Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
“just as food is necessary to the life of the body
so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.”
“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.”
“If God created shadows it was to better emphasize the light.”
I shall do good, I shall do God’s work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.
Dear Lord…shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul…Let me thus praise You in the way You love best, by shining on those around me.
God knows what is my greatest happiness, but I do not. Thus God leads us by strange ways; we know He wills our happiness, but we neither know what our happiness is, nor the way.
I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain.
In solitude and silence … God gives his athletes the reward they desire: a peace that the world does not know and joy in the Holy Spirit.
When you observe true obedience with prudence and enthusiasm, it is clear that you wisely pick the most delightful and nourishing fruit of divine Scripture.
For the devil may tempt the good, but he cannot find rest in them; for he is shaken violently, and upset, and driven out, now by their prayers, now by their tears of repentance, and now by their alms giving and similar good works.
“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.”
“Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized;
“I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God.
I will spend all my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament.”
“’My daughter, have fear of nothing; I am always with you. All your adversaries will harm you only to the degree that I permit them to do so. You are my dwelling place and my constant repose. For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; for your sake I bless the earth.’”
image from stainedglassinc
It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of the Father would come from heaven and take from her womb the real flesh of our human frailty. Though he was wealthy beyond reckoning, he still willingly chose to be poor with his blessed mother. And shortly before his passion he celebrated the Passover with his disciples. Then he prayed to his Father saying: Father, if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me.
Let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve.
We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
