heaven is very low, only the humble can enter it.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
3.ย  Heaven is a city on a hill; hence we cannot cast into it, we have to climb.

Ven. Fulton Sheen

Ven. Fulton Sheen
4.ย  Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More
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5.ย  Those who carry God in their hearts bear Heaven with them wherever they go.

St. Ignatius Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyla
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6.ย  What does it matter to you whether Jesus wishes to guide you to heaven by way of the desert or by the meadow, so long as He is always with you and you arrive at the possession of the blessed eternity.

St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio
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7.ย  Walk with your feet on earth, but in your heart, be in heaven.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco
8.ย  As mariners are guided into port by the shing of a star, so Christians are guided to Heaven by Mary.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas
9.ย  Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we still live in anxiety, so that we may sing it one day in heaven in full security.ย ย 

St. Augustine

St. Augustine
10.ย  Heaven and hell are inevitable, but the choice between them is up to us.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila
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11.ย  Heaven is full of love, but hell is full of loneliness.

St. Teresa of Calcutta

St. Teresa of Calcutta
U.S. Stamp
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12.ย  Heaven is for all of us, but we must remember that we must earn it.

St. Francis Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi
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13.ย  We are not made for this world but for heaven, where we will live forever.

St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II
14.ย  Can you expect to go to heaven for nothing?ย  Did not our dear Savior track the whole way to it with His blood and tears?

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
15.ย  No one reaches the Kingdom of Heaven except by humility.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
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16.ย  Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.ย ย 

St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima
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17. All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, ” I am the way.”

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena
18.ย  When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens.ย  ย I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieuxย  ย  ย  ย  ย  The Little Flower
19.ย  The pains of hell are not the greatest part of hell, the loss of heaven is the weightiest woe of Hell.

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom Icon
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20.ย  An angel fell from heaven without any other passion except pride, and so we may ask whether it is possible to ascend to Heaven by humility alone, without any other of the virtues.

St. John Climacus

St. John Climacus
21.ย  In the moment of temptation, think of the Love that awaits you in heaven, foster the virtue of hope.

St. Josemaria Escriva

St. Josemaria Escriva
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22.ย  Heaven is where all tears are wiped away.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine of Hippo
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23.ย  Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.ย ย 

St. Jerome

St. Jerome and the Angel
by Simon Vouet
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24.ย  As in heaven Your will is punctually performed, so may it be done on earth by all creatures, particularly in me and by me.ย 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

25.ย  O Saving Victim, opening wide, the gate of heaven to us below.ย  Our foes press on from every side, Your aid supply, Your strength bestow.

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas