"Unless a man sets out to help his neighbor in the spirit of love he will never overcome those faulty tendencies in his nature which constantly try to drag it down." Source: Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, Way to Happiness, St. Pauls, 1998.
"The inexhaustible richness of this sacrament is expressed in the different names we give it. Each name evokes certain aspects of it. It is called: The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church's offering. the terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, 'sacrifice of praise,' spiritual [...]
"The holy Chrism, used by the Church according to apostolic tradition, is made of olive oil mingled with balm, which, among other things, are emblematic of two virtues very specially conspicuous in our Dear Lord Himself, and which He has specially commended to us, as though they, above all things, drew us to Him and [...]
“What I want is many works of patient and courageous endurance and of the other virtues I have described to you – interior virtues that are all active in bearing the fruit grace.” –St. Catherine of Siena relaying the words God spoke to her in a vision. Source: St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, [...]
"Be also assured that Jesus Christ finds means to console a soul which remains with a recollected spirit before the Most Blessed Sacrament, far beyond what the world can do with all its feasts and pastimes." Source: St. Alphonsus Liguori, Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament
"Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is 'mine' to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is 'his', what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting. I cannot 'give' what is mine to the other [...]
"It was necessary accordingly that there should be at all times among men something to show forth our Lord's Passion; the chief sacrament of which in the old Law was the Paschal Lamb. Hence the Apostle says (1 Cor. 5:7): 'Christ our Pasch is sacrificed.' But its successor under the New Testament is the [...]
"Now if any one will seriously consider the benefits which flow from the Eucharist he will understand that conspicuous and chief among them all… it is for men the source of life, of that life which best deserves the name. 'The bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world' [...]
"The will, therefore, is then truly free, when it is not the slave of vices and sins. Such was it given us by God; and this being lost by its own fault, can only be restored by Him who was able to at first to give it." Source: St. Augustine, City of God [...]
“I told you also the teaching and principal foundation you should give to those who come to you for counsel because they want to leave behind the darkness of deadly sin and follow the path of virtue. I told you to give them… an affectionate love for virtue through knowledge of themselves and of my [...]