"The Church lives by the Eucharist, by the fullness of this Sacrament, the stupendous content and meaning of which have often been expressed in the Church's Magisterium from the most distant times down to our own days. However, we can say with certainty that, although this teaching is sustained by the acuteness of theologians, by [...]
"There are here two extremes to be avoided: one is to believe that man does everything and God does nothing, which is the Western sin of pride; the other is to believe that God does everything and man does nothing, which is the Oriental sin of fatalism. The golden truth is between the two, as [...]
"In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation [...]
"The Eucharist, as a mystery to be 'lived', meets each of us as we are, and makes our concrete existence the place where we experience daily the radical newness of the Christian life. The eucharistic sacrifice nourishes and increases within us all that we have already received at Baptism, with its call to holiness, and [...]
"As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him." Source: Catechism [...]
"If the rule of poverty is truly kept, both chastity and all the other virtues are fortified much better than by the most sumptuous edifices." Source: Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, Dover Thrift Editions, 2012.
"When the soul is purged of the evil humors of sin, it experiences a ravenous hunger for spiritual things, and sets to work as one famished at all manner of spiritual exercises: mortification, penitence, humility, charity, prayer. Doubtless such an appetite is a good sign, but it behooves you to reflect whether you are able [...]
"To every infant at the breast, the mother virtually says: 'Take, eat and drink; this is my body and blood.' The mother would be untrue to nature if she said, 'This represents my body,' knowing that it is her body. So too, the Lord would be untrue to fact if He said: 'This is not [...]
"Some have said that Christ during the supper gave His body and blood to His disciples, but did not partake of it Himself. But this seems improbable. Because Christ Himself was the first to fulfill what He required others to observe: hence He willed first to be baptized when imposing Baptism upon others: as we [...]
"You must be thirsty, then, and you must gather together, as he said, either two or three or more. Why did he say 'two or three'? Because there are not two without three nor three without two… Those who are wrapped up in selfish love of themselves are alone, mere nothings, because they are cut [...]