"In human love, the ecstasy comes at the beginning. But when it is a matter of loving God, the ecstasy is attained only after one has passed through much suffering and agony of soul." Source: Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, Way to Happiness, St. Pauls, 1998.
"Oh, how fortunate you shall be to be able to receive every day this divine Sacrament, to hold this God of Love in your hands and place Him in your own heart! I desire but this one grace, and long to be consumed like a burning candle in His holy Presence every moment of the [...]
"The Eucharist is the Sacrament in which our new being is most completely expressed and in which Christ himself unceasingly and in an ever new manner 'bears witness' in the Holy Spirit to our spirit that each of us, as a sharer in the mystery of the Redemption, has access to the fruits of the [...]
"Do not long after things afar off; such, I mean, as cannot happen till a distant time… these useless wishes take the place of such as I ought to have – namely, to be patient, resigned, self-denying, obedient, gentle under suffering – which are what God requires of me under the circumstances." Source: St. [...]
"Tell me not that the body is a cause of sin. For if the body is a cause of sin, why does not a dead body sin? Put a sword in the right hand of one just dead, and no murder takes place. Let beauties of every kind pass before a youth just dead, and [...]
"But others seem pale of body and shadowed of soul. For these are weak in faith and do not firmly believe in this sacrament, but find it as hard to understand wisdom as a child whose deeds are done in foolishness. They hear outwardly with the hearing of the ear and perceive with sluggish hearts [...]
"The prophet Zacharias says: 'In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for the washing of the sinner' (ch. xiii. 1). Jesus in the Holy Sacrament is the fountain foretold by the prophet, as open to all; and to which we can go [...]
"There are two goals, vice and virtue, and both require perseverance. If you would reach life, you must persevere in virtue, and if you would reach eternal death, persevere in vice." Source: St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, Paulist Press, 1980 The Dialogue was dictated by Catherine over a period of five days. Three [...]
"As then in the sad and anxious times through which we are passing there are many who cling so firmly to Christ the Lord hidden beneath the Eucharistic veils that neither tribulation, nor distress, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor persecution, nor the sword can separate them from His love, surely no doubt can [...]
"The only ones who can instruct the brethren are those who are merciful, those who are meek or humble. In other words, one cannot really be merciful if he is not humble." Source: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, The Steps of Humility and Pride (Note: This quote was incorrectly attributed to St. Augustine when it [...]