"If pilgrims, says St. Paulinus, consider it a great thing to bring back a little dust from the crib, or from the holy sepulchre in which Jesus was buried; with what ardour should not we visit the Most Blessed Sacrament, where the same Jesus is in person, and where we can go without encountering so [...]
"I made up my mind to more serious mortification than ever. When I say mortification, I do not mean that sort of penance the Saints undertake. I was not like those grand souls who practice all kinds of penances from childhood. My mortification consisted in checking my self-will, keeping back an impatient word, doing little [...]
"See in Jesus sacramental the virtues you ought to practise. Appropriate them to yourselves and complete them in yourselves. Yes, the Eucharistic virtues are incomplete in this sense, that Jesus can no longer perform their meritorious acts, and that He takes but their state. Thus, His Body can no longer give to the virtue of [...]
"Our communities, when they celebrate the Eucharist, must become ever more conscious that the sacrifice of Christ is for all, and that the Eucharist thus compels all who believe in him to become 'bread that is broken' for others, and to work for the building of a more just and fraternal world." Source: Pope [...]
"The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship." [...]
"While it is not a hard thing to abstain from murder, but it is very difficult to avoid all passing fits of anger, which assail us at every moment. A man or woman can easily keep from adultery, often difficult to resist coveting them; easy to avoid bearing false witness in direct judgment, difficult to [...]
"Jesus gave me to know the depth of His meekness and humility and to understand that He clearly demanded the same of me. I felt the gaze of God in my soul. This filled me with unspeakable love, but I understand that the Lord was looking with love on my virtues and my heroic efforts, [...]
"The Eucharist is the sacrament of the unity of the whole Church." Source: St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
"How admirable is that obedience of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament! It is unattended by glory, its perfection is not seen. It is almost always without honor. Who in the world reflects on it, even the Christian even the pious soul? It is humiliated, since He obeys even the sacrilegious, the apostate, the soul [...]
"Hope is practiced through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good even in the face of apparent failure, and through the virtue of humility, which accepts God’s mystery and trusts him even at times of darkness." Source: Pope Benedict XVI, God is Love: Deus Caritas Est, Ignatius Press, 2006. [...]