Nothing Great Is Ever Achieved Without Much Enduring

Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring. ― Saint Catherine of Siena

O Love of God! how is it that all creatures do not know how freely you lavish Yourself and Your favours on them while they are seeking You in byways and corners where You are not to be found? How foolish to refuse to breathe the open air! to search for a spot on which to place the foot when there is the whole countryside before you; to be unable to find water when there is a whole deluge at your service, nor to possess and enjoy God, nor to recognise His action when it is present in all things. You search for hidden ways of belonging to God, good people, but the only way is that of making use of whatever He sends you. All leads to union, to perfection, except what is sinful or not a duty. All that is necessary is to accept everything, placing no obstacle in the way of its action but letting it accomplish its work. All things are intended to guide, raise, and support you, and are in the hand of God whose action is vaster and more present than the elements of earth, air, and water. Even by means of the senses God will enter, provided they are used only as He ordains, because everything contrary to His will must be resisted. There is not a single atom that goes to form part of your being, even to the marrow of the bones, that is not formed by the divine power. From it all things proceed, by it all things are made. Your very life-blood flows through your veins by the movement this power imparts to it, and all the fluctuations that exist between strength and weakness, languor and liveliness, life and death, are divine instruments put in motion to effect your sanctification. Under its influence all bodily states become operations of grace. From this invisible hand come all your opinions, all your ideas on whatever subject they may be formed. What this action will effect in you, you will learn by successive experiences, for there is no created heart or mind that can teach it to you. Your life flows on uninterruptedly in this unsounded abyss in which each present moment contains all that is best for you, and as such must be loved and esteemed. It is necessary to have a perfect confidence in this action which of itself can do nothing but what is good. Yes, divine Love! to what heights of supernatural, sublime, admirable and incomparable virtue would all souls arrive if they would but be satisfied with Your action! - Jean Pierre de Caussade

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Hope Is The Power Of Being Cheerful In Desperate Circums

Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate. – G. K. Chesterton

An Age Prospers Or Dwindles In Proportion To Its Devotion To The Holy Eucharist

Let us never forget that an age prospers or dwindles in proportion to its devotion to the Holy Eucharist. This is the measure of its spiritual life and its faith, of its charity and its virtue. – Saint Peter Julian Eymard

The Soul Clouded By The Desires Is Darkened In The Understanding

The soul that is clouded by the desires is darkened in the understanding and allows neither the sun of natural reason nor that of the supernatural Wisdom of God to shine upon it and illumine it clearly. At the same time, when the soul is darkened in the understanding, it is benumbed also in the will, and the memory becomes dull and disordered in its dire operation. The intellect cannot get the illumination of God’s wisdom, the will cannot get the love of God, and the memory cannot get God’s image. Darkness and coarseness will always be with a soul until its appetites are extinguished. The appetites are like a cataract on the eye or specks of dust in it; until removed they obstruct vision. The affections and appetites deprive them of a treasure of divine light. Any appetite, even one that is but slightly imperfect, stains and defiles the soul. - Saint John of the Cross, 'Ascent of Mount Carmel,' Bk. 1. Ch. 8. No. 2, 4, 6, 7

Beware That Your Hearts Do Not Become Drowsy From Carousing And Drunkenness

Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the son of man. - Our Lord Jesus Christ

There Is Nothing More Nauseating Than A Fickle, Frivolous, Haughty Woman

‎There is nothing more nauseating than a woman, especially if she is married, who is fickle, frivolous and haughty. The Christian wife must be woman of sound piety towards God, an angel of peace in the family, dignified and pleasant towards others. - Saint Padre Pio