Monday, October 31, 2011

QUOTATION: The Church

The Church has ever proved indestructible. Her persecutors have failed to destroy her; in fact, it was during times of persecution that the Church grew more and more; while the persecutors themselves, and those whom the Church would destroy, are the very ones who came to nothing. . . .Again, errors have assailed her; but in fact, the greater the number of errors that have arisen, the more has the truth been made manifest. . . . Nor has the Church failed before the assaults of demons: for she is like a tower of refuge to all who fight against the Devil.

--St. Thomas Aquinas

Sunday, October 30, 2011

QUOTATION: Idolatry

Idols always break the hearts of their worshipers.

--C.S. Lewis

Saturday, October 29, 2011

QUOTATION: Inner Peace

Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, not even if your whole world seems upset. If you find that you have wandered away from the shelter of God, lead your heart back to Him quietly and simply.

-- St. Francis de Sales

Friday, October 28, 2011

QUOTATION: Christ is the Way

You’ve got to be centered on Christ. It’s a work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit forms Jesus within us. No cross? No crown. No pain? No gain. No way around it – if there was a shortcut, I’d know it and I’d tell ya.

--Father John Corapi

Thursday, October 27, 2011

QUOTATION: Marian Devotion

Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son. There can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son.

--St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

QUOTATION: Discouragement

If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, 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.

– Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

QUOTATION: Sin

There is only one thing more dangerous than sin--the murder of a man’s sense of sin.


– John Paul II

Monday, October 24, 2011

QUOTATION: Jesus

The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a foetus inside a Woman's body.

--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Sunday, October 23, 2011

QUOTATION: Loving Mary

Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did. --Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Saturday, October 22, 2011

QUOTATION: How Conversion Begins

It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it. But when that affection has passed a certain point it begins to take on the tragic and menacing grandeur of a great love affair.

--G. K. Chesterton

Friday, October 21, 2011

QUOTATION: Troubled Soul

When the soul is troubled, lonely and darkened, then it turns easily to the outer comfort and to the empty enjoyments of the world.

–- St. Francis of Assisi

Thursday, October 20, 2011

QUOTATION: What the Devil Fears

The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is 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 Egypt

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

QUOTATION: Love of Enemies

Love all men, even your enemies; love them, not because they are your brothers, but that they may become your brothers. Thus you will ever burn with fraternal love, both for him who is already your brother and for your enemy, that he may by loving become your brother.

--St. Augustine of Hippo

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

QUOTATION: Healing

No one heals himself by wounding another.

-- Saint Ambrose of Milan

Monday, October 17, 2011

QUOTATION: The Natural Self

The natural life in each of us is something self-centred, something that wants to be petted and admired, to take advantage of other lives, to exploit the whole universe. And especially it wants to be left to itself: to keep well away from anything better or stronger or higher than it, anything that might make it feel small. It is afraid of the light and air of the spiritual world, just as people who have been brought up to be dirty are afraid of a bath. And in a sense it is quite right. It knows that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, all its self-centredness and self-will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to avoid that

--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

QUOTATION: Evangelization

Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians.

-- St. Francis Xavier

Sunday, October 16, 2011

QUOTATION: Christ is All for All

In Christ we are all things, He is everything to us. If you have wounds to heal, He is a physician; if fever scorches you, He is a fountain. Would you punish evil doing, He is justice. If you need help, He is strength; if you fear death, He is life; if you hunger, He is food.

-- St. Ambrose of Milan

Saturday, October 15, 2011

QUOTATION: Limp Spirituality

Maybe the greatest threat to the Church is not heresy, not dissent, not secularism, not even moral relativism, but this sanitized, feel-good, boutique, therapeutic spirituality that makes no demands, calls for no sacrifice, asks for no conversion, entails no battle against sin, but only soothes and affirms.

--Archbishop Timothy Dolan

Friday, October 14, 2011

QUOTATION: You cannot have two masters

You either belong wholly to the world or wholly to God.

--St. Jean Vianney (The Cure d’Ars)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

QUOTATION: Suffering

God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.

--St. Augustine of Hippo

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

QUOTATION: At Jesus' Disposal

We are at Jesus' disposal. If he wants you to be sick in bed, if he wants you to proclaim His work in the street, if he wants you to clean the toilets all day, that's all right, everything is all right. We must say, "I belong to you. You can do whatever you like." And this ..is our strength, and this is the joy of the Lord.


-- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

QUOTATION: Freedom

Yet, with the discernment of a true mother, the Church weighs the great burden of human weakness, and well knows the course down which the minds and actions of men are in this our age being borne. For this reason, while not conceding any right to anything save what is true and honest, she does not forbid public authority to tolerate what is at variance with truth and justice, for the sake of avoiding some greater evil, or of obtaining or preserving some greater good. God Himself in His providence, though infinitely good and powerful, permits evil to exist in the world, partly that greater good may not be impeded, and partly that greater evil may not ensue. In the government of States it is not forbidden to imitate the Ruler of the world; and, as the authority of man is powerless to prevent every evil, it has (as St. Augustine says) to overlook and leave unpunished many things which are punished, and rightly, by Divine Providence. But if, in such circumstances, for the sake of the common good (and this is the only legitimate reason), human law may or even should tolerate evil, it may not and should not approve or desire evil for its own sake; for evil of itself, being a privation of good, is opposed to the common welfare which every legislator is bound to desire and defend to the best of his ability. In this, human law must endeavor to imitate God, who, as St. Thomas teaches, in allowing evil to exist in the world, "neither wills evil to be done, nor wills it not to be done, but wills only to permit it to be done; and this is good.'' This saying of the Angelic Doctor contains briefly the whole doctrine of the permission of evil.

But, to judge aright, we must acknowledge that, the more a State is driven to tolerate evil, the further is it from perfection; and that the tolerance of evil which is dictated by political prudence should be strictly confined to the limits which its justifying cause, the public welfare, requires. Wherefore, if such tolerance would be injurious to the public welfare, and entail greater evils on the State, it would not be lawful; for in such case the motive of good is wanting. And although in the extraordinary condition of these times the Church usually acquiesces in certain modern liberties, not because she prefers them in themselves, but because she judges it expedient to permit them, she would in happier times exercise her own liberty; and, by persuasion, exhortation, and entreaty would endeavor, as she is bound, to fulfill the duty assigned to her by God of providing for the eternal salvation of mankind. One thing, however, remains always true -- that the liberty which is claimed for all to do all things is not, as We have often said, of itself desirable, inasmuch as it is contrary to reason that error and truth should have equal rights.

--Pope Leo XIII, Libertas Praestantissimum, 1888

Monday, October 10, 2011

QUOTATION: Eucharistic Adoration

In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering.

--Pope Benedict XVI

Sunday, October 9, 2011

QUOTATION: Clear Catholicism

The time for easy Christianity is over. In fact, it never really existed. We’re blessed to be rid of the illusion. We need to be more zealous in our faith, not more discreet; clearer in our convictions, not muddier; and more Catholic, not less. 

-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Render Unto Caesar

Saturday, October 8, 2011

QUOTATION: There's No Escape

Faced with problems and disappointments, many people will try to escape from their responsibility: escape in selfishness, escape in sexual pleasure, escape in drugs, escape in violence, escape in indifference and cynical attitudes. But today, I propose to you the option of love, which is the opposite of escape.

--Pope John Paul II

Friday, October 7, 2011

QUOTATION: Bad People

[B]ad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.

--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Thursday, October 6, 2011

QUOTATION: Struggle

All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.

-- Pope Paul VI

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

QUOTATION: Chameleon Catholics


I cannot understand how people change their fashions and manners depending on the place. It is said that polypi become assimilated to the rocks to which they adhere and become one in colour with the rocks. Similarly, [some Christians] lay aside the inspiration of the assembly. And after departure from it, they become like others with whom they associate. Nay, in laying aside the artificial mask of solemnity, they are proved to be what they secretly were. After having paid reverence to the discourse about God, they leave behind what they have heard. Outside of the assembly, they foolishly amuse themselves with ungodly playing and romantic quavering, occupied with flute-playing, dancing, intoxication, and all kinds of frivolity.


--St. Clement of Alexandria.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

QUOTATION: Abortion

Is it surprising that today we have become so morally blind (for wickedness blinds) that we save the baby whales at great cost... and murder millions of unborn children?

--Alice von Hildebrand, The Privilege of Being a Woman

Monday, October 3, 2011

QUOTATION: Pride

The pedant interprets the simplicity and the humility of the wise man as ignorance.

--St. Josemaria Escriva

Sunday, October 2, 2011

QUOTATION: Church and State

Religion, of its essence, is wonderfully helpful to the State. For, since it derives the prime origin of all power directly from God Himself, with grave authority it charges rulers to be mindful of their duty, to govern without injustice or severity, to rule their people kindly and with almost paternal charity; it admonishes subjects to be obedient to lawful authority, as to the ministers of God; and it binds them to their rulers, not merely by obedience, but by reverence and affection, forbidding all seditions and venturesome enterprises calculated to disturb public order and tranquillity, and cause greater restrictions to be put upon the liberty of the people. We need not mention how greatly religion conduces to pure morals, and pure morals to liberty. Reason shows, and history confirms the fact, that the higher the morality of States, the greater are the liberty and wealth and power which they enjoy.

--Pope Leo XIII, Libertas Praestantissimum, 1888

Saturday, October 1, 2011

QUOTATION: Being True Catholics

We live in a time when the Church is called to be a believing community of resistance. We need to call things by their true names. We need to fight the evils we see. And most importantly, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that by going along with the voices of secularism and de-Christianization we can somehow mitigate or change things. Only the Truth can set men free. We need to be apostles of Jesus Christ and the Truth he incarnates.

--Archbishop Charles J. Chaput